Air Week: July 25-31, 2022 Little Esther Esther Mae Jones is one of the First Ladies of R&B, yet her 1950s output under the name Little Esther is sadly overlooked. Little Esther was discovered by bandleader Johnny Otis in 1949, when she was only 14 years old. Otis immediately added her to his musical ensemble. […]

Episode #638 – Little Esther Phillips: 1950-56

At the end of the Second World War, economics forced the big bands to trim their once great size and thus, the Jump Blues combo was born. Between 1946-1954, rhythm and blues laid the tracks for what was to become Rock n’ Roll. So how come, 75 years later, this vibrant and influential music is still so unknown to so many?  Matt The Cat is going to change that with the radio program, “Juke In The Back.” These were the records that you couldn’t hear on the jukebox in the front of the establishment. To hear all this great 1950s rhythm & blues, you had to go to “Juke In The Back.”

Music

Music Commentary

Music History

Air Week: May 27-June 2, 2024 The Midnighters, Pt. 2 – 1954-56 This week, the “Juke In The Back” continues a 3 show look at The Midnighters, one of early R&B’s most successful groups. Before they topped the R&B charts with “Work With Me Annie” in 1954, The Midnighters were known as The Royals, a […]

Episode #734 – The Midnighters, Pt. 2 – 1954-56

Air Week: May 20-26, 2024 The Midnighters, Pt. 1 – 1952-54 (The Royals) This week, the “Juke In The Back” begins a 3 show look at The Midnighters, one of early R&B’s most successful groups. Before they topped the R&B charts with “Work With Me Annie” in 1954, The Midnighters were known as The Royals, […]

Episode #733 – The Midnighters, Pt. 1 – 1952-54 (The Royals)

Air Week: May 13-19, 2024 Lowell Fulson This week, the “Juke In The Back” spotlights Lowell Fulson, one of the blues’ most versatile and vastly underrated talents. In the late 1940s, Fulson stormed the charts with his first hit “Three O’Clock Blues,” a song that B.B. King would take to the top of the charts […]

Episode #732 – Lowell Fulson

Air Week: May 6-12, 2024 Jesse Belvin “Juke In The Back” is proud to dedicate an entire show to Jesse Belvin, one of greatest talents to come out of LA in the 1950s. Belvin was born in Texas, but raised near Central Avenue in Los Angeles, where he soaked up the local R&B scene. After […]

Episode #731 – Jesse Belvin

Air Week: April 29-May 5, 2024 Elmore James: 1951-55 Elmore James never tried to have crossover success. He was a bluesman through and through; an ambassador of the Mississippi Delta Blues with a modern, 1950s electric twist. Elmore’s blues was as pure as his ambitions when starting out as a sideman for now legendary blues […]

Episode #638 – Little Esther Phillips: 1950-56

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