Matt The Cat presents the soul that came before rock n’ roll: 1950s rhythm and blues. Each week, this underrated and rollicking music plays on that old Rockola Jukebox in the back.
Lloyd Price would become one of the great hit-makers of early Rock n’ Roll, but this is the story of the “soul that came BEFORE Rock n’ Roll.” Lloyd was just a kid when bandleader and talent scout, Dave Bartholomew brought him to Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in early 1952 to make a record of a tune he had heard Lloyd singing. “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” hit #1 during the summer of ’52, becoming an instant classic and contributing to the R&B foundation that would eventually lead to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Matt The Cat presents clips from a lengthy interview with Lloyd Price from 2005 so that Lloyd can tell his story in his own words. He discusses how “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” was recorded, why he was drafted and sent to Korea and how is cousin Larry Williams almost took his song “Just Because” away from him. Lloyd was an entrepreneur, a record executive, a boxing promoter, a professional bowler as well as a R&B legend and early Rock n’ Roll icon. Hear his story and pay tribute to his life on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
During the 1920s, Kansas City was the heart of Jazz and the epicenter of American Music. George E. Lee and His Novelty Singing Orchestra was one of the most popular bands in that town at that time. At the center of the band, playing piano and singing was Julia Lee, the sister of bandleader George E. Lee. Julia was a fantastic singer with a powerful voice. We begin this week’s program, dedicated to Julia Lee, with one of her earliest records, “He’s Tall, Dark And Handsome,” which was issued in early 1930 and showcases her singing style. Remembered today for her double entendre songs of the 1940s, Julia Lee was much more than that. Matt The Cat takes you through her early years in the Kansas City scene and then her rise to fame recording for Capitol Records in LA. She scored two #1 R&B records with 1947’s “Snatch and Grab It” and 1948’s “King Size Papa.” Each of those singles remained on the charts for over a half a year! She was so popular during the late 1940s that it’s hard for us today to truly appreciate her widespread success. “King Size Papa” and “I Didn’t Like It The First Time (The Spinach Song),” a tune probably about marijuana, actually crossed over into the Pop Chart! An amazing feat considering the slightly risque subject matter as well as the segregation of musical styles at the time. Showcasing the records and artists that time has somehow forgotten is exactly what the “Juke In The Back” is all about and this week is no exception as we highlight the wonderful career of Julia Lee. We lost her way too soon as she died at the age of 55 in 1958, but this week, her music lives again on the “Juke In The Back.”
This week, the Juke In The Back is proud to honor the late, great Johnny Otis. He was a true renaissance man. Otis was a singer, songwriter, drummer, bandleader, talent scout, record label owner and radio / TV show host and that’s not everything he did. He was the son of Greek immigrants, growing up in a mostly Black section of Vallejo, CA during the 1920s and 30s. He not only absorbed Black Culture, he became a part of it, changing his last name to Otis in order to sound more black. He went from playing drums at the Club Alabam on Central Ave. in LA to opening his own Barrelhouse Club in Watts in 1947, creating a scene of his own. His first records were made just as the big bands were dying off and the jump combos were rising. Johnny Otis did not interpret rhythm and blues, Johnny Otis WAS rhythm & blues. From his first recordings for Leon Rene’s Excelsior Label in 1945 to his commercial breakthrough in 1949-50 for Herman Lubinsky’s Savoy Label to his great rock n roll success with “Willie And The Hand Jive” for Capitol in 1958, Johnny Otis did more than almost anyone to push Black Music into the mainstream, creating rock ‘n roll. Juke In The Back highlights the early part of Otis amazing career from 1945-1958. It s not an overstatement to say that the music we enjoy today is here because of what Johnny Otis recorded, played and produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This Juke is truly The Johnny Otis Show.
Boogie Woogie has the natural ability to make you wanna tap your toes, shake your hips and just all around feel good! The blues style of Boogie Woogie piano features a strong left hand, playing repeated bass lines, leaving the right hand free to improvise around the keys. This produces an uptempo, rollicking feel with a solid groove that makes you want to get up and dance. Men such as Pete Johnson, Albert Ammon, Meade “Lux” Lewis and Fats Domino dominated the field, but some of the best Boogie Woogie you’re ever going to hear was played by women. Hadda Brooks, Camille Howard, Dorothy Donegan and others not only held their own, but in many cases surpassed the men in their playing ability. Don’t let the piano fool ya, Boogie Woogie can also be played on other instruments as Matt The Cat features a few guitar and saxophone boogies to round out the program. So get ready to groove with a smile as the “Juke In The Back” jumps with some Boogie Woogie Rhythm & Blues!
The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. Last week in part 1 of our 2 part series, we showcased The Larks’ early recordings from 1950-52, including their only 2 charting singles, “Eyesight To The Blind” and “Little Side Car.” This week, as we pick it back up in 1952, the original Larks group disintegrates and members go off on their own. Allen Bunn leaves to pursue a solo career and will soon be know as Tarheel Slim. Bass singer David McNeil joins The Dominoes and Eugene Mumford joins the Golden Gate Quartet. In less than a year, Gene Mumford would return to secular music and form a few group out of members of the Golden Gate Quartet and beyond, calling it The Larks. This new Larks group bears little resemblance to the original, but they are loaded with talent. However, Bess Berman at Apollo Records was looking for more of a pop group, so the material the new Larks were presented with wasn’t very strong and they failed to score any hits. Still the music is captivating and worth hearing as Matt The Cat presents The Larks, Pt. 2 – 1952-55 on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. That might be because they only had 2 charting singles and neither record sold well after its initial release. But don’t let the numbers fool you, the Larks were a top-notch group with outstanding leads provided by Eugene Mumford, Allen Bunn and David McNeil, who occasionally sang a solid bass lead. Matt The Cat presents part one of a two-parter on The Larks on this week’s “Juke In The Back.” This week, we’ll focus on the group’s gospel roots, their charting records and the very start of the original group falling apart. Along the way, they recorded “Eyesight To The Blind,” “Little Side Car,” “When I Leave These Prison Walls,” “My Reverie” and many other standouts. You won’t want to miss the tremendous music and eye-opening stories of one of R&B’s greatest vocal groups.
Amos Milburn was the complete package. He could play boogie woogie piano with the best of ’em, having been influenced by the great Pete Johnson. He sang the smoky R&B ballad almost as well as his buddy Charles Brown and he could shout the blues alongside Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris. Milburn’s delivery was indeed a hit with the public as his Aladdin Records releases spawned 4 #1 R&B records and a total of 16 charting singles (3 of them double-sided hits). This week in part 2 of our 2 part series, Matt The Cat spins Milburn’s great Aladdin releases from 1950 to ’56. During those years, he scored his 4th and final #1 R&B hit, “Bad, Bad Whiskey” and launched a string of drinking songs, which included “Thinking and Drinking,” “One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer,” “Let Me Go Home, Whiskey” and “Good, Good Whiskey.” Milburn still rocked the jukeboxes with the hits, “Walking Blues,” “Let’s Rock A While,” “Sax Shack Boogie” and “Tears, Tears, Tears,” but by the end of 1953, the hits had stopped. The music was changing and Amos Milburn would be another casualty of the incoming Rock n’ Roll movement. Here he was, one of the architects of the new music, but like so many others, he could not make the transition with the new, younger record-buyers. Heavy drinking, epilepsy and 2 strokes would shorten his life, but his legacy lives on. Don’t miss the conclusion of Amos Milburn, this week on the “Juke In The Back.”
Amos Milburn was the complete package. He could play boogie woogie piano with the best of ’em, having been influenced by the great Pete Johnson. He sang the smoky R&B ballad almost as well as his buddy Charles Brown and he could shout the blues alongside Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris. Milburn’s delivery was indeed a hit with the public as his Aladdin Records releases spawned 4 #1 R&B records and a total of 16 charting singles (3 of them double-sided hits). However, he wasn’t a star right out of the gate and had to spend 2 years building up his audience for his big 1948 breakthrough, “Chicken Shack Boogie.” From there, the floodgates opened and Milburn enjoyed a few years of solid hit-making, before the crossover success of Rock n’ Roll would snuff out sales. He is mostly remembered today for his drinkin’ songs, but this week on part one of our two-part series on Amos Milburn, you won’t hear any of those types of songs. His career began with the strong sound of boogie woogie and the smoky balladry inspired by Charles Brown and Nat “King” Cole. So lend an ear as Matt The Cat fills the “Juke In The Back” with Amos Milburn’s early career from 1946-49 on this week’s program.
Let’s get together, throw some nickels in the ol’ Rockola Jukebox and celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the “Juke In The Back.” It’s hard to believe that Matt The Cat’s been droppin’ down the plattahs and makin’ ’em splattah like pancake battah for 15 years. He couldn’t have done it without the listenership and support of all you hep cats and crazy kittens. This week, we open up the Request-O-Matic Hotline and take some of your requests as well as play some records that have never been played on previous “Juke In The Back” programs. We take the opportunity to look back at the last 15 years before blasting into the next 15 years with next week’s program. So belly up to the bar at Rosie Juke Joint and get ready for a solid hour of what we do best, vintage Rhythm & Blues from the Jukers that make it possible. Thank you!
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, 70 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.â€
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, 70 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.”
