Juke In The Back

Air Week: May 5-11, 2025

Amos Milburn, Pt. 1 – 1946-49

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 ou...

Air Week: April 28-May 4, 2025

Unsung Ladies Of R&B

This week, the “Juke In The Back” solutes the Unsung Ladies of R&B! We’ll dig deep into a stack of shellac from some women you know, like Varetta Dillard, Ann Cole and The Cookies, as well as from some that you may not know, such as Gwen Johnson and Bonita Cole. Matt The Cat will also feature an audition tape by the seldom heard Olive Brown, which was never issued at the time. None of the chanteuses on this week’s program have catalogs deep eno...

Air Week: April 21-27, 2025

The Griffin Brothers

This week, “Juke In The Back” features The Griffin Brothers, one of the unsung Rhythm & Blues groups from the early 1950s. Jimmy and “Buddy” Griffin began in their hometown of Norfolk, VA in the late ’40 playing jump blues. They settled in Washington, DC and were asked to backup Roy Brown on “Hard Luck Blues” in April, 1950. That recorded went to #1 in August and soon the brothers had their own record deal with Randy Wood’s Dot Records out of Gallatin, TN. With vocalists Margie Day and Tommy Brown, The Griffin Brot...

Air Week: April 14-20, 2025

15th Anniversary Special!

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...

Air Week: April 7-13, 2025

Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers

The “Juke In The Back” digs deep into New Orleans Rhythm & Blues this week to focus on Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers, one of the few vocal groups to come out of a city best known for its blues, jazz and cajun roots. The Spiders were the best known vocal group to come out of 1950s New Orleans, but Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers were probably more versatile in the sense that they could not only shout the blues, like Roy Brown or Wynonie Harris, but they could also harm...

Air Week: March 31-April 6, 2025

Early Etta James

Producer Jerry Wexler called Etta James, “The greatest of all modern blues singers.”  That’s great praise coming from a guy who worked with the greatest of the greats for 50 years.  Etta had an amazing talent for mixing a bit of tenderness and heartbreak into her gritty, tough and soulful voice.  She had a style all her own and she played by her own rules.  Her success on record was equally matched by her personal failures off-mic, dealing with drug addiction, bad relationships and financial problems.  On this week’s “Juk...

Air Week: March 24-30, 2025

The Heartbeats

With so many wonderful vocal groups present during the 1950s, it took a few distinct ones to lead the pack and blaze the trail. The Heartbeats are always right up there with The Clovers, Harptones, Moonglows, Flamingos and the other leaders who carried the torch lit by the Orioles and Ravens during the late ’40s. The Heartbeats began as the Hearts in 1953, but before making their first record in 1955, changed their name after a female group called The Hearts scored a big hit with “Lonely Nights.” Their first record came o...

Air Week: March 17-23, 2025

Paul Gayten

Paul Gayten is one of the unsung heroes of rhythm & blues and one of the many architects of rock n’ roll. This week, Matt The Cat spotlights Gayten’s great contributions to music on the “Juke In The Back.” Paul Gayten scored the first New Orleans’ hit of the post World War II R&B era with “True (You Don’t Love Me)” in 1947, thus kicking off a legacy of rhythm hit-making and influence from the Crescent City. His work with vocalists Annie Laurie and Chubby “Hip Shakin'” Newsome is legendary. As a s...

Air Week: March 10-16, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 8 – 1957

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 8, Matt The Cat spends more time...

Air Week: March 3-9, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 7 – 1956

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 7, Matt The Cat finishes up 1955 wi...

Air Week: February 24-March 2, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 6 – 1955

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 6, Matt The Cat takes a close lo...

Air Week: February 17, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 5 – 1954

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 5, Matt The Cat takes a close look...

Air Week: February 10-16, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 4 – 1953

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 4, Matt The Cat takes a close lo...

Air Week: February 3-9, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 3 – 1952

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 3, Matt The Cat focuses on the imp...

Air Week: January 27-February 2, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 2 – 1950-51

“Juke In The Back” continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 2, Matt The Cat focuses on...

Air Week: January 20-26, 2025

Chess Records, Pt. 1 – Aristocrat Records

“Juke In The Back” begins a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music. In part 1, Matt The Cat introd...

1940s & â€50s Rhythm & Blues

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 couldnâ€t hear on the jukebox in the front of the establishm...

Click below to hear a demo episode of “Juke In The Back.”