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.
Matt The Cat takes a look at another Black-owned, independent, LA-based record label that contributed greatly to the birth of Rock n’ Roll and the popularity of R&B Vocal Groups during the 1950s. This week, the “Juke In The Back” puts Dootsie Williams’ little label, DooTone Records into the spotlight for a solid hour of stunning Rhythm & Blues from the ’40s and ’50s. We’ll dig on Dootsie’s first label Blue Records, which was born out of the Musicians Union Strike of ’48. Dootsie, a big band trumpeter had been in the business since 1930 and saw there was a profit to be made of lewd party records as well as Blues and R&B. He expanded his enterprise in 1951 by starting DooTone Records and began releasing records from LA’s emerging vocal group scene. The Medallions, Don Julian & The Meadowlarks and DooTone’s only huge national hit, The Penguins’ “Earth Angel” were issued by the end of 1954. He continued into ’55 and ’56 with The Dootones, The Pipes, The Cuff-Links, The Calvanes and a slew of great Los Angeles R&B, before deciding that the independent record business wasn’t going to get any better. This week, we take a snap-shot of a regional sound being discovered by a nation who’s musical tastes were changing as young people were buying records and Rock n’ Roll was emerging. It’s a piece of history that sounds best when played on the “Juke In The Back.”
The “Juke In The Back” is proud to feature The Lutchers, a brother and sister who’s separate works helped define early Rhythm & Blues. Older sister, Nellie Lutcher, the piano playing vocalist, scored more hits and made much more of a national impact than her younger brother Joe. Her style combined blues, jazz, R&B, pop and small elements of what would become Vocalese. She hit the big time in 1947 after more than a decade of working the clubs of Los Angeles. Her firs 2 singles, “Hurry On Down” and “He’s A Real Gone Guy” both went to #2 nationally for Capitol Records. She’d score another #2 with the self-penned “Fine Brown Frame” less than a year later. Her younger brother, the saxophonist Joe Lutcher, made a name for himself fronting many combos at some of LA’s most prestigious clubs. He hit the national charts in 1948 with the instrumental, “Shuffle Woogie” for Capitol. Then he jumped over to Specialty Records for catchy “Rockin’ Boogie” and then to Modern Records for the now classic “Mardi Gras.” They never recorded together, but separately their careers would set the stage for the mainstreaming of Rhythm & Blues Music into Rock n’ Roll. Matt The Cat gives both of these great artists the exposure they so rightly deserve and so decisively earned, on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
Unfortunately, Huey Smith is another “hard luck” story of R&B and early Rock n’ Roll. He was a talented boogie woogie pianist and as a session player, he contributed to some great New Orleans gems by Earl King, Smiley Lewis, Little Richard and Guitar Slim. As a solo artist, he wrote and recorded some of the most memorable R&B and early Rock n’ Roll, but didn’t receive all the credit and royalties he deserved. This week, Matt The Cat pays respects to the late, great Huey “Piano” Smith, who passed away on February 13, 2023 at the age of 89. We dig deep to feature the iconic records that Smith played on as well as his early work with Huey Smith and the Rhythm Aces and his legendary records with The Clowns. He had 2 national hits with “Rockin’ Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu (1957) and “Don’t You Just Know It” (1958). His greatest contribution may have been “Sea Cruise,” a song he wrote and originally recorded with Gerri Hall, but Johnny Vincent, owner of Ace Records issued it with a new vocal recorded by white teen idol, Frankie Ford. Huey Smith persevered through much discrimination in the music industry and this week, we celebrate all he achieved on a very special edition of the “Juke In The Back.”
The pre-Rock n’ Roll era is full of unsung performers who’s style directly impacted those who came after. This week’s “Juke In The Back” spotlight on Camille Howard is one such example. Her boogie woogie piano style was inventive, fluid and pure joy. It left a lasting impression on Ike Turner, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair. As heard on last week’s program, Howard rose to fame as the pianist for Roy Milton & His Solid Senders in the mid-1940s. Their breakthrough smash, “R.M. Blues” featured her fantastic piano style and the public took notice. Soon, Art Rupe of Specialty Records had her releasing solo records under The Camille Howard Trio while she remained with Roy Milton. Matt The Cat will dig into Howard’s best work with The Solid Senders as well as her solo material up through 1956, when she left music for good. Camille Howard, along with Hadda Brooks must be remembered as pioneering instrumentalists in the developing field of Rhythm & Blues, which of course led to the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Camille Howard’s star shines on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
The “Juke In The Back” is proud to shine the spotlight on one of the granddads of Rock n’ Roll, Roy Milton. His group, The Solid Senders, was composed of top-notch musicians, including Camille Howard, who was one of the greatest boogie woogie pianists of all-time. Milton, a drummer, songwriter, singer and bandleader who was part Native American and part African American. He was the first artist signed to Art Rupe’s Juke Box Records in 1945 and after scoring an enormous hit in 1946 with “R.M. Blues,” made the transition over to Rupe’s next label, the trend-setting Specialty Records. Between Rupe’s two labels, Milton started his own Miltone Records in order to showcase his recordings and those of his contemporaries. He was one of Specialty’s biggest acts, remaining with the label until 1955 and scoring 17 charting singles along the way. Matt The Cat is going to make sure Roy Milton gets the respect he deserves on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
He was flamboyant, over-the-top and often called the “Prince of the Blues,” but Billy Wright was also an incredible, influential vocalist and an integral part in propelling Rhythm & Blues into the mainstream. Though he wouldn’t be able to transition to Rock n’ Roll, the new music he was helping to create, his influence shined bright in that of Little Richard, both in singing style and on-stage persona. Born and raised in Atlanta, Wright remained in that city until the day he died. He got his start dancing and singing as part of the Bailey’s 81 Theater stage show and later, their traveling troupe which played summer tent shows across the South and Midwest. After cutting out on his own, he was the opening act one night for Charles Brown, Wynonie Harris and Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams. Williams was so impressed with Wright, that he helped him get signed to Savoy Records. Billy Wright scored 4 hits for Savoy from late 1949 to early 1952 and even though he stopped recording after ’59, Wright never stopped performing. This week, Matt The Cat, digs up the true story of one of music’s first openly gay artists who helped pave the way for the energy, flamboyance and glitter that soon become commonplace in Rock n’ Roll. Billy Wright is the feature on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
There were so many influential Rhythm & Blues artists who had a great impact on the development of Rock n’ Roll, but were never able to profit from the new genre they helped to create. The Treniers were just one such group. Their core were the twins Cliff and Claude Trenier, who were later joined by their younger brothers Milt and Buddy. Their sound formed a great bridge from the swing bands of the 1940s to the rock n’ roll jump combos of the early ’50s. Matt The Cat digs up Claude Trenier’s first records as a vocalist for The Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra as well as some early singles for the legendary Charles Mingus. We’ll dig into The Trenier Twins’ early sides for Mercury Records and then rock, roll and swing to their hep sides for the Okeh label. The Treniers only scored one national R&B hit, but they left their mark on the new music they helped to create and popularize; Rock n’ Roll. The Treniers’ story lights up this week’s “Juke In The Back” with Matt The Cat.
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.”
