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.
49 years ago this week, we lost the “King Of Rock n’ Roll. Much has been written about Elvis’ enormous impact and popularity over the years, but it’s almost impossible to overstate the cultural shift that took place as he rose to fame in 1956. Elvis was a musical sponge. He absorbed all the music that moved him and those around him, from Country and Hillbilly to Gospel, Pop, R&B and Blues. This week’s “Juke In The Back” focuses solely on the rhythm & blues that motivated Elvis’ early career. During the end of his first session with Sam Phillips, Elvis cut into an inspired rendition of a semi-forgotten Arthur Crudup gem and rock n’ roll was literally born. From the New Orleans R&B of Smiley Lewis, to the jump blues of Wynonie Harris, Elvis dug it all and made each song uniquely his own. He wasn’t copying his R&B idols, he was merely using their material as a springboard for his own blend of the White and the Black. Sam Phillips was right when he said that it would take a White cat with an African-American feel to propel this exciting R&B music into the mainstream and lucky for us, he found that in Elvis Presley. Matt The Cat presents many surprises in this week’s “Juke In The Back,” dedicated to Elvis’ strongest musical influence: Rhythm & Blues.
The “Juke In The Back” presents part 3 in our series on Aladdin Records, one of the most important independent labels of the pre-rock era. Part 3 focuses on 1953-55, just as Rock n’ Roll was beginning to enter the mainstream. Matt The Cat digs up a great variety of styles this week as vocal groups, raw Rhythm & Blues, jump instrumentals, drinking songs and ballads take center stage. We’ll dig on some hits and misses from Amos Milburn, The Five Keys, Chuck Higgins, Gene & Eunice and Shirley & Lee. We’ll also hear some great debut records from Bobby Marchan and Sonny Knight, who would go on to greater success on other labels. A few rare vocal group sides are also featured. Grab a handful of nickels, because this week the “Juke In The Back” is loaded with Aladdin Records sides out of Beverly Hills, CA. This is the final part in our 3 part series.
The “Juke In The Back” presents part 2 in our 3 part series on Aladdin Records, one of the most important independent labels of the pre-rock era. Part 2 will pick up the Aladdin Records Story in 1950 and carry it through til rock n’ roll began hitting the mainstream in 1953-54. This week, we’ll hear more hits from Aladdin’s early hit-makers, Amos Milburn and Charles Brown. We’ll also dig some of the newcomers, like Floyd Dixon, Peppermint Harris, Calvin Boze, Shirley & Lee, the Five Keys and more. Aladdin was a rare label in that almost everything they pressed was worth hearing. If you ever see a discarded Aladdin 45 by an artist you’ve never heard before, pick it up, because chances are it’ll make you very, very happy. Next week, part 3 will close down the series on Aladdin on the “Juke In The Back” with Matt The Cat.
The “Juke In The Back” begins a three part special on one of the most important record labels of the pre-rock era, Aladdin Records. Eddie and Leo Mesner started Aladdin as Philo Records in 1945. It was one of the first independent labels on the West Coast and sought to fill in the R&B void left by major labels like Victor, Decca and Columbia. The Mesners hired Maxwell Davis to help with musical arrangements and back up their artists and got the label off to a jumpin’ start. In February of 1946, Philo became Aladdin and a record label icon was born. With artists like Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers featuring Charles Brown, Helen Humes, Illinois Jacquet, Wynonie Harris, Amos Milburn and some rare releases from a young Robins group, how could Aladdin possibly fail? They didn’t and in the process, they helped propel rhythm & blues into the mainstream, paving the way for the emergence of Rock n’ Roll. This week’s show focuses on the beginning of the label from 1945-49 and next week’s show will feature 1950 to the birth of Rock n’ Roll, while part three will concentrate on the early Rock releases. Grab some nickels, because the party’s getting ready to start down at the Chicken Shack…with Matt The Cat and the “Juke In The Back.”
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.
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.”
