Hour 3 takes the program into a broad pre-war field without reducing that music to a single sound. Calvin Frazier opens with “Highway 51 Blues,” then Charley Patton receives two consecutive selections, “Mississippi Bo Weevil Blues” and “Shake It & Break It.” That opening establishes a firm early-blues footing, but the hour quickly moves onward to Charlie McCoy’s “That Lonesome Train” and Big Joe Williams’ “I’m Getting Wild About Her.” The sequence is defined by names and titles supplied in the playlist, not by an imposed narrative.

Blind Teddy Darby’s “I’m Gonna Wreck Your V-8 Pts I&II” follows, and the two-part designation makes it a substantial entry in the program’s early stretch. Yank Rachell’s “Peach Tree Blues,” Sammy Hill’s “It’s Gonna Stare You in the Face,” and Will Ezell’s “Heifer Dust” continue the hour’s movement through different performers. The programming does not linger long enough to turn these early selections into a retrospective lecture. It presents them as a living sequence, with each new recording changing the shape of the hour.

Little Brother Montgomery becomes the hour’s principal recurring artist with “Mama You Don’t Mean Me No Good,” “Never Go Wrong Blues,” and “Shreveport Farewell.” Placing three selections together creates a strong center of gravity, especially after the more rapidly changing first portion of the hour. The set gives listeners a chance to remain with one artist across several song titles, while the rest of the program remains alert to contrast and transition. It is one of the most sustained artist-focused passages anywhere in the week’s five-hour schedule.

Irene Scruggs’ “I Must Get Mine” arrives after that three-song segment, followed by Lillian Miller’s “In Front,” Tecumseh McDowell’s “Kitchen Blues,” Dora Carr’s “My Man Blues,” and Hammer Ring Chain Gang’s “Black Gal Gets There Jus the Same.” The final stretch is notable for its concise construction. Each artist has one selection, and the program closes the hour by moving through a sequence of distinct names rather than returning to a previous performer for a final statement.

That design gives Hour 3 a different kind of unity than the Howlin’ Wolf and Bobby Bland framing of Hour 4. Here, the continuity comes from the sustained attention to early recordings and the varied paths between them. Charley Patton’s two-song opening passage and Little Brother Montgomery’s three-song middle section act as anchors. Around them, Calvin Frazier, Charlie McCoy, Big Joe Williams, Blind Teddy Darby, Yank Rachell, Sammy Hill, Will Ezell, Irene Scruggs, Lillian Miller, Tecumseh McDowell, Dora Carr, and Hammer Ring Chain Gang each add another turn to the route.

The hour’s song titles frequently suggest travel, places, work, romance, and trouble, but the program does not require listeners to treat those titles as literal summaries of the recordings. Their primary function here is musical and editorial: they create a sequence of changing voices, repeated artists, and carefully placed departures. “Shreveport Farewell” is followed by “I Must Get Mine,” then “In Front,” a progression that works in the ear as a change of performers and pacing rather than a story supplied by the titles alone.

Within the overall broadcast, Hour 3 is the week’s deepest concentrated look at pre-war material. It is neither isolated from the rest of the show nor presented as a museum piece. The hour prepares the ground for the harder post-war sequence that follows, while also recalling the piano presence heard earlier in the program. Its richness comes from range: individual voices, recurring performers, and a playlist that remains open to surprise from first track to last.

Hour 3 Playlist

Highway 51 Blues — Calvin Frazier

Mississippi Bo Weevil Blues — Charley Patton

Shake It & Break It — Charley Patton

That Lonesome Train — Charlie McCoy

I’m Getting Wild About Her — Big Joe Williams

I’m Gonna Wreck Your V-8 Pts I&II — Blind Teddy Darby

Peach Tree Blues — Yank Rachell

It’s Gonna Stare You in the Face — Sammy Hill

Heifer Dust — Will Ezell

Mama You Don’t Mean Me No Good — Little Brother Montgomery

Never Go Wrong Blues — Little Brother Montgomery

Shreveport Farewell — Little Brother Montgomery

I Must Get Mine — Irene Scruggs

In Front — Lillian Miller

Kitchen Blues — Tecumseh McDowell

My Man Blues — Dora Carr

Black Gal Gets There Jus the Same — Hammer Ring Chain Gang