The first hour of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise arrives with a confident, upbeat sense of motion, bringing together Mable Lee, Louis Jordan, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Ella Fitzgerald, the Inkspots, Albert Ammons, Paul Robeson, and Illinois Jacquet. The show notes offer a concise promise for this opening hour: listeners who like Hour 1 will like Hour 1 this week. The playlist delivers on that promise through an extended run of early swing, jump blues, vocal performances, and piano- and saxophone-centered energy.
Mable Lee opens with “The Cat Can’t Dance,” immediately setting a lively title at the front of the program. Louis Jordan follows with four selections: “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t,” “Deacon Jones,” “The Chicks I Pick,” and “What’s the Use of Gettin’ Sober.” Jordan’s substantial presence gives the hour an early anchor. Instead of using one recording as a representative sample, the program allows four titles to build a fuller opening stretch, keeping one of the hour’s central artists in focus before turning to the next voice.
Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson takes over with “Railroad Porter,” “I’ve Been So Good,” “When a Woman Loves,” and “Cherry Reed Blues.” Like the Jordan sequence, Vinson’s four selections create a distinct section within the hour. The transition from one extended artist run to another gives the opening a strong structural clarity. The show is not merely collecting recordings from an era or style; it is making room for performers to establish themselves across several titles.
Ella Fitzgerald’s “Time Alone Will Tell,” “My Heart & I Decided,” “Flying Home,” and “You Won’t Be Satisfied” continue the multiple-selection approach. Her four-recording group makes her another major focal point, while changing the vocal texture after the Jordan and Vinson runs. The playlist’s first half is therefore built from a series of substantial artist portraits: Mable Lee’s opening statement, Louis Jordan’s four-song set, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson’s four selections, and Fitzgerald’s four-title section.
The Inkspots appear next with “We Three,” offering a change in group identity and an opportunity for the hour to breathe after the extended Fitzgerald sequence. Albert Ammons follows with “Bass Going Crazy,” then Paul Robeson with “Ah Still Suits Me.” These late-hour selections bring new names into the mix without abandoning the larger early-swing atmosphere. Ammons and Robeson each occupy a single, clearly defined position in the program, proving that the hour can shift scale effectively from four-song focal points to concise individual appearances.
Illinois Jacquet closes the hour with “Jivin’ with Jack the Bellboy.” The selection provides a natural final lift after the preceding run of vocal and piano-centered material. Its placement at the end also reinforces the hour’s sense of rhythmic momentum. After Mable Lee, Jordan, Vinson, Fitzgerald, the Inkspots, Ammons, and Robeson, Jacquet supplies a final artist whose name is closely aligned with the hour’s lively sequence.
This opening hour succeeds through concentration as much as variety. Jordan, Vinson, and Fitzgerald each receive enough space for their contributions to feel central, while Mable Lee, the Inkspots, Ammons, Robeson, and Jacquet prevent the program from becoming a succession of closed artist blocks. The order keeps the music moving, with each transition offering a new voice or instrumental emphasis supported directly by the playlist.
As an introduction to the five-hour show, it establishes a high-energy starting point without revealing every direction the program will take later. The following hours will turn to blues ballads, spiritual material, pre-war recordings, Shakey Jake Harris, and the meeting points of jazz and blues. But Hour 1 is content to make its own case: an early-swing and jump-blues set with strong recurring artists, memorable titles, and a closing sense of forward motion.
Hour 1 Playlist
The Cat Can’t Dance — Mable Lee
Is You Is or Is You Ain’t — Louis Jordan
Deacon Jones — Louis Jordan
The Chicks I Pick — Louis Jordan
What’s the Use of Gettin’ Sober — Louis Jordan
Railroad Porter — Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
I’ve Been So Good — Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
When a Woman Loves — Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
Cherry Reed Blues — Eddie Cleanhead Vinson
Time Alone Will Tell — Ella Fitzgerald
My Heart & I Decided — Ella Fitzgerald
Flying Home — Ella Fitzgerald
You Won’t Be Satisfied — Ella Fitzgerald
We Three — Inkspots
Bass Going Crazy — Albert Ammons
Ah Still Suits Me — Paul Robeson
Jivin’ with Jack the Bellboy — Illinois Jacquet