Hour Four of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise cleverly builds itself around artists carrying the name “King,” creating a loose but highly effective theme that moves through electric blues, rhythm & blues, and postwar groove music. While each performer comes from a different background and style, together they form a portrait of how broad and influential blues-based music had become by the 1950s and beyond.

B.B. King opens the hour with “Never Make Your Move Too Soon,” immediately bringing elegance and control to the program. His guitar phrasing is measured and vocal-like, never rushed, always expressive. That sophistication contrasts beautifully with Albert King’s “Crosscut Saw,” where the tone grows sharper and more aggressive. Albert’s string-bending guitar style carries a raw intensity that helped define modern electric blues.

Freddy King’s “Sensation” adds yet another variation. His approach combines technical precision with driving rhythm, pushing the music closer toward rock and soul without losing its blues foundation. Together, the three “Kings” represent distinct schools of electric blues guitar—smooth, forceful, and rhythmically explosive.

The hour then broadens beyond the famous names. Eddie King’s “Laundromat Blues” and Earl King’s “Come On” Parts I & II introduce a strong New Orleans influence, where blues and R&B rhythms become inseparable. Maurice King and Jewel King continue the transition into dance-oriented rhythm & blues, their recordings carrying a lively, upbeat feel.

Willie King’s “The Stomper” shifts things back toward heavier blues groove, while Kid King Combo and King Porter contribute smaller but memorable performances that showcase the diversity of regional postwar sounds. Saunders King’s “Swingin’” adds a West Coast flavor, balancing jazz-inflected guitar work with blues structure.

By the latter part of the hour, the program feels almost like a survey of independent label blues and R&B from the 1940s and ’50s. Alfred “Blues King” Harris brings a boogie-driven approach on “Great Lakes Boogie,” while Jellyroll Kings and King Solomon reinforce the deep connection between Southern blues traditions and emerging modern electric styles.

The hour closes with Al King’s “On My Way,” a fitting ending for a segment built around movement, rhythm, and musical evolution. Even though the “King” connection may begin as a playful organizing idea, the hour becomes something more meaningful—a showcase of how many different directions blues music traveled during the postwar era.

What makes Hour Four especially satisfying is its balance. Famous artists sit comfortably beside lesser-known performers, all connected by style, spirit, and a shared musical language. It’s a reminder that blues history was never shaped by a handful of stars alone—it was built by an entire community of working musicians, many of whom deserve equal attention.

Playlist – Hour Four

Never Make Your Move Too Soon – B.B. King
Crosscut Saw – Albert King
Sensation – Freddy King
Laundromat Blues – Eddie King
Come On Parts I & II – Earl King
Good Daddy – Maurice King
I’ll Get It – Jewel King
The Stomper – Willie King
Baby I’m Fool Proof – Kid King Combo
Baby What’s the Matter – King Porter
Val Halla – King Perry
Swingin’ – Saunders King
Waggin’ Your Tail – King Davis
Great Lakes Boogie – Alfred “Blues King” Harris
Just Come On Home – Jellyroll Kings
I Got to Move – King Solomon
On My Way – Al King