Hour Five eases us toward sunrise with a careful blend of late-night elegance, torch-song mood, and blues-inflected modernity. The hour opens in the soft glow of vocal harmony: the Mills Brothers glide through “Don’t Be a Baby, Baby,” a reminder of how effortless they made complex blend work sound. From there, Sonny Stitt shifts the tone into classic small-group jazz with a warm, fluid reading of “Love Walked In,” a performance that sets the after-hours tone for everything that follows.

Ella Fitzgerald lands next with “I’m Glad There Is You,” the kind of ballad she could deliver with complete command—phrasing relaxed, tone luminous, emotion just under the surface. Lou Donaldson follows with “Misty,” a performance that brings a bluesman’s sensibility to a jazz standard: economical, soulful, never rushed.

The set then moves into a beautiful three-song run by Annie Laurie, one of the under-recognized voices of post-war R&B. “I Don’t Get My Kicks Anymore,” “I’m in the Mood for You,” and the powerful “Cryin’, Sighin’, Dyin’” form a miniature emotional arc—songs of resignation, desire, and heartache delivered with her trademark mix of clarity and soul. “I Loved Another Woman” brings her sequence to a hushed close, a smoky recording full of tension and regret.

From there, the hour shifts into a substantial blues-rock suite from the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, the band’s most overtly blues-rooted period. These are the tracks where Green’s tone, phrasing, and emotional directness show how deeply he absorbed the lessons of the very pre-war artists Yazoo helped rescue. “Black Magic Woman” appears here in its original form—hypnotic, restrained, simmering. “One Sunny Day” and “Stop Messin’ Around” represent Danny Kirwan and Green working in tandem, a leaner sound with sharper attack. “Without You,” “The World Keep On Turnin’,” and the haunting instrumental “Albatross” show the range of this version of the band: from deep blues lament to airy, oceanic calm.

In the context of this week’s theme, the Fleetwood Mac sequence closes the circle. The British blues revival—Green included—was built on the very records Yazoo made accessible. Without Perls and his cohort digging up rare 78s, many future musicians might never have heard Skip James, Patton, McTell, or Bo Carter at all. Hour Five becomes a kind of echo: modern players reflecting the ghosts of the past, reshaping what they learned into something new.

It’s a fitting final stretch for this week’s show—quiet, soulful, reflective, and deeply connected to the legacy of the music at the heart of the Yazoo label. As always, Hour Five acts as the soft landing after a long night, the place where BBS settles into its final mood before slipping into morning.

HOUR #5 — PLAYLIST

DON’T BE A BABY BABY — Mills Bros

LOVE WALKED IN — Sonny Stitt

I’M GLAD THERE IS YOU — Ella Fitzgerald

MISTY — Lou Donaldson

I DON’T GET MY KICKS ANYMORE — Annie Laurie

I’M IN THE MOOD FOR YOU — Annie Laurie

CRYIN’ SIGHIN’ DYIN’ — Annie Laurie

I LOVED ANOTHER WOMAN — Fleetwood Mac

BLACK MAGIC WOMAN — Fleetwood Mac

ONE SUNNY DAY — Fleetwood Mac

STOP MESSIN’ AROUND — Fleetwood Mac

WITHOUT YOU — Fleetwood Mac

THE WORLD KEEP ON TURNIN’ — Fleetwood Mac

ALBATROSS — Fleetwood Mac