Hour 5 gathers the program’s most wide-ranging late-night sequence, beginning with vocal groups and jazz singers before moving steadily toward blues, R&B, and a closing instrumental selection. The hour does not treat those sounds as separate worlds. Instead, the playlist allows The Ravens, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Jimmy Smith, and Billie Holiday to establish a refined opening atmosphere, then places that material beside a long run of blues performers whose records carry the show through its final stretch.

The Ravens open with “Searching for Love,” immediately setting a vocal-centered tone. Duke Ellington’s “Haupe” follows, and Billy Eckstine’s “Somehow” continues the hour’s early focus on distinctive voices and jazz-associated names. Sarah Vaughan enters with “You’re Not the Kind,” adding another major vocal presence before Jimmy Smith’s “Oh No Babe” changes the sequence again. The programming does not linger on one approach for too long; each selection opens a new direction while maintaining an unhurried sense of progression.

Billie Holiday receives a two-record segment with “The Same Old Story” and “Tell Me More & More & Then Some.” Their placement gives the hour a clear center before the playlist begins to turn toward blues guitar and more direct rhythm-and-blues material. T-Bone Walker’s “I’m Waitin’ for Your Call” occupies that transition point, followed by Lightnin’ Hopkins with “That Mean Old Twister.” Rather than presenting an abrupt division between jazz and blues, the sequence uses these records to make the change feel like part of the same long listening session.

Thunder & Lightning’s “Can’t Do Like I Used to Do” keeps the blues run moving, and Lester Williams follows with “I Can’t Lose with the Stuff.” Jimmy Wilson’s “Blues at Sundown” is especially well placed in an hour built for the program’s final nighttime mood. Jesse Belvin’s “Hang Your Tears Out to Dry” continues the emotional and vocal thread already established by the earlier singers, while Poison Gardner’s “Double Crossin’ Woman” returns the playlist to a sharper blues-and-R&B edge.

The closing section is packed with compact, contrasting selections. TV Slim’s “Flat Foot Sam Meets Jim Dandy” arrives before Johnny Fuller’s “Low Down Blues” and “Cruel Cruel World,” giving Fuller a two-song spotlight late in the hour. The hour ends with Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross,” a final change of pace that closes the program without repeating the vocal focus of its opening. It is a broad final hour, but the sequencing keeps it coherent: a movement from vocal jazz and ballad material into blues records, then toward a distinctive instrumental conclusion.

Hour 5 Playlist

Searching for Love — Ravens

Haupe — Duke Ellington

Somehow — Billy Eckstine

You’re Not the Kind — Sarah Vaughan

Oh No Babe — Jimmy Smith

The Same Old Story — Billie Holiday

Tell Me More & More & Then Some — Billie Holiday

I’m Waitin’ for Your Call — T-Bone Walker

That Mean Old Twister — Lightnin’ Hopkins

Can’t Do Like I Used to Do — Thunder & Lightning

I Can’t Lose with the Stuff — Lester Williams

Blues at Sundown — Jimmy Wilson

Hang Your Tears Out to Dry — Jesse Belvin

Double Crossin’ Woman — Poison Gardner

Flat Foot Sam Meets Jim Dandy — TV Slim

Low Down Blues — Johnny Fuller

Cruel Cruel World — Johnny Fuller

Albatross — Fleetwood Mac