The third hour of Blues Before Sunrise offers one of the week’s deepest excursions into pre-war blues, moving through an unusually wide set of performers while preserving a strong sense of sequence. Big Joe Williams, Bukka White, Blind Willie Johnson, Texas Alexander, Oscar Woods, Evelyn Preer, Juanita Stinnette Chappelle, Louise Anderson, Trixie Smith, Bumble Bee Slim, Walter Davis, and Sunnyland Slim appear across the hour. The result is a rich survey of names and recordings that does not depend on a single star or a single mode of performance.
Big Joe Williams opens with “Baby Please Don’t Go,” followed by Bukka White’s “Shake It Down.” The program then moves to Blind Willie Johnson’s “Treat a Stranger Right” and Texas Alexander’s “Blue Devil Blues.” These first four selections immediately establish the hour’s broad reach. Each artist is distinct, and the order makes room for that distinction without attempting to force the recordings into a narrow narrative. The hour’s early movement is direct and purposeful: one major voice leads to another, creating a chain of contrast.
Oscar Woods receives a two-recording sequence with “Muscat Hall” and “Low Life Blues.” This is followed by Evelyn Preer’s “Birth of the Blues” and Juanita Stinnette Chappelle’s “Pacific Coast Blues.” The placement of Preer and Chappelle after Woods changes the hour’s vocal perspective while retaining its focus on pre-war material. Louise Anderson’s “Papa You’re Too Slow” and Trixie Smith’s “Take It Daddy It’s All Yours” continue that section, with Smith appearing again for “Ride Daddy Ride.” The paired Smith selections give this part of the hour a focused center.
“New Orleans Stop Time” by Bumble Bee Slim begins another extended artist sequence. “This Old Life I’m Living” and “Ramblin’ with That Woman” follow, allowing three consecutive Bumble Bee Slim recordings to develop a more sustained presence than the shorter early sets. This is an important structural turn. After the hour’s rapid early exchange of artists, the program settles briefly with one performer and lets the titles accumulate as a set.
Walter Davis receives the next concentrated run: “Come Back Baby,” “Cotton Farm Blues,” and “Call Our Name.” As with Bumble Bee Slim, the multiple selections make Davis a principal presence in the latter part of the hour. The programming creates a simple but effective progression from a wide pre-war gathering to more concentrated attention on individual artists. It gives the listener both the surprise of variety and the depth that comes from remaining with a voice across several recordings.
Sunnyland Slim’s “Illinois Central” closes the hour. After the multiple-recording stretches for Bumble Bee Slim and Walter Davis, this final selection works as a concise concluding statement rather than another major turn. It provides a final artist name and title after a sequence that has ranged across numerous performers, women vocalists, and recurring blues figures.
The hour is notable for the way it organizes abundance. There are no unnecessary detours from the supplied playlist, and the sequence does not require invented historical framing to hold together. The relationships are in the programming itself: one artist beside another, short visits balanced against three-song runs, and changing vocal perspectives across the hour. By moving from Big Joe Williams and Bukka White to Preer, Chappelle, Anderson, Smith, Bumble Bee Slim, Walter Davis, and Sunnyland Slim, Blues Before Sunrise presents pre-war blues as a field of many voices rather than a fixed set of familiar names.
Hour 3 Playlist
Baby Please Don’t Go (47) — Big Joe Williams
Shake It Down — Bukka White
Treat a Stranger Right — Blind Willie Johnson
Blue Devil Blues — Texas Alexander
Muscat Hall — Oscar Woods
Low Life Blues — Oscar Woods
Birth of the Blues — Evelyn Preer
Pacific Coast Blues — Juanita Stinnette Chappelle
Papa You’re Too Slow — Louise Anderson
Take It Daddy It’s All Yours — Trixie Smith
Ride Daddy Ride — Trixie Smith
New Orleans Stop Time — Bumble Bee Slim
This Old Life I’m Living — Bumble Bee Slim
Ramblin’ with That Woman — Bumble Bee Slim
Come Back Baby — Walter Davis
Cotton Farm Blues — Walter Davis
Call Our Name — Walter Davis
Illinois Central — Sunnyland Slim