Hour 2 of Blues Before Sunrise gathers blues, r&b, and gospel into a sequence that moves from Percy Mayfield’s focused opening through a concluding run of spiritual material. The hour is especially effective in the way it gives several artists more than a single selection, allowing listeners to stay with a performer’s voice before the program shifts to another part of its musical range.

Percy Mayfield opens with “Nightless Lover,” “Hopeless,” and “Wasted Dream.” The three-title sequence establishes Mayfield as the hour’s first anchor and makes the opening feel deliberate rather than hurried. Ray Charles follows with “Just for a Thrill,” “Black Jack,” and “You Win Again,” creating another compact artist focus. Placing these two multi-song sections back to back gives the first part of the hour a strong vocal identity while also creating a clear handoff from one major performer to another.

Etta James’s “Fool That I Am” arrives after the Ray Charles selections, changing the voice while retaining the hour’s attention to singers. Wynona Carr then follows with “Act Right” and “I Wanna Be Around.” Her two selections provide another concise spotlight, and their placement after Etta James helps the hour sustain its momentum without depending on a single performer or style.

“Pitchin’ Pennies” by Freddie Mitchell marks an important transition within the hour. Blythe & Clark’s “Bow to Your Papa” follows, then Ida Cox enters for a four-song sequence: “Graveyard Dream,” “I Love My Man Better Than…,” “Bear Mash Blues,” and “He’s Sweet I Know.” The Cox set is one of the hour’s most substantial features. Its four consecutive titles give the program space to settle into her work before moving toward the final gospel-oriented section.

The shift to the Four Great Wonders begins with “Blind Man by the Wayside.” Rev. J. M. Gates follows with “I Got a Mother Done Gone,” then the Swan Silvertones appear with “Just Over the Hill.” Sallie Martin’s “He’s Sweet I Know” closes the hour. These selections do more than merely add a change of genre at the end; they reshape the program’s atmosphere, bringing gospel voices into direct relation with the blues and r&b material heard earlier.

That closing sequence is carefully placed. Ida Cox’s “He’s Sweet I Know” is followed later by Sallie Martin’s “He’s Sweet I Know,” creating an especially notable recurrence of the same title across different artists within the hour. The program does not need to make claims about the relationship between the recordings for the repetition to register. Heard in sequence, the repeated title becomes part of the hour’s structure and gives listeners a point of continuity as the programming crosses into its final stretch.

The hour’s movement is therefore not simply from one list of performers to another. Mayfield and Ray Charles establish a substantial opening, Etta James and Wynona Carr continue the vocal thread, Freddie Mitchell and Blythe & Clark add contrast, Ida Cox receives a sustained central set, and the gospel material brings the hour to a distinctive conclusion. It is a rich example of the show’s broader approach: make room for recognizable names, provide context through placement, and allow contrasting musical traditions to share the same listening space.

Hour 2 Playlist

Nightless Lover — Percy Mayfield

Hopeless — Percy Mayfield

Wasted Dream — Percy Mayfield

Just for a Thrill — Ray Charles

Black Jack — Ray Charles

You Win Again — Ray Charles

Fool That I Am — Etta James

Act Right — Wynona Carr

I Wanna Be Around — Wynona Carr

Pitchin’ Pennies — Freddie Mitchell

Bow to Your Papa — Blythe & Clark

Graveyard Dream — Ida Cox

I Love My Man Better Than… — Ida Cox

Bear Mash Blues — Ida Cox

He’s Sweet I Know — Ida Cox

Blind Man by the Wayside — Four Great Wonders

I Got a Mother Done Gone — Rev. J. M. Gates

Just Over the Hill — Swan Silvertones

He’s Sweet I Know — Sallie Martin