Hour Four jumps in with no warm-up and no apologies: this is the electric, urban, postwar blues engine running at full power. It’s the hour where the amplifiers hum, the riffs bite, and the vocal lines cut sharp enough to leave a mark. If Hour 3 was archival curation, Hour 4 is pure street-corner voltage.

Little Walter starts things exactly where they need to start—lean, tough, and blowing harp like the city is chasing him. Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry follow with two different strains of rock-and-roll DNA, both anchored in blues swagger. Elmore James then kicks the door open with slide guitar that leaves scorch marks. John Brim, Howlin’ Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold, and Junior Wells keep the momentum rolling, each adding another punch of Chicago attitude.

The set tightens around Otis Rush and a run of B.B. King—three consecutive BB sides that give the hour its emotional centerpiece. The combination of Rush’s sharp-edged tension and King’s towering, elegant firepower brings gravity to the middle of the hour.

From there, the playlist branches outward but never loses the electric charge. Guitar Slim injects raw, aching emotion; Willie B. Huff, Sticks McGhee, and Memphis Slim carry the groove forward with grit and personality; Jimmy McCracklin and Smokey Smothers add modern punch and sharp detail; and Lightnin’ Hopkins closes the hour with a deep, unhurried Texas drawl that feels like walking home long after midnight.

It’s one of the most kinetic hours of the entire show—amplified, urban, and unmistakably alive.

Hour 4 Playlist

• HATE TO SEE YOU GO — Little Walter
• CAN’T JUDGE A BOOK BY THE COVER — Bo Diddley
• TALKIN’ BOUT YOU — Chuck Berry
• WILD ABOUT YOU BABY — Elmore James
• GOT ME WHERE YOU WANT ME — John Brim
• YOU CAN’T BE BEAT — Howling Wolf
• I AIN’T GOT YOU — Billy Boy Arnold
• THINGS I’D DO FOR YOU — Jr. Wells
• I CAN’T QUIT YOU BABY — Otis Rush
• YOU KNOW I GO FOR YOU — B.B. King
• DONE LOST YOUR GOOD THING NOW — B.B. King
• I CAN’T QUIT YOU — B.B. King
• YOU GIVE ME NOTHING BUT THE BLUES — Guitar Slim
• I LOVE YOU BABY — Willie B. Huff
• MEET YOU IN THE MORNING — Sticks McGhee
• DON’T THINK YOU’RE SO SMART — Memphis Slim
• I WANNA MAKE LOVE TO YOU — Jimmy McCracklin
• I GOT MY EYES ON YOU — Smokey Smothers
• HAVE YOU EVER LOVED A WOMAN — Lightnin’ Hopkins