The final hour of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise brings together an appealing mixture of vocal harmony, sophisticated pop and jazz, gospel, soul, and rhythm & blues. As with much of the program, there is no single theme holding the hour together. Instead, the selections demonstrate how easily these musical worlds overlap, with gospel harmonies, blues feeling, jazz phrasing, and rhythm & blues energy all sharing the same space.

The Charioteers open the hour with “So Long,” bringing their polished vocal-group sound to the program. The Charioteers were among the important harmony groups of the prewar and immediate postwar era, and their appearance provides a natural bridge into the more sophisticated sounds that follow.

Henry Mancini’s “The Soft Touch” changes the atmosphere with an instrumental performance that reflects the growing influence of jazz and orchestral arrangements in mid-century popular music. Billy Eckstine then offers “Out in the Cold Again,” bringing his unmistakable baritone and sophisticated approach to the hour. Dinah Washington follows with “I Could Have Told You,” another reminder of why she remains one of the defining voices to emerge from the blues, jazz, and rhythm & blues tradition.

The centerpiece of the hour is an extended set by the Staple Singers. Six early Vee-Jay recordings—“This May Be the Last Time,” “I’ve Scorned,” “I’m Coming Home,” “Let Me Ride,” “Don’t Knock,” and “Don’t Drive Me Away”—provide an opportunity to hear the group during an important period in its development. These recordings come from the Staples’ early years, when their gospel foundation was already firmly established. Their tightly blended harmonies and unmistakable delivery would eventually carry them far beyond the gospel field, but these performances preserve the sound of the group at an earlier stage.

The Staples’ presence also connects this hour with one of the recurring strengths of Blues Before Sunrise: the program’s willingness to demonstrate the relationship between gospel and secular popular music rather than treating them as completely separate traditions. The same vocal intensity, rhythmic drive, and emotional directness that worked so effectively in church music would become fundamental ingredients in rhythm & blues and soul.

Rufus Thomas picks up the pace with “Tiger Man” and “Walking in the Rain.” Thomas was one of the great entertainers of the Memphis rhythm & blues tradition, capable of turning a recording into a performance that practically demands movement. His music brings a different kind of energy to the hour after the Staple Singers’ gospel-centered set.

Roscoe Gordon follows with “Do the Chicken” and “Real Pretty Mama.” Gordon’s distinctive piano style and rhythmically infectious approach make him a natural fit for the program’s closing stretch. His recordings occupy that fertile territory where blues, boogie, rhythm & blues, and early rock ’n’ roll continually overlap.

The hour—and the entire broadcast—then comes to a close with Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross,” the familiar instrumental finale. After five hours moving through blues, jazz, gospel, jump music, classic vocal groups, and rhythm & blues, the atmospheric instrumental provides a fitting change of pace before the music fades out.

It is an hour that sums up the philosophy of Blues Before Sunrise: look widely, listen closely, and make connections between recordings that might otherwise be placed in separate musical boxes. From the Charioteers to the Staple Singers, from Billy Eckstine and Dinah Washington to Rufus Thomas and Roscoe Gordon, the selections reveal just how interconnected these American musical traditions really were.

Playlist

SO LONG — CHARIOTEERS
THE SOFT TOUCH — HENRY MANCINI
OUT IN THE COLD AGAIN — BILLY ECKSTINE
I COULD HAVE TOLD YOU — DINAH WASHINGTON
YEAN BABY — BRO JACK McDUFF
THIS MAY BE THE LAST TIME — STAPLE SINGERS
I’VE SCORNED — STAPLE SINGERS
I’M COMING HOME — STAPLE SINGERS
LET ME RIDE — STAPLE SINGERS
DON’T KNOCK — STAPLE SINGERS
DON’T DRIVE ME AWAY — STAPLE SINGERS
TIGER MAN — RUFUS THOMAS
WALKING IN THE RAIN — RUFUS THOMAS
DO THE CHICKEN — ROSCOE GORDON
REAL PRETTY MAMA — ROSCOE GORDON
ALBATROSS — FLEETWOOD MAC