Hour Two broadens the landscape—wider highways, deeper roots, and a sense of American musical sprawl. This hour feels like a long neon-lit strip with a dozen clubs, one gospel tent, and a late-night diner all coexisting side by side. We’re moving from West Coast cool to deep Southern shouts to comic relief to sacred harmony. It’s an hour built for variety, but the pieces sit together naturally, like pages of the same scrapbook.

We open with Charles Brown’s “Traveling Blues,” a perfect start: smooth, late-night, quietly confident. Brown could take a simple phrase and lean on it like someone leaning on a bar-post after midnight. His voice brings the temperature down a few degrees, but in a comforting way—like the night air finally settling in.

Roy Milton’s “Little Boy Blue” turns the lights up just a touch. Milton always had that tight, clean R&B groove, and this track keeps things gliding. Percy Mayfield’s “The Hunt Is On,” though—now that’s a pivot. Mayfield was the poet laureate of the melancholy blues. Even in an uptempo tune, he’s got that sideways smile and a brain working three steps ahead.

Ruth Brown comes roaring in with “I Can’t Hear a Word You Say.” Miss Rhythm doesn’t play. Her attack, her timing, the way she throws her weight into the lyric—it all hits with authority. Billy Wright’s “When the Wagon Comes” shifts us again: Wright’s showmanship is front-and-center, a reminder that he was an early blueprint for Little Richard.

Then Pigmeat Markham delivers “The Honeymooners,” sliding in some humor—because Markham never missed a chance to keep the listener grinning. Billy Mitchell, Bobby Mitchell, Donna Hightower, and Linda Hayes roll through in succession—each one a reminder of how rich and underexplored early R&B and vocal pop can be. “You’re the Only One for Me” by Hightower and Hayes’ “Snuff-Dippin’ Mama” stand out for personality: these are singers who walked into a studio knowing exactly who they were.

Then we shift gears into the guitar-driven “Fishtail Blues” and the storytelling charm of Dan Burley. “Brownsikin Girls” by Crippled Clarence is one of those rough edges that gives the hour grit—a stomp, a shout, a reminder that the blues never had to be polished to shine.

Casino Simpson comes in like a palate cleanser with “After You’ve Gone,” then we open the gospel doors. Ethel Waters brings weight and dignity; the Mitchell’s Christian Singers bring the old, resonant, shape-note-style harmony; Rev. M.E. Holmes and the Trumpeteers give us that thundering, shout-laden release.

By the time the hour closes, you’ve traveled the whole country without leaving your radio. It’s a panorama—varied, heartfelt, and grounded.

PLAYLIST – HOUR #2

TRAVELING BLUES – CHARLES BROWN

LITTLE BOY BLUE – ROY MILTON

THE HUNT IS ON – PERCY MAYFIELD

I CAN’T HEAR A WORD YOU SAY – RUTH BROWN

WHEN THE WAGON COMES – BILLY WRIGHT

THE HONEYMOONERS – PIGMEAT MARKHAM

SISTER LUCY – BILLY MITCHELL

WEDDING BELLS ARE RINGING – BOBBY MITCHELL

COOL DADDY COOL – DONNA HIGHTOWER

YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE FOR ME – LINDA HAYES

SNUFF-DIPPIN’ MAMA – GENE PHILLIPS

FISHTAIL BLUES – DAN BURLEY

BROWNSKIN GIRLS – CRIPPLED CLARENCE

AFTER YOU’VE GONE – CASINO SIMPSON

I GOT RHYTHM – ETHEL WATERS

THREE LITTLE WORDS – ETHEL WATERS

MY POOR MOTHER DIED A’SHOUTIN’ – MITCHELL’S CHRISTIAN SINGERS

HE’LL ANSWER PRAYER – REV. M.E. HOLMES

THE MIGHTY NUMBER – TRUMPETEERS