Welcome to Blues Before Sunrise, and thanks for sticking with us into Hour 4 — a deep stretch of the show where things get a little grittier, a little darker, and a whole lot deeper. This hour is steeped in postwar blues — a collection of voices that echo from backroom bars, rural shacks, and city street corners. These are stories of trouble, temptation, heartbreak, and survival, delivered by piano pounders, guitar pickers, and powerhouse vocalists who knew life’s rough edges firsthand.

We open with Ray Sharpe’s “Oh My Baby’s Gone,” a lonesome Texas rocker that hits like a heartbreak you didn’t see coming. Ray’s blend of blues and rockabilly set him apart in the late ‘50s, and this track sets the emotional tone for the hour — lean, mean, and full of sting.

Then we dive headlong into a heavy helping of Sunnyland Slim, the towering figure of Chicago piano blues. Across four cuts — “Mud Kickin’ Woman,” “Everytime I Get to Drinkin’,” “Hit the Road Again,” and “Gin Drinkin’ Woman” — Sunnyland’s thunderous left hand and gravel-road vocals pull you straight into the taverns and tenements where real blues lived. Each track is its own tale of tough women, strong liquor, and trying to outrun bad luck.

Robert Jr. Lockwood follows with two introspective pieces — “Glory for Man” and “My Daily Wish.” Lockwood’s guitar playing is refined, cool, and deliberate — the mark of a man who played with Robert Johnson but carved out his own unique voice in the electric blues world.

From there, we take a ride with Big Bill Broonzy on “Southbound Train,” a song that embodies movement and escape. Broonzy’s blend of folk blues and urban storytelling makes this track feel timeless — like hopping a freight to somewhere you’ve never been, but already understand.

Memphis Slim keeps the piano rolling with “Driving Me Mad,” a track that straddles the line between boogie and breakdown. And we mark time with Luther Stoneham’s haunting “Jan 11, 1949” — a rare and shadowy entry in blues history, as stark as the date stamped in its title.

Texas comes back into focus with Smokey Hogg’s “Dirty Mistreater,” a hypnotic shuffle from a man whose blues came loose and low-down. Elmo Nixon’s “Cave Man Blues” is just as raw as the title suggests — a primal stomp that doesn’t apologize. Then L.C. Williams digs in with “I Don’t Want No Woman,” serving up defiance with a tight band behind him.

Jimmy Wilson’s “Tin Pan Alley” brings a moment of cool melancholy — smooth West Coast blues with a sharp lyrical edge. And then we hear from one of the most commanding voices in blues history: Big Mama Thornton. Her two cuts — “Partnership Woman” and “Before Day” — are pure thunder. Big Mama never sang a line she didn’t mean, and she brings the fire and the truth in equal measure.

As the hour winds down, Mercy Dee Walton’s “The Drifter” rolls through — a tale of a man always moving, always watching, never settling. Finally, we close with Sidney Maiden’s “Hand Me Down Baby,” a down-home harmonica workout that takes us out on a note of defiant sorrow.

This hour is a master class in the blues: tough, lived-in, and never sentimental. These artists didn’t play for fame — they played because the blues was the only thing real.

So lean back, listen close, and let the midnight hour carry you. This is Hour 4 of Blues Before Sunrise.