Hour Four of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise dives directly into the heart of Sonny Thompson’s story—his years as a house pianist, arranger, and silent architect at the King Records label in Cincinnati. Though Thompson spent most of his working life based in Chicago, his influence radiated through the King catalog of the late 1940s and 1950s. His piano lines, rich with gospel cadences and jazz phrasing, carried the swing and swagger that became King’s unmistakable studio sound.
These were the years when King Records blurred the boundaries between blues, jazz, jump, and early rhythm and blues. Thompson was in the thick of it all, sometimes billed under his own name, but more often serving as the glue behind other artists’ hits. Hour Four opens with his own two-part classic, “Long Gone (Parts I & II),” a 1948 instrumental that became a surprise crossover success. Its driving rhythm, anchored by Thompson’s piano and Eddie Chamblee’s tenor saxophone, helped usher in the era of the R&B instrumental and put King Records on the national map.
From there, we hear Sonny doing what he did best—making others shine. Wynonie Harris’ “Mr. Blues Is Coming to Town” roars with confidence, backed by Thompson’s rolling chords and sharp accents. Mabel Scott’s “Subway Blues” follows, pairing a strong vocal with Sonny’s rhythmic punctuation. These are not showy performances; they are functional brilliance, the kind of accompaniment that builds momentum without crowding the singer.
The King studio band, often built around Thompson’s piano, was a revolving cast of first-rate players. Lucky Millinder’s “Silent George” and Bullmoose Jackson’s “Nosey Joe” both showcase that tight-but-loose energy—horns shouting, rhythm locked, Sonny nudging everything forward. That same pulse runs through Hank Ballard’s “Kansas City” and Lula Reed’s “Going Back to Mexico,” where Thompson’s piano becomes the conversation between blues grit and nightclub polish.
The story of King Records is also the story of R&B’s transition toward soul, and this hour captures that beautifully. Freddy King’s “Heads Up” lets Thompson’s influence live on through the younger generation—Freddy’s phrasing and rhythmic sensibility owe much to those early King sessions. Little Milton’s “Feel So Bad” and T-Bone Walker’s cluster of tracks—“Stormy Monday,” “I Don’t Be Jivin’,” “Baby She’s a Hit,” and “Evening”—extend the lineage, moving the blues from the barroom to the ballroom without losing its heart. Thompson may not have played on all of these sides directly, but his sensibility, forged in those long Cincinnati sessions, runs through them like a watermark.
The hour closes with Bobby Bland’s “Road of Broken Hearted Men” and “Ask Me About Nothing,” two records that speak to Thompson’s lasting legacy: blues that had learned to dress sharp, speak smooth, and still carry the weight of experience. Bland’s phrasing, the horns, the measured pacing—all of it echoes the template Thompson helped shape decades earlier.
Hour Four is the centerpiece of this week’s broadcast, the moment where Steve Cushing connects the dots between session players, studio innovation, and the enduring artistry of accompaniment. Through these tracks, we hear Sonny Thompson not as a background figure, but as a quiet revolutionary—an arranger who changed the sound of postwar blues without ever needing the spotlight.
Hour 4 Playlist:
LONG GONE (Parts I & II) – Sonny Thompson
MR. BLUES IS COMING TO TOWN – Wynonie Harris
SUBWAY BLUES – Mabel Scott
SILENT GEORGE – Lucky Millinder
NOSEY JOE – Bullmoose Jackson
KANSAS CITY – Hank Ballard
GOING BACK TO MEXICO – Lula Reed
HEADS UP – Freddy King
FEEL SO BAD – Little Milton
STORMY MONDAY – T-Bone Walker
I DON’T BE JIVIN’ – T-Bone Walker
BABY SHE’S A HIT – T-Bone Walker
EVENING – T-Bone Walker
ROAD OF BROKEN HEARTED MEN – Bobby Bland
ASK ME ABOUT NOTHING – Bobby Bland