Hour Five of Blues Before Sunrise doesn’t feel like an ending so much as a reckoning. After hours spent tracing the blues from pre-war acoustics through electric Chicago fire, the final hour gathers the music’s aftermath — what survived, what evolved, and what still refuses to let go. This is the blues living after midnight, worn down but unbroken, worldly and wiser, carrying scars instead of nostalgia.
The hour opens with Mari Jones’ “Say It Isn’t So,” a song steeped in classic blues melancholy. Her delivery is restrained yet devastating, the kind of performance that trusts silence as much as sound. It sets the emotional tone immediately: this is not about spectacle, but truth. Shirley Scott’s “Hip Twist” follows, bringing a smoky organ groove that bridges blues and soul-jazz. It’s loose, late-night music, the sound of a band locked into a groove not for charts or radio but for the room they’re in.
Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” is a reminder of how powerful understatement can be. His harmonica doesn’t shout — it speaks. The song carries authority without aggression, humor without novelty, embodying the wisdom of someone who’s seen the cycle repeat too many times to get worked up about it. Lightnin’ Hopkins continues the conversation with “Get Off My Toe,” sharp, conversational, and sly. Hopkins always sounded like he was talking directly to the listener, and here he’s doing exactly that — half warning, half grin.
Andre Williams’ “Pass the Biscuits” injects the hour with raw, street-level energy. It’s playful, slightly dangerous, and unapologetically physical, showing how blues humor aged into something funkier and more confrontational. Rhythm Willie’s “Wailin’ Willie” follows, grounding that energy in instrumental expression, letting the harmonica do the shouting words no longer need to.
“Applejack Boogie” by Pinetop Slim is pure propulsion — piano-driven, kinetic, and joyful. It nods back to barrelhouse traditions while pointing toward the dancefloor, reminding listeners that the blues has always been as much about movement as mourning. That momentum darkens with Lightnin’ Slim’s “Hoodoo Blues,” a swampy, hypnotic track that leans into mysticism and menace. Here, the blues feels ritualistic, like something summoned rather than performed.
Charles Sheffield’s “It’s Your Voodoo Working” keeps that spell alive, blending superstition, love, and paranoia into a slow-burning lament. Then R.L. Burnside’s “It’s Bad You Know” strips everything back to groove and repetition. Burnside’s blues is relentless, almost trance-like, rooted in North Mississippi traditions but delivered with a modern bluntness that feels timeless and immediate.
Abb Locke’s “Cleo’s Back” adds a soulful pivot, while Eddie C. Campbell’s “It’s So Easy” brings urban grit back into focus. Jimmy Wilson’s “Mountain Climber” speaks to persistence and survival, themes that have followed the blues since its earliest days. Earl Gaines’ “Mercy on My Soul” pleads without apology, carrying gospel undertones that hint at redemption without guaranteeing it.
Bobby Bland’s “I Wake Up Screaming” is the emotional centerpiece of the hour. Few singers could balance elegance and agony the way Bland did, and this performance aches with controlled desperation. It’s the sound of heartbreak refined into art.
The hour — and the entire broadcast — closes with Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross.” Instrumental, spacious, and meditative, it feels like a long gaze over open water. Rooted in blues but unbound by it, the track serves as a quiet benediction. No lyrics, no sermon — just reflection. After everything that’s been said over five hours, silence and space feel earned.
Hour Five doesn’t resolve the blues. It lets it linger. And that, perhaps, is the most honest ending of all.
Hour 5 Playlist
- Say It Isn’t So – Mari Jones
- Hip Twist – Shirley Scott
- Don’t Start Me to Talkin’ – Sonny Boy Williamson II
- Get Off My Toe – Lightnin’ Hopkins
- Pass the Biscuits – Andre Williams
- Wailin’ Willie – Rhythm Willie
- Applejack Boogie – Pinetop Slim
- Hoodoo Blues – Lightnin’ Slim
- It’s Your Voodoo Working – Charles Sheffield
- It’s Bad You Know – R.L. Burnside
- Cleo’s Back – Abb Locke
- It’s So Easy – Eddie C. Campbell
- Mountain Climber – Jimmy Wilson
- Mercy on My Soul – Earl Gaines
- I Wake Up Screaming – Bobby Bland
- Albatross – Fleetwood Mac