Hour Three serves as the centerpiece of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise, offering listeners a concise but powerful introduction to the musicians who shaped the sound of the Mississippi Delta before World War II. Rather than focusing on one artist or one recording session, Steve Cushing presents a “Who’s Who in the Delta,” featuring one essential recording from more than a dozen of the region’s most influential blues pioneers. Together, these performances illustrate the remarkable diversity that existed within what is often simply called Delta blues.
The survey begins with Charley Patton’s “Banty Rooster Blues.” Often regarded as the father of Delta blues, Patton combined powerful vocals, percussive guitar playing, and dramatic stage presence into a style that influenced virtually every Delta musician who followed. His recordings remain among the earliest and most important documents of the genre.
Son House follows with the unforgettable “Walking Blues,” a recording whose emotional intensity and driving slide guitar became a blueprint for generations of blues artists. Willie Brown continues with “Future Blues,” demonstrating the subtle guitar work and deeply expressive vocals that made him one of the Delta’s most respected yet often overlooked performers.
Kid Bailey’s “Rowdy Blues” and Rube Lacey’s “Mississippi Jailhouse Blues” offer rare glimpses into two elusive artists whose limited recorded output has become highly prized by blues historians and collectors. Garfield Akers contributes the energetic “Jumping and Shouting Blues,” showcasing the rhythmic vitality that helped distinguish Delta music from other regional styles.
Tommy Johnson’s classic “Canned Heat” remains one of the defining recordings of prewar blues, famous for both its haunting melody and the legends that grew around Johnson’s remarkable guitar playing. Ishman Bracey’s “Women Women Blues” and Robert Wilkins’ “That’s No Way to Get Along” demonstrate two very different approaches to Delta performance, with Wilkins revealing the sophisticated songwriting that would later influence both blues and gospel musicians.
The haunting voice of Skip James appears with “Hard Time Killing Floor,” one of the most emotionally powerful blues recordings ever made. James’ distinctive guitar tuning, falsetto vocals, and deeply personal lyrics continue to captivate listeners nearly a century after the recording was made.
William Harris contributes the energetic “Bullfrog Blues,” while the mysterious King Solomon Hill appears with the rare “Tell Me Baby,” a performance whose unique slide guitar style has fascinated blues scholars for decades.
No survey of Delta blues would be complete without Robert Johnson. His iconic “Stop Breaking Down” reminds listeners why Johnson’s small body of recordings continues to cast such a long shadow over blues, rock, and popular music. The hour concludes with Crying Sam Collins and “Yellow Dog Blues,” bringing this remarkable overview of Mississippi’s blues pioneers to a fitting close.
Although each artist is represented by only a single recording, together they tell the story of a musical tradition that became the foundation of modern blues. These musicians transformed everyday hardship, faith, humor, love, and survival into songs of extraordinary power and influence. Hour Three stands as both an introduction for newcomers and a welcome refresher for longtime blues fans, celebrating the extraordinary legacy of the Mississippi Delta and the artists who gave the blues its enduring voice.
Playlist – Hour Three
Banty Rooster Blues – Charley Patton
Walking Blues – Son House
Future Blues – Willie Brown
Rowdy Blues – Kid Bailey
Mississippi Jailhouse Blues – Rube Lacey
Jumping and Shouting Blues – Garfield Akers
Canned Heat – Tommy Johnson
Women Women Blues – Ishman Bracey
That’s No Way to Get Along – Robert Wilkins
Hard Time Killing Floor – Skip James
Bullfrog Blues – William Harris
Tell Me Baby – King Solomon Hill
Stop Breaking Down – Robert Johnson
Yellow Dog Blues – Crying Sam Collins