The first hour of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise establishes a lively, jazz-centered opening through a succession of performers whose […]
Rhythm, Blues, and a Gospel Close
Hour 2 begins with a run of artists whose selections place blues beside rhythm and blues, then gradually turns toward […]
Blues at Chicago’s Furniture Mart
The third hour is this week’s special presentation: an encore of Blues at Chicago’s Furniture Mart. The theme turns on […]
Blues Names on the Move
Hour 4 brings Blues Before Sunrise back to a direct blues concentration after the Furniture Mart feature, but the hour […]
After-Hours Blues, Prayer, and a Final Albatross
The fifth hour gives Blues Before Sunrise a late-night shape without settling into one lane. Its opening sequence brings together […]
Three Cities, Three Voices, One Long Night
The first hour of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise has no declared special theme, but it develops a clear personality […]
Rainy Mornings and Sunday Voices
Ruth Brown’s “I Would If I Could” starts Hour 2 with a direct vocal entrance, followed by Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson’s […]
Back Roads, Barrooms, and Piano Blues
Hour 3 takes the program into a broad pre-war field without reducing that music to a single sound. Calvin Frazier […]
Wolf at the Door, Bland at the Close
Howlin’ Wolf sets the terms for Hour 4 with a three-song opening sequence: “Smokestack Lightning,” “Who’s Been Talking,” and “Evil.” […]
Moonlight, Water, and Guitar Lines
The final hour of this week’s Blues Before Sunrise begins in a different register from the blues-heavy close that follows […]