This week on Blues Before Sunrise, Steve Cushing presents another fascinating journey into the rich history of American music, combining themed programming with rare recordings and historical discoveries. From the legendary streets of Harlem to a remarkable snapshot of blues in 1941, and finally a complete career retrospective of one of Chicago’s overlooked bluesmen, this week’s broadcast offers listeners five hours of carefully curated performances that celebrate the artists who shaped blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel.

The program opens with a two-hour musical visit to Harlem, one of the most influential cultural centers in American history. During the first half of the twentieth century, Harlem became the heartbeat of Black artistic expression, giving rise to the Harlem Renaissance while serving as home to countless musicians, writers, performers, and innovators. Throughout Hours One and Two, listeners will hear an extraordinary collection of recordings inspired by the neighborhood itself. Artists including Cab Calloway, Hot Lips Page, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Slim Gaillard, Tiny Grimes, Ethel Waters, James P. Johnson, Johnny Otis, Harlem Hamfats, Fats Waller, and many others celebrate Harlem through songs that capture its excitement, nightlife, neighborhoods, and lasting cultural significance. Some recordings are playful, others nostalgic, but together they paint a vivid musical portrait of one of America’s most important communities.

Hour Three shifts from geography to history with a spotlight on blues recordings made during 1941. That remarkable year produced many songs that would become cornerstones of postwar blues while documenting artists working at the height of the prewar era. The playlist features legendary performers including Muddy Waters, Son House, Big Bill Broonzy, Lonnie Johnson, Roosevelt Sykes, Memphis Minnie, Sonny Boy Williamson I, Robert Petway, Buddy Moss, Walter Davis, Curtis Jones, Dr. Clayton, Tony Hollins, Johnny Temple, and Big Boy Crudup. These recordings capture the blues during a pivotal moment, just before World War II dramatically changed the American recording industry. The result is an unforgettable hour that showcases both familiar classics and lesser-known treasures from one of the music’s most important years.

Hour Four presents one of the program’s most ambitious artist spotlights with the complete recorded output of Chicago blues guitarist and singer L.C. McKinley. Although McKinley never achieved the widespread recognition of many of his contemporaries, his recordings remain prized by collectors and blues historians. Drawing from sessions recorded for Parrot, States, and Vee-Jay Records, Steve Cushing presents nearly every commercial recording McKinley released. Songs including “Pain in My Heart,” “Rosalie Blues,” “Companion Blues,” “Weeping Willow Blues,” “Mind Your Business,” “Sharpest Man in Town,” and many others reveal a talented performer whose work deserves renewed appreciation. It is exactly the kind of in-depth artist profile that has long distinguished Blues Before Sunrise from other blues programs.

The final hour provides a relaxed musical conclusion, blending jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues into one final showcase of outstanding performances. Jazz greats Gene Ammons, the Montgomery Brothers, Johnny Hartman, Lurlean Hunter, and Jimmy Smith provide sophisticated opening selections before the program returns to classic electric blues. Earl Hooker, Jimmy Reed, Junior Parker, Willie Mabon, Jimmy Anderson, LaVelle White, Lillian Offitt, and Andre Williams all make memorable appearances, demonstrating once again the remarkable variety that defines the Blues Before Sunrise listening experience. As always, Fleetwood Mac closes the broadcast with the instrumental classic “Albatross.”

From the legendary streets of Harlem to the defining blues recordings of 1941 and the complete works of L.C. McKinley, this week’s Blues Before Sunrise is both an entertaining listening experience and a celebration of America’s musical heritage. Steve Cushing once again combines historical research, rare recordings, and exceptional programming to preserve and promote the artists whose music continues to inspire generations of listeners.