This week’s Blues Before Sunrise delivers another wide-ranging journey through the first fifty years of recorded Black music, highlighted by two unique features that showcase both the evolution of rhythm and blues and the remarkable productivity of the recording industry during the late 1930s.

Hour Two focuses on pianist, bandleader, and composer Sonny Thompson, one of the most influential yet often overlooked figures in postwar rhythm and blues. Thompson’s work for the Miracle label helped define the sophisticated instrumental sound that bridged swing, blues, and early rhythm and blues. His recordings combined strong melodies, polished arrangements, and memorable piano work, laying the groundwork for many artists who followed. Listeners will hear a generous sampling of Miracle-era recordings, including boogies, blues, ballads, and instrumentals that demonstrate Thompson’s versatility and lasting importance.

Hour Three shifts gears and travels back to May 1938, examining a remarkable series of recording sessions conducted by Decca Records in New York and Vocalion Records in Chicago. Over the course of a single month, both companies captured performances by an extraordinary collection of blues artists. The hour samples recordings from sixteen different performers, providing a snapshot of the blues landscape at a fascinating moment in history. Featured artists include Kokomo Arnold, Big Bill Broonzy, Cow Cow Davenport, Curtis Jones, Bumble Bee Slim, Monkey Joe Coleman, Black Bottom McPhail, and several others whose recordings continue to reward modern listeners. Together, these sessions reveal the incredible diversity of blues styles being documented during the late Depression era.

Hour One opens the program with an enjoyable mix of vocal jazz, swing, and popular music. Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine, Ernestine Anderson, the Ink Spots, the Charioteers, and Nicholas Brothers all contribute memorable performances that establish a smooth and sophisticated mood. The hour demonstrates how jazz, blues, and popular music frequently intersected during the middle decades of the twentieth century.

Hour Four returns to the blues, featuring an outstanding lineup that includes Pee Wee Crayton, T-Bone Walker, Big Mama Thornton, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, J.B. Lenoir, Koko Taylor, Willie Dixon, and many others. These recordings highlight the continued evolution of electric blues during the 1950s and early 1960s, particularly the influence of Chicago and Texas musicians who helped shape modern blues.

The program concludes in Hour Five with an after-hours blend of jazz, vocal harmony, and blues. The Delta Rhythm Boys, Tab Smith, Ivie Anderson, Herb Jeffries, Jimmy Smith, George Harmonica Smith, Bo Diddley, Jody Williams, Johnny Shines, Champion Jack Dupree, and others provide a perfect late-night soundtrack before Fleetwood Mac’s traditional closing theme, “Albatross.”

From Sonny Thompson’s Miracle recordings to the historic blues sessions of May 1938, this week’s Blues Before Sunrise offers another rich exploration of the artists, recordings, and stories that continue to define America’s musical heritage.