This week’s episode of Blues Before Sunrise takes listeners on a sweeping musical journey, anchored by a special spotlight on one of the most influential figures in 20th-century music: Chuck Berry. While Berry’s name is usually synonymous with rock and roll, host Steve Cushing makes the compelling case for his rightful place in the blues lineage. After all, Berry recorded for Chess Records—the same home that nurtured Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Little Walter—and he frequently relied on legendary blues drummers Fred Below and Odie Payne. Whether you call it blues, rhythm & blues, or rock and roll, Berry’s sound was steeped in the same traditions that shaped Chicago blues, and this episode proves just how connected those worlds truly were.

The show opens with Hour 1, spotlighting Jimmy Witherspoon, Billy Eckstine with Count Basie, and the soulful vocal stylings of Lurlean Hunter. This first stretch is heavy on blues-infused jazz, drawing a line between the postwar jazz orchestra sound and the blues sensibility that lived in its phrasing and lyrical themes. Pianist Albert Ammons contributes a rollicking original, while Morris Lane and the Four Vagabonds deliver polished swing-era touches. These selections remind listeners that blues has always had a sophisticated side, finding its way into jazz clubs and big-band ballrooms.

Hour 2 shifts gears into jump blues, R&B, and the emerging sounds of urban nightlife in the 1940s and ’50s. Bullmoose Jackson, Anisteen Allen, and Gene Phillips set the tone with sly humor, suggestive lyrics, and hard-driving rhythms. Smiley Lewis and Professor Longhair bring New Orleans flair, while Sonny Thompson and Albina Jones embody the Cincinnati and New York R&B spirit. Gospel also enters the frame with Wings Over Jordan and the Swan Silvertones, providing spiritual counterbalance to the more raucous sides. It’s a reminder that gospel and blues were parallel rivers feeding the same cultural ocean.

Hour 3 takes listeners deep into the prewar period with haunting, timeless field recordings and classic 78s. Willie Brown, Kid Bailey, and Robert Wilkins bring Delta gravity, while Blind Boy Fuller and Buddy Moss showcase the Piedmont sound. Victoria Spivey and Eva Taylor deliver theatrical blues full of personality and grit, and Big Bill Broonzy closes the set with his signature drive. This hour underscores the deep roots of the blues and the artistry of singers who carried its traditions forward even before the electrification of the postwar years.

Hour 4 is where the spotlight turns squarely on Chuck Berry. Starting with “Maybellene” and rolling through “Wee Wee Hours,” “No Money Down,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Johnny B. Goode,” and more, the set captures the burst of creativity Berry displayed in his first three years of recording. These are not the obscure or rare tracks meant for collectors; instead, they are the anthems that many listeners first encountered before they ever discovered Muddy Waters or B.B. King. As Steve notes, these songs were often the gateway into the blues—infectious, witty, rebellious, and musically irresistible. In revisiting them, the program underscores Berry’s role not just as a rock and roll pioneer, but as a cultural bridge between blues tradition and the teenage revolution.

Hour 5 closes the evening with a rich and eclectic mix. Jazz standards from the Delta Rhythm Boys, Lester Young, and Sarah Vaughan rub shoulders with the gospel-soul stylings of Savannah Churchill and the deep Chicago blues of Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, and Little Walter. Even Fleetwood Mac makes an appearance with “Albatross,” showing how the blues legacy extended overseas and across generations. This hour plays like a final survey course in how wide the blues river runs, connecting jazz, gospel, R&B, and rock.

By the end of the broadcast, listeners are left with a fuller appreciation of how the blues, in all its forms, is both foundation and through-line for American popular music. And with Chuck Berry at the center, Blues Before Sunrise proves that sometimes the most familiar songs deserve another listen—not as nostalgic hits, but as vital chapters in the story of the blues.