Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat

Series produced by Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri

Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Image by: Public Domain 
Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat 

Matt The Cat presents the soul that came before rock n' roll: 1950s rhythm and blues. Each week, this underrated and rollicking music plays on that old Rockola Jukebox in the back.

If you wanted to hear rhythm & blues during the 1950s, you couldn't get it from the juke box in the front. No, no! In order to hear that glorious, down and dirty R&B, you had to go to the low-lit, spit-shined "Juke In The Back." These songs are the building blocks of rock n' roll. These are the records that inspired Elvis and single-handedly led to the rock n' roll explosion of the mid-1950s. Big Joe Turner, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Wynonie Harris, LaVern Baker, Roy Brown, Joe Liggins, Professor Longhair and many more take center stage on The Juke In The Back. Matt The Cat hosted a similar program on XM Satellite Radio called "Harlem" and now he brings this great music and information to PRX.


698 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The entire "Juke In The Back" is loaded with the greatest R&B Christmas records from the late 1940s and 1950s. It's the yuletide soul that came be...

Bought by KSLU, High Plains Public Radio, KHNS, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WHRV and more


  • Added: Dec 07, 2010
  • Length: 59:59
  • Purchases: 30
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Matt The Cat has dug up some more R&B Christmas treasures and added a few tunes about New Years for this week’s continuation of the “Juke In The Ba...

Bought by WVAS, KPIP-LP, KMXT, KPVL, WRNC-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 15, 2010
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The juke is jumpin' with records focusing on classic R&B songs about cars. Musicologists Billy Vera and Steve Propes drop by the "Juke In The Back"...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Dec 26, 2010
  • Length: 58:16
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Drop a nickel in the ol' Rockola Juke for an hour of pre-rock rhythm & blues. This week, we feature the very first recordings made by Jackie Wilson...

Bought by KPVL, 90.5 WSNC, and WCPN


  • Added: Jan 02, 2011
  • Length: 59:11
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Drop a nickel in the ol' Rockola Juke to hear one of the best selling and most influential bluesmen and guitarists of all-time, T-Bone Walker. This...

Bought by KPVL, 90.5 WSNC, and WCPN


  • Added: Jan 10, 2011
  • Length: 59:34
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the "Juke In The Back" is full of old records from one of the greatest record labels of all-time, Specialty Records. Art Rupe started t...

Bought by KSRQ and 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Jan 16, 2011
  • Length: 59:13
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the "Juke In The Back" is jumpin' with records all hailing from the Specialty Label out of LA on part 2 of The Specialty Records Story. ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Jan 23, 2011
  • Length: 59:05
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This is the third and final part of "Juke In The Back"'s tribute to Specialty Records. This week, host Matt The Cat looks at Specialty's hit-makin...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Jan 30, 2011
  • Length: 58:56
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" is loaded this week with records by one of R&B's greatest and most underrated bandleaders, Lucky Millinder. He worked with ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Feb 06, 2011
  • Length: 59:04
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the "Juke In The Back" honors one of the greatest blues shouters of all-time, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. Matt The Cat covers Vinson's ea...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Feb 13, 2011
  • Length: 58:57
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the "Juke In The Back" features a rhythm & blues vocal group from Winston-Salem, NC that not only influenced James Brown, but quite poss...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Feb 20, 2011
  • Length: 59:03
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Matt The Cat presents another highly underrated vocal group from the 1950s: The Du-Droppers as part of a full hour of 1940s and '50s rhythm & blues...

Bought by KPVL, 90.5 WSNC, and KPVL


  • Added: Feb 26, 2011
  • Length: 59:17
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The entire "Juke In The Back" focuses on a tiny Chicago R&B record label with a big sound; Parrot Records. The label was started by Chicago DJ Al ...

Bought by KPVL, 90.5 WSNC, and KPVL


  • Added: Mar 06, 2011
  • Length: 59:14
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week's "Juke In The Back" digs deep into a group that is usually only remembered for one, incredibly influential tune, "Sh-Boom." The Chords ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Mar 13, 2011
  • Length: 59:05
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the jukebox is in the spotlight as Matt The Cat takes you back 60 years and highlights the top jukebox hits of the first half of 1951. ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WCPN, and KPVL


  • Added: Mar 21, 2011
  • Length: 59:16
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the jukebox is in the spotlight as Matt The Cat takes you back 60 years and highlights the top jukebox hits of the second half of 1951. ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WCPN, and KPVL


  • Added: Mar 27, 2011
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" is overflowin' with records by one of R&B's greatest blues shouters and entertainers: Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris. Part 1 of...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Apr 03, 2011
  • Length: 59:31
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
It's part 2 of our 2 part series on Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris, one of the greatest blues shouters of all time. Matt The Cat focuses on Harris' hi...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Apr 10, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, The "Juke In The Back" features the songs of one of R&B's greatest songwriters: Rudy Toombs. This underrated cat wrote some of the most...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Apr 17, 2011
  • Length: 59:12
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, "The Juke In The Back" looks at how one of R&B's greatest voices, Lavern Baker, got her start. Matt The Cat collects ALL of Baker's earl...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WCPN, and KPVL


  • Added: Apr 23, 2011
  • Length: 59:20
  • Purchases: 3