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: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, we take a look at two of the most famous "characters" from 1940s and '50s R&B: Deacon Jones and Fanny Brown. Sometimes these two were re...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: May 03, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" is jumpin' this week as we take a look at the history and influence of the Champion Jack Dupree classic, "Junker's Blues." W...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: May 10, 2011
  • Length: 59:30
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Matt The Cat focuses on one of the most influential and important West Coast Doo Wop groups: The Flairs.

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: May 15, 2011
  • Length: 59:26
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" honors one of the greatest, yet more underrated originators of electric blues guitar: Pee Wee Crayton. Matt The Cat present...

Bought by KSRQ, 90.5 WSNC, KSRQ, 90.5 WSNC, and KPVL


  • Added: May 22, 2011
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" takes a look at one of New York's greatest, but almost unheard of R&B vocal groups: The Diamonds. Matt The Cat also feature...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: May 29, 2011
  • Length: 58:54
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" is loaded with records by the 1950s R&B vocal group, The Crickets. They only recorded from late 1952 to 1954, but man did t...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Jun 05, 2011
  • Length: 59:32
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, the "Juke In The Back" is loaded with nothing but the great recordings of Big Joe Turner, the "Boss Of The Blues." The show also feature...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Jun 12, 2011
  • Length: 59:29
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
This week, we continue our salute to the great blues shouter, Big Joe Turner with part 2 of 2. The show opens in 1951, with Turner's first recordin...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Jun 20, 2011
  • Length: 59:40
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
What's more American than celebrating America's birthday with some good ol' red, white and Rhythm & Blues about THE Fourth of July staple: food? Di...

Bought by KBUT Crested Butte, Colo., KMXT, WJAB, KPIP-LP, WVAS and more


  • Added: Jun 26, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" features another highly underrated R&B vocal group from the 1950s: The Checkers. They never scored a national hit, but they...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Jul 03, 2011
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" jumps and grooves this week as Matt The Cat features both sides of all six single releases for The Flamingos on Chance Recor...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KPVL, and KKRN


  • Added: Jul 11, 2011
  • Length: 59:28
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" with Matt The Cat features Billy "The Kid" Emerson, a talented R&B singer and songwriter who never had a hit record, but his...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KPVL, and KKRN


  • Added: Jul 17, 2011
  • Length: 59:04
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" is jumpin' with a whole program dedicated to the short-lived 1950s record label started by songwriters Jerry Leiber & Mike S...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Jul 24, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The entire "Juke In The Back" this week features Motown's biggest acts, BEFORE there even was a Motown Records and before those acts were household...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KPVL, and WCPN


  • Added: Jul 31, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: The Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
The "Juke In The Back" pays tribute to the great R&B vocalist, Lil Greenwood, who passed away on July 19, 2011. You'll hear her greatest early rec...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Aug 07, 2011
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" spotlights one of the most underrated hit-makers of the 1940s and '50s, Ivory Joe Hunter. Today, most people only...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KKRN, and KPVL


  • Added: Aug 14, 2011
  • Length: 59:03
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke" continues its feature on Ivory Joe Hunter this week with part 2 of 2. This week's show looks at Hunter's successful run of hits from 195...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Aug 21, 2011
  • Length: 59:07
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Drop a nickel in the ol' Rockola Juke as Matt The Cat dedicates the entire hour to the great little Nashville R&B label, Excello Records. From The ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Aug 28, 2011
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" looks at the very beginnings of one of early R&B's biggest groups, The Midnighters. Before "Work With Me Annie," they were ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Sep 04, 2011
  • Length: 59:16
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" explores the rhythm and blues phenomenon of the "Annie" song. This is the giant wave of sequel songs and answer ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Sep 11, 2011
  • Length: 59:17
  • Purchases: 2