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.


694 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Penguins' "Earth Angel" was the first rhythm & blues song to crossover into the pop world in such a big way that it announced the beginning of ...

Bought by WRNC-LP and 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station


  • Added: Nov 11, 2012
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Richard Berry is truly one of the unsung heroes of early rhythm & blues and rock n' roll. That he wrote and recorded the original version of "Louie...

Bought by KPVL


  • Added: Nov 18, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" honors one of the greatest, yet more underrated originators of electric blues guitar: Pee Wee Crayton. Matt The Cat presents...

Bought by KPVL and 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station


  • Added: Nov 25, 2012
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Cadillacs were one of the most versatile R&B vocal groups of the 1950s, handling uptempo gems like "Speedo" and classic doo wop ballads like "G...

Bought by WRNC-LP and KPVL


  • Added: Dec 01, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 features...

Bought by WRNC-LP and KPVL


  • Added: Dec 10, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 bef...

Bought by KPIP-LP, WRNC-LP, KPVL, KSRQ, and 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station


  • Added: Dec 16, 2012
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 KPIP-LP, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KSRQ, and KPVL


  • Added: Dec 22, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 th...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KPVL, KSRQ, 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station, and WOUB


  • Added: Dec 30, 2012
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 1953. Y...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KPVL, KSRQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 06, 2013
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 1953. ...

Bought by KPVL and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 13, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week's "Juke In The Back" is dedicated to one of the true unsung heroes of 1940s and '50s rhythm & blues, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. The gr...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KPVL, KSRQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 20, 2013
  • Length: 58:58
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Clovers were the most successful rhythm & blues vocal group from 1951 to 1955, racking up 16 top 10 R&B singles during that time-frame. This we...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KPVL, KSRQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Jan 27, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Clovers were the most successful rhythm & blues vocal group from 1951 to 1955, racking up 16 top 10 R&B singles during that time-frame. This we...

Bought by KSRQ, KPVL, and WOUB


  • Added: Feb 03, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Clovers were the most successful rhythm & blues vocal group from 1951 to 1955, racking up 16 top 10 R&B singles during that time-frame. This w...

Bought by KSRQ, KPVL, WRNC-LP, and WOUB


  • Added: Feb 10, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 KPVL, KSRQ, and WOUB


  • Added: Feb 16, 2013
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
If you're "hep to the jive" and can "dig the scene," then you're in for a treat on this week's "Juke In The Back." Matt The Cat presents Cab Callow...

Bought by WRNC-LP, KPVL, WOUB, and KSRQ


  • Added: Feb 24, 2013
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Cobra Records left quite a bite, even thought this little West Side Chicago label was only in existence for three short years. They hit gold right ...

Bought by KSRQ and WOUB


  • Added: Mar 03, 2013
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 WOUB, KSRQ, and WRNC-LP


  • Added: Mar 10, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The pre-Rock n' Roll era is full of unsung performers who's style directly impacted those who came after. This week's "Juke In The Back" spotlight ...

Bought by KMUW, WOUB, and KSRQ


  • Added: Mar 17, 2013
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 WOUB, KPVL, and KSRQ


  • Added: Mar 24, 2013
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 3