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
Episode #449 - Hey! Santa Claus: R&B Christmas, Pt. 1
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" begins a 2 part Holiday Music Extravaganza with a tribute to Santa Claus. This week, we find the "man in red" doing the boog...

Bought by KPOV, WVAS, KTOO, KUCR 88.3 fm Riverside, Calif., KAWC / Border Radio - KOFA and more


  • Added: Dec 09, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 11
Episode #448 - The Treniers
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
There were so many influential Rhythm & Blues artists who had a great impact on the development of Rock n' Roll, but were never able to profit from...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Dec 02, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #447 - Smiley Lewis
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" looks at the great Smiley Lewis, another influential force out of New Orleans that time has chosen to forget. He ...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Nov 25, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #446 - Rhythm & Booze: Hey! Bartender
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" continues our sporadic series Rhythm & Booze with a tribute to bartenders, juke joints and barrel houses as well as a salute...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB and more


  • Added: Nov 18, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #445 - The Clovers, Pt. 3: 1956-58
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Nov 11, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #444 - The Clovers, Pt. 2: 1953-56
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Nov 04, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #443 - The Clovers, Pt. 1: 1950-53
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Oct 28, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #442 - Halloween Rhythm & Blues
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Matt The Cat celebrates Halloween with the scariest, spookiest and most sinister vintage rhythm & blues records ever made! It's the disembodied "so...

Bought by WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Oct 20, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Episode #441 - Hadda Brooks
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" is jumpin' this week with one of the most underrated boogie woogie piano ladies of all-time, Hadda Brooks. You'll hear a lot...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, and KMXT


  • Added: Oct 14, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #440 - Camille Howard
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, KMXT and more


  • Added: Oct 07, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #439 - Roy Milton
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" is proud to shine the spotlight on one of the granddads of Rock n' Roll, Roy Milton. His group, The Solid Senders, was compo...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, WOUB, KTRT RADIO INC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Sep 30, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #438 - Big Jay McNeely (R.I.P.)
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The world of R&B was dealt a hard blow when Big Jay McNeely, the last of the great LA honkers, died at the age of 91 on September 16, 2018. In hono...

Bought by KMUW, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, Royalton Community Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Sep 23, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Episode #437 - B.B. King
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" pays its respects to a true musical icon, B.B. King. When he passed away at the age of 89 on May 14, 2015, we lost one of ou...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, and KMXT


  • Added: Sep 16, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #436 - Charles Brown: 1949-52
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Charles Brown was the "King of Smoky Blues" for over 50 years. A move to Los Angeles in 1943, hooked him up with Johnny Moore, who hired him to sin...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB and more


  • Added: Sep 09, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #435 - Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB, KMXT and more


  • Added: Sep 02, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #434 - Rhythm & Booze: Bad, Bad Whiskey
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" once again raises a glass in our Rhythm & Booze series. This time, the entire program is dedicated to that Bad, Bad Whiskey....

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, Royalton Community Radio, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Aug 26, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #433 - Cab Calloway
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 GCR (Global Community Radio), WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, KSRQ, WOUB and more


  • Added: Aug 19, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Episode #432 - Cobra Records
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 GCR (Global Community Radio), KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, Royalton Community Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Aug 12, 2018
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Episode #431 - Big Maybelle
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" highlights the often ignored early career of Big Maybelle, one of the great female blues shouters. Matt The Cat highlights h...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB, KSRQ and more


  • Added: Aug 05, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #430 - Pee Wee Crayton
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
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 WHRV, KSRQ, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jul 29, 2018
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7

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