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, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" presents the final part of a 4 part feature on the early musical career of the great, Ray Charles, which will cov...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Oct 15, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" presents part 3 of a 4 part feature on the early musical career of the great, Ray Charles, which will cover 1948-...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Oct 08, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" presents part 2 of a four part feature on the early musical career of the great, Ray Charles, which will cover 19...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOUB and more


  • Added: Oct 02, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" begins a four part feature on the early musical career of the great, Ray Charles, which will cover 1948-58. Part ...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB and more


  • Added: Sep 24, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
New Orleans is not known for its R&B vocal groups. In a city where jazz, blues and zydeco thrive, one vocal group rose to the top: The Spiders. In ...

Bought by KISA Digital Studios, Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC and more


  • Added: Sep 17, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Terry Johnson of The Flamingos joins Matt The Cat this week as the "Juke In The Back" jumps and grooves with part three of our three part feature o...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB and more


  • Added: Sep 10, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" jumps and grooves this week as Matt The Cat presents part 2 of a three part feature on The Flamingos, one of the most influe...

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


  • Added: Sep 03, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" jumps and grooves this week as Matt The Cat begins a 3 part feature on The Flamingos, one of the most influential and best r...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, 90.5 WSNC, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB and more


  • Added: Aug 27, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Few African Americans accomplished so much (songwriter, revered singer, entrepreneur) during the 1950s as the legendary Sam Cooke. This week, Matt ...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KISA Digital Studios, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, KSRQ and more


  • Added: Aug 20, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Elvis Presley's early music was a blend of Hillbilly, Country, Gospel and R&B. This week's "Juke In The Back" explored the enormous debt Elvis owed...

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


  • Added: Aug 13, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Jimmy Witherspoon is one of most influential blues shouters to emerge after WWII and yet he remains just a footnote in the evolution of Rhythm & Bl...

Bought by KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, 90.5 WSNC, KTRT RADIO INC and more


  • Added: Aug 06, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Jimmy Witherspoon is one of most influential blues shouters to emerge after WWII and yet he remains just a footnote in the evolution of Rhythm & Bl...

Bought by KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, WOMR and more


  • Added: Jul 30, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
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 KISA Digital Studios, Royalton Community Radio, WOMR, KTRT RADIO INC, 90.5 WSNC and more


  • Added: Jul 24, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Pianist Paul Gayten is one of the true unsung heroes of R&B and rock n' roll, but he is often overlooked in the history of the genre. Matt The Cat ...

Bought by WHRV, WOMR, KTRT RADIO INC, 90.5 WSNC, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jul 16, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" features The Robins, one of the earliest and most influential R&B vocal group to come out of Los Angeles in the late '40s an...

Bought by WOMR, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, Royalton Community Radio, KTRT RADIO INC and more


  • Added: Jul 09, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, Matt The Cat digs deep inside the back of the "Juke In The Back" to dust off some 78rpm shellac plattahs that never get played. It's a g...

Bought by KSRQ, WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOMR, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jul 02, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The Juke In The Back jumps into summer by spotlighting THE summertime holiday, the 4th of July. We're diggin' the 4th in song, ranging from songs a...

Bought by KMXT, WRGY, WVTF, 90.5 WSNC, WOMR and more


  • Added: Jun 25, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 11
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
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 WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOMR, 90.5 WSNC, Royalton Community Radio and more


  • Added: Jun 18, 2017
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 8
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 k...

Bought by KTRT RADIO INC, 90.5 WSNC, WHRV, Royalton Community Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Jun 11, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the "Juke In The Back" features one of the great big talents of early R&B, Little Willie John. From interviews with people who knew Will...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KTRT RADIO INC, Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, WOUB and more


  • Added: Jun 04, 2017
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7