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
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 90.5 WSNC, KPVL, and 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station


  • Added: Jan 14, 2012
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the entire "Juke In The Back" is loaded with records from the catalog of Duke/Peacock Records. Don Robey created one of the great R&B la...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WCPN, 88.5 JAZZ FM Erie's Jazz Station, and KPVL


  • Added: Jan 08, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week we solute Solomon Burke, the "King of Rock n' Soul and the "Juke In The Back" is loaded with his very first recordings from 1955 to 1960....

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Jan 01, 2012
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
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 KMXT, KPIP-LP, KMUW, KREV-LP, WNMU-FM and more


  • Added: Dec 25, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
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 WNMU-FM, WNMU-FM, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, KMXT, KPIP-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 18, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
"Juke In The Back" digs deep into New Orleans R&B this week for the highly underrated 1950s vocal group, Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers. Best known ...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WRNC-LP, WTIP, and KPVL


  • Added: Dec 11, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week's "Juke In The Back" features every record Bo Diddley recorded during his debut year of 1955. You'll hear where it all began with one of...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, WRNC-LP, 90.5 WSNC, and KPVL


  • Added: Dec 04, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" spotlights two extremely underrated R&B pioneers this week: Titus Turner and saxophonist Buddy Lucas. Matt The Cat tells the...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Nov 27, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Many 1960s soul legends had their start in 1950s R&B and this week, the "Juke In The Back" takes a listen to Billy Stewart's early records. We'll a...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Nov 19, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
On Part 2 of the "Juke In The Back"'s tribute to Sun Records' early R&B releases, Matt The Cat features Elvis' first, historic professional recordi...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KPVL


  • Added: Nov 13, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week's "Juke In The Back" spotlights the most influential and important record label of all-time, Sun Records. In part 1 of this 2 part serie...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC, KKRN, and KPVL


  • Added: Nov 06, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Lloyd Price joins Matt The Cat in the "Juke In The Back" this week to discuss his early career on Specialty Records and the recording of "Lawdy Mis...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC


  • Added: Oct 30, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" features the most important and influential vocal group of the post World War II era, The Orioles. Baltimore's finest singi...

Bought by KSRQ, 90.5 WSNC, KKRN, and KPVL


  • Added: Oct 23, 2011
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Matt The Cat & The "Juke In The Back" feature a look at one of most significant little record labels in history: Trumpet Records. Based in Jackson,...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Oct 16, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" features the legendary Ray Charles 1953 rehearsal tapes. This is Ray at his most raw as he learns some new tunes that he wil...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Oct 08, 2011
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" spotlights a true blues legend, Lowell Fulson. From his 1948 breakthrough, "Three O'Clock Blues" to his 1954 legendary smas...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Oct 02, 2011
  • Length: 59:02
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" features The Ravens, an R&B vocal group that set the stage for all the groups that would follow. With Jimmy Ricks' bass lea...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Sep 25, 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" focuses on the great Howlin' Wolf's earliest recordings. Before he became a huge star on Chess Records in Chicago...

Bought by 90.5 WSNC and KKRN


  • Added: Sep 18, 2011
  • Length: 59:00
  • 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
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