Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat

Series produced by Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri

Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
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.


669 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Episode #540 - Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
"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 f...

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


  • Added: Sep 06, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #539 - The Harptones
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
The Harptones never had a national hit record, yet they are arguably the finest vocal group to come out of New York City during the 1950s. What set...

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


  • Added: Aug 30, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #538 - Jimmy Reed: 1953-59
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
Jimmy Reed was a hit-making blues machine back in the 1950s, yet he isn't as well remembered today as some of his contemporaries. Almost anyone cou...

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


  • Added: Aug 23, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #537 - Bo Diddley: 1956-59
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
Last week, the "Juke In The Back" featured every recording made by the innovative BO DIDDLEY during the year 1955. This week, the Juke picks it up ...

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


  • Added: Aug 16, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #536 - Bo Diddley: 1955
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
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 KTRT RADIO INC, WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB, and KMXT


  • Added: Aug 09, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #535 - King Records, Pt. 10: Federal Records, Pt. 2
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 10 of a 10 part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. At the end of 1950, King launched a new R&B subsidi...

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


  • Added: Aug 02, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #534 - King Records, Pt. 9: Federal Records, 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
This week, it's part 9 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. At the end of 1950, King launched a new R&B subsi...

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


  • Added: Jul 26, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #533 - King Records, Pt. 8: 1954-56
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 8 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. Matt The Cat takes a look at King's spectacular ...

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


  • Added: Jul 19, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #532 - King Records, Pt. 7: 1953
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 7 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. Matt The Cat takes a look at King's spectacular ...

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


  • Added: Jul 12, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #531 - King Records, Pt. 6: 1952
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 6 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. In part 6, we take a look at King's spectacular r...

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


  • Added: Jul 05, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #530 - King Records, Pt. 5: 1951
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 5 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. We take a look at King's spectacular releases du...

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


  • Added: Jun 28, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #529 - King Records, Pt. 4: 1949-50
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 4 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. Matt The Cat fills the ol' Rockola Jukebox with ...

Bought by WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB, and KMXT


  • Added: Jun 21, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Episode #528 - King Records, Pt. 3: 1948-49
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 3 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. In part 3, we take a look at King's spectacular r...

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


  • Added: Jun 14, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #527 - King Records, Pt. 2: 1947-48
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, it's part 2 of a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. Syd Nathan, who began putting out records under t...

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


  • Added: Jun 07, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 6
Episode #526 - King Records, Pt. 1: Queen Records
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
This week, we begin a multi-part feature on the great King Record Label, out of Cincinnati. In part one, Matt The Cat will look at King's short-li...

Bought by WHRV, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WOUB, and KMXT


  • Added: May 31, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 4
Episode #525 - R.I.P. Little Richard, Pt. 2: 1955-57
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
On May 9, 2020, we lost another one of Rock n' Roll's true founders: Little Richard. He stands alone in his uniqueness and his influence to all tha...

Bought by WHRV, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, and KMXT


  • Added: May 24, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 4
Episode #524 - R.I.P. Little Richard, Pt. 1: 1951-55
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
On May 9, 2020, we lost another one of Rock n' Roll's true founders: Little Richard. He stands alone in his uniqueness and his influence to all tha...

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


  • Added: May 17, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #523 - R.I.P. Young Jessie
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
On April 27th, we lost Young Jessie, one of the unsung heroes of the LA vocal group scene. He was 83 years old. Young Jessie never enjoyed a nation...

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


  • Added: May 10, 2020
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #522 - The Checkers
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: 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 WHRV, KTRT RADIO INC, WOUB, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, and KMXT


  • Added: May 03, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5
Episode #521 - Clyde McPhatter: 1955-59
From: Matt "The Cat" Baldassarri
Series: Juke In The Back With Matt The Cat
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat
Clyde McPhatter had one of the sweetest and most powerful tenor voices in all of Rhythm & Blues and early Rock n' Roll. This week, Matt The Cat foc...

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


  • Added: Apr 26, 2020
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 5

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