At the end of the Second World War, economics forced the big bands to trim their once great size and thus, the Jump Blues combo was born. Between 1946-1954, rhythm and blues laid the tracks for what was to become Rock n’ Roll. So how come, 75 years later, this vibrant and influential music is still so unknown to so many? Matt The Cat is going to change that with the radio program, “Juke In The Back.” These were the records that you couldn’t hear on the jukebox in the front of the establishment. To hear all this great 1950s rhythm & blues, you had to go to “Juke In The Back.”
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Episode #438 – Big Jay McNeely (R.I.P.)
Air Week: September 24-30, 2018
Big Jay McNeely (R.I.P.)
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 honor of his wild and crazy sax, the “Juke In The Back” is jumpin’ this week with some of the heppest, exciting and most gloriously blistering honking sax records of all-time. Not only will Matt The Cat spin Big Jay’s greatest sides, but he’ll also replay a classic interview so Big Jay can tell his story in his own words. From the shuffle fire of “Deacon’s Hop,” a number one R&B smash from 1949 to the crazed “3-D,” “Mule Milk” and “The Goof,” Jay’s best instrumentals will be highlighted. McNeely was also successful with a few vocal records like the pop crossover success of 1959’s “There Is Something On Your Mind” with Little Sonny on vocals and his early ’50s singles with his vocal group, Three Dots And A Dash, which included a very young Jess e Belvin and Mercy Dee. Don’t miss Matt The Cat’s tribute to Big Jay McNeely and the birth of rock n’ roll on this week’s “Juke In the Back.”
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