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.


711 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Raise you glasses as we toast Rhythm & Booze: Wine, Wine, Wine on this week's "Juke In The Back." The entire program features the greatest wine R&B...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WUTC and more


  • Added: May 28, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" is proud to salute Sister Rosetta Tharpe, one of the most important and influential musical figures of the 20th Century. Mat...

Bought by KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, WOUB and more


  • Added: May 21, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, Matt The Cat loads the "Juke In The Back" with a musical history of the old African folktale about The Signifying Monkey. We'll trace th...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KCSM, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, WOUB and more


  • Added: May 14, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Matt The Cat presents the seldom-told story of Johnny Bragg, a prisoner serving six 99 year sentences at the Tenn State Penn when his group The Pri...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, WHRV, KJZX-Austin, WUTC, WOUB and more


  • Added: May 07, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, "Juke In The Back" features another unsung hero of early Rhythm & Blues, Floyd Dixon. He's often overlooked or labeled as a Charles Brow...

Bought by KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WUTC, WHRV and more


  • Added: Apr 30, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Matt The Cat and the "Juke In The Back" feature Fortune Records, another small, independent record label that made a sizable contribution to Rhythm...

Bought by KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio and more


  • Added: Apr 23, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
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, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Apr 16, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
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, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Apr 09, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 6
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 KSRQ, Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio and more


  • Added: Apr 02, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Matt The Cat takes a look at another Black-owned, independent, LA-based record label that contributed greatly to the birth of Rock n' Roll and the ...

Bought by KCSM, KSRQ, Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV and more


  • Added: Mar 26, 2023
  • Length: 59:01
  • Purchases: 10
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
The "Juke In The Back" is proud to focus an entire show on the separate careers of bother and sister, Nellie and Joe Lutcher. Both scored numerous ...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KSRQ, WHRV, KJZX-Austin, WOUB and more


  • Added: Mar 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Unfortunately, Huey Smith is another "hard luck" story of R&B and early Rock n' Roll. He was a talented boogie woogie pianist and as a session play...

Bought by KMUW, KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KSRQ, KJZX-Austin and more


  • Added: Mar 12, 2023
  • Length: 58:59
  • Purchases: 11
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 KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KSRQ, WHRV, KJZX-Austin and more


  • Added: Mar 05, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9
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, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Feb 26, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
Billy Wright was flamboyant, over-the-top and often called the "Prince of the Blues," but Billy Wright was also an incredible, influential vocalist...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WOUB and more


  • Added: Feb 19, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
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, KSRQ, WHRV, KJZX-Austin, WUTC and more


  • Added: Feb 12, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9
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 KMUW, KCSM, Royalton Community Radio, KSRQ, KJZX-Austin and more


  • Added: Feb 05, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 11
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 KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio, WUTC, WOUB and more


  • Added: Jan 29, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 8
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
In 1950, Down Beat Records owner Jack Lauderdale was forced to change the name. He chose Swing Time and left the logo exactly same. Lauderdale cont...

Bought by KMXT, KSRQ, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jan 22, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9
Caption: Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat, Credit: Public Domain
This week, the jukebox is in the spotlight as Matt The Cat takes you back 70 years and highlights the top jukebox hits of the second half of 1953. ...

Bought by Royalton Community Radio, KJZX-Austin, WHRV, WUTC, KIOS-FM Omaha Public Radio and more


  • Added: Jan 15, 2023
  • Length: 59:00
  • Purchases: 9