The "Juke In The Back" focuses on the " soul that came before rock n' roll," the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
"Juke In The Back" continues a behemoth, multi-part series on Chess Records. The Chicago record label, founded by 2 Polish immigrant brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess, proved to be one of the most influential and important labels in not only Blues, but also Rhythm & Blues and its contribution to the birth of Rock n' Roll. Chess was the musical home of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, The Moonglows, The Flamingos and countless other giants of 20th Century music.
In part 5, Matt The Cat takes a close look at all the significant Chess and Checker releases from 1954. Little Walter continues his hit streak with 4 more top 10 R&B singles from "You're So Fine" in January to "Last Night" in December. However, the year belongs to Muddy Waters as he scores his biggest selling single with the Willie Dixon-penned "I'm Your Hoochie Cooche Man." That would have been enough, but Muddy comes back strong with "Just Make Love To Me" and "I'm Ready." All three remain some of his most enduring tunes. Waters had always been a solid seller, but in 1954, he became the biggest artist on the Chess roster. That will change as Rock n' Roll hits the mainstream in the near future.
Leonard Chess always had a soft-spot for signing established bluesmen and 1954 was no different as Lowell Fulson and Jimmy Witherspoon come to the label and continue to record great sides.
Finally, in 1954, Chess signs a major vocal group when DJ Alan Freed brings them The Moonglows. Their first release hits #1 and spawns a #1 pop cover after numerous solid, but slow selling releases on their former label, Chance Records.
1954 was a monumental year in establishing Chess Records as a blues/R&B powerhouse and Matt The Cat brings all the fantabulous 78 RPM records straight to you, through the "Juke In The Back."
Join Matt the Cat for "Juke in the Back", tomorrow morning at 04:00 AM Eastern with an encore presentation Sunday afternoon at 03:00 PM Eastern, after "The All 80s Show" with Gary G and before "The Song Remembers When" with Melissa Ricobono, on Mushroom FM, the home of the fun guys, making four decades of magic mushroom memories!
And check out the complete Mushroom FM schedule at https://mushroomfm.com/schedule.
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