Episode #809 – The Spiders

Air Week: December 15-21, 2025 R&B Christmas Go ahead, grab a glass of ‘nog, sit back and relax and dig on some great vintage Rhythm & Blues Christmas tunes. This entire “Juke In The Back” is loaded with fantabulous Christmas records from the late 1940s and 1950s. It’s the yuletide soul that came before rock n’ roll. From the all-time classics by Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters and The Orioles to some rarer Christmas plattahs from Amos Milburn, JB Summers and The Five Keys. So get all lit up like a Christmas Tree and groove to the Cool Yule with Matt The Cat.  LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: December 8-14, 2025 Don & Dewey Don Bowman and Dewey Terry never scored a national hit record, but together as the 1950s duo Don & Dewey, they remain one of R&B and early Rock n’ Roll’s best kept secrets. They grew up as friends in Pasadena, CA, joining fellow students at John Muir High School to form The Squires. In 1955, the group scored a local Los Angeles hit with “Sindy,” which has since become a vocal group classic, but when no follow-up hits materialized, Don & Dewey were persuaded to go off on their own by local manager John Criner. After a few sides for local labels Spot and Shade tanked, Criner sold their contract off to Art Rupe, owner of the much larger Specialty Records in LA. Rupe and his A&R man, Bumps Blackwell worked with Don (who was now known as Don Harris) & Dewey, trying to turn their frantic brand of up-tempo jump blues into something, but it never really caught on. Don & Dewey remarkably wrote most of their own material, which was not a standard practice back in the ’50s and though they couldn’t score hits with their own recordings, other artists were able to. Dale and Grace took Don & Dewey’s “I’m Leaving It All Up To You” to the top of the pop chart (#6 R&B) in ’63 and the Righteous Brothers cracked the pop chart with their version of “Justine” in ’65. The Olympics made a hit out of “Big Boy Pete” in ’60, while The Premiers entered the top 20 with “Farmer John” in ’64. This week, Matt The Cat reveals the story of one of early Rock’s craziest duos as he loads the ol’ Rockola Juke with their jumpin’, jivin’ sides on the Juke In The Back.  LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: December 1-7, 2025 R&B Car Songs The juke is jumpin’ with records focusing on classic R&B songs about cars. The automobile is a “road tested” symbol of the American Dream. We have all this land and the car gives us the freedom to get from one place to another. We’ll dig on some tunes about Cadillacs, Buicks, Mercurys and Model Ts. Chuck Berry, who made his early career on youth-oriented car songs will make a few appearances. Plus, musicologists Billy Vera and Steve Propes drop by the “Juke In The Back” to make their cases that the first rock n’ roll song might have been about a car. So grab your keys and prepare to be taken for a ride on this week’s “Juke In The Back” with Matt The Cat. LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: November 24-30, 2025 The Swallows The Swallows were one of the most underrated R&B vocal groups of the early 1950s. Hailing from Baltimore, they only scored 2 top 10 R&B hits during their 3 year stint with King Records, but collectors and aficionados know their catalog inside and out. The Swallows’ original lead tenor, Eddie Rich, joins Matt The Cat on the “Juke In The Back” with his first-hand account of scoring a hit record, life on the road, segregation and playing with the top artists of the day. So dim the lights, turn up the juke and get ready for a full hour of some of the greatest vocal group harmonies you’re ever going to hear. The Swallows, this week on your source for 1950s rhythm & blues, the “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: November 17-23, 2025 Jimmy Witherspoon, Pt. 2 – 1950-56 Jimmy Witherspoon is one of most influential blues shouters to emerge after WWII and yet he remains just a footnote in the evolution of Rhythm & Blues and Rock n’ Roll. In part 1 of our 2 part feature on Spoon, we focused on his early recordings with Jay McShann’s band from 1945-50. During that time, Spoon recorded his signature tune, “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” which topped the R&B charts during the summer of 1949. This week in part 2, we pick it up in 1950, while he’s still recording for LA’s Modern Records. Spoon would score his last hit, “The Wind Is Blowin'” for that label in 1952. Then he jumps over to Federal Records, where A&R man Ralph Bass tries a few new things, like pairing Spoon with the R&B vocal group, The Lamplighters. Having no charting hits on Federal, Spoon signs with Checker Records in Chicago, where only 3 singles are issued. It becomes clear that blues shouters like Witherspoon are out of fashion with the new Rock n’ Roll record buyers, so he takes a stab at a Rock n’ Roll song, “My Girl Ivy” for Atco in ’56, before reinventing himself as a jazz singer. All of these records must be heard in order to appreciate the depth of styles and influence on Rock n’ Roll Music that Spoon had. Those records are spinning this week on the Juke In The Back with Matt The Cat. LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: November 10-16, 2025 Jimmy Witherspoon, Pt. 1 – 1945-50 Jimmy Witherspoon is one of most influential blues shouters to emerge after WWII and yet he remains just a footnote in the evolution of Rhythm & Blues and Rock n’ Roll. Originally from Arkansas, ‘Spoon settled in Los Angeles after his time in the Merchant Marines during the war. He replaced fellow-shouter Walter Brown in Jay McShann’s band and was featured on McShann’s first single for the fledgling Philo Label in 1945. Witherspoon is best remembered for his 1949 chart-topper, “Ain’t Nobody’s Business,” which was actually recorded at the end of ’47 and released in mid-’48. That would prove to be his signature tune, even though he had strong chart success with “In The Evening,” “No Rollin’ Blues” and “Big Fine Girl” in late ’49. The last 2 were recorded live at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena and really showcase the excitement of seeing ‘Spoon perform live. His career spanned over 50 years and this week Matt The Cat looks at ‘Spoon’s early records from 1945-50 in part 1 of 2 on this talented and important figure in early Rhythm & Blues on the “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: November 3-9, 2025 The Spiders New Orleans is not known for its R&B vocal groups.  In a city where jazz, blues and zydeco thrive, one vocal group rose to the top: The Spiders.  In two short years, the Spiders landed enduring hits like “I Didn’t Want To Do It,” “I’m Slippin’ In” and “Witchcraft,” led by brothers Chuck and Chick Carbo.  They were produced by the legendary Dave Bartholomew and recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studios with the cream of New Orleans’ session musicians.  When the hits stopped coming, Chuck Carbo left the group for a solo career, thus ending their time in the spotlight.  Matt The Cat explores The Spiders’ story on this week’s “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: October 27-November 2, 2025 Spooky Halloween Rhythm & Blues Matt The Cat experiences some paranormal rhythms coming out of his “Juke In The Back” as we celebrate the truly spooky, sinister and down-right crazy sounds of a vintage rhythm & blues Halloween. Eugene Fox meets the devil, The Hollywood Flames take us to Frankenstein’s Den and Bill Doggett throws a Monster’s Party. It’s a treat, not a trick to hear an alternate take of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ 1956 classic, “I Put A Spell On You,” with EXTRA screaming and a killer sax solo payed by Sam “The Man” Taylor. So clear your voodoo calendar and dig the sounds from the outer bounds on this week’s Halloween edition of the “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: October 20-26, 2025 Atlantic Records, Pt. 14 – Cat Records Atlantic Records was the most influential, significant and important independent record label to come out of the late-1940s, during a time when there were many great, small indie labels being born. What gave Atlantic the advantage over Specialty, Chess, Modern, Vee-Jay, Exclusive, King, etc is the breadth of material, variety of music styles and the sheer number of hit records that led to the Rock n’ Roll explosion of the mid-1950s. Matt The Cat and the “Juke In The Back” present this behemoth, 14 part series celebrating the first 10 years of Atlantic’s existence: 1947-57. This week in part fourteen, Matt The Cat focuses on Atlantic’s first subsidiary label, Cat Records. Atlantic set Cat up to be their Rock n’ Roll label, but after only a year and a half and 18 single releases, they decided to dissolve it in favor of ATCO Records. During those 18 78s and 45s, Cat issued some smokin’ Rhythm & Blues, jivin’ vocal groups as well as a few pop and novelty records. Cat Records only enjoyed one national hit, “Sh-Boom” by The Chords, but what a spectacular hit it was. It topped out at #2 on the R&B chart and crossed-over to an impressive #5 Pop. R&B greats Floyd Dixon, Jimmy Lewis, Margie Day and songwriter Rose Marie McCoy all stopped by Cat for one or two releases AND the first Mickey & Sylvia record was issued on Cat in 1954. This is the final installment in our 14 part series on the history of Atlantic Records, so buckle in for another audio adventure with the “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW

Air Week: October 13-19, 2025 Atlantic Records, Pt. 13 – ATCO Records Atlantic Records was the most influential, significant and important independent record label to come out of the late-1940s, during a time when there were many great, small indie labels being born. What gave Atlantic the advantage over Specialty, Chess, Modern, Vee-Jay, Exclusive, King, etc is the breadth of material, variety of music styles and the sheer number of hit records that led to the Rock n’ Roll explosion of the mid-1950s. Matt The Cat and the “Juke In The Back” present this behemoth, 14 part series celebrating the first 10 years of Atlantic’s existence: 1947-57. This week in part thirteen, Matt The Cat focuses on Atlantic’s most successful subsidiary label, ATCO Records. When Atlantic co-founder, Herb Abramson returned from his military duty in 1955, he found a very different company that had continued to grow without him. His partner, Ahmet Ertegun suggested starting a subsidiary that would be fully managed by Abramson and so ATCO was born. ATCO originally focused more on vocal groups than its parent company had. The first national hit for the label was by The Sensations, a Philly group that featured Yvonne Mills on lead. The Royal Jokers, The Pearls, The Castelles and The Ray-O-Vacs also released singles on ATCO, but by far the biggest vocal group on the label was The Coasters. They came over in a big deal that Atlantic struck with songwriter/producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Atlantic would buy Leiber/Stoller’s Spark records and take on the two of them as staff songwriters/producers. Some of their signed artists were also included in the deal and that’s what brought Carl Gardner and Bobby Nunn of the Robins over to Atlantic to form a new group called The Coasters. They scored ATCO’s first #1 record with “Searchin’.” So buckle in and prepare yourself for an in-depth look at the history of ATCO Records on this week’s “Juke In The Back.” LISTEN BELOW