Episode #793 – Varetta Dillard

Air Week: July 14-20, 2025 Varetta Dillard Varetta Dillard might be a footnote in R&B and Rock n’ Roll history, having only scored 3 R&B charting records, but her body of recorded work speaks for itself. She was more than just a Ruth Brown impersonator, though she could sound a lot like her idol. Dillard […]

Air Week: July 7-13, 2025 Tiny Bradshaw Tiny Bradshaw put in his time, spending 16 years of making music with various big bands, including his own, without ever scoring a national hit. But when things turned around for the drummer, pianist, composer and bandleader, his star began to rise. He scored a #2 R&B smash […]

Air Week: June 30-July 6, 2025 4th of July: Summertime, Travel, Food & Baseball! The Juke In The Back jumps into summer by spotlighting THE summertime holiday, the 4th of July. We’re diggin’ the 4th in song with tunes about summertime and the foods enjoyed in summer by Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, The Basin Street […]

Air Week: June 23-29, 2025 Lloyd Price: The Specialty Sides Lloyd Price would become one of the great hit-makers of early Rock n’ Roll, but this is the story of the “soul that came BEFORE Rock n’ Roll.” Lloyd was just a kid when bandleader and talent scout, Dave Bartholomew brought him to Cosimo Matassa’s […]

Air Week: June 16-22, 2025 Julia Lee During the 1920s, Kansas City was the heart of Jazz and the epicenter of American Music. George E. Lee and His Novelty Singing Orchestra was one of the most popular bands in that town at that time. At the center of the band, playing piano and singing was […]

Air Week: June 9-15, 2025 Johnny Otis This week, the Juke In The Back is proud to honor the late, great Johnny Otis. He was a true renaissance man. Otis was a singer, songwriter, drummer, bandleader, talent scout, record label owner and radio / TV show host and that’s not everything he did. He was […]

Air Week: June 2-8, 2025 Boogie Woogie Rhythm & Blues Boogie Woogie has the natural ability to make you wanna tap your toes, shake your hips and just all around feel good! The blues style of Boogie Woogie piano features a strong left hand, playing repeated bass lines, leaving the right hand free to improvise […]

Air Week: May 26-June 1, 2025 The Larks, Pt. 2 – 1952-55 The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. Last week in part 1 of our 2 part series, we showcased […]

Air Week: May 19-25, 2025 The Larks, Pt. 1 – 1950-52 The Larks are one of the most influential and best sounding vocal groups of the early 1950s and yet, they are never remembered quite as well as many of their contemporaries. That might be because they only had 2 charting singles and neither record […]

Air Week: May 12-18, 2025 Amos Milburn, Pt. 2 – 1950-56 Amos Milburn was the complete package. He could play boogie woogie piano with the best of ’em, having been influenced by the great Pete Johnson. He sang the smoky R&B ballad almost as well as his buddy Charles Brown and he could shout the […]