Son House Feature (54 min.): Son House lived in Rochester, NY for over 30 years which is a huge source of pride among local blues fans. We do a Son House tribute every year around his birthday (March 21, 1902). For this year's tribute we talk to Rich Gardner and photographer Mark Sampson who in 1981 went to seek out Son House who was then living in Detroit. Rich wrote an article in City, Rochester's weekly alternative paper, called Seeking Son House …and finding the living blues that detailed this trip. After reading this I invited them down to the studio to talk about that trip. In addition Gary and I play a bunch of Son House material including some great live recordings.

Tommy Brown Feature (40 min.): Tommy Brown's 2004 disc, "Remember Me", was my favorite blues record of 2004. Despite the title the reality is that outside of die hard collectors few will remember Tommy Brown. He had a very good run in the 50's recording for major R&B labels like Savoy, Dot, King, United, Groove and Imperial. Brown even scored a number one record back in 1951 when "Weepin' And Cryin'" topped the R&B charts for four weeks. In 2001, fifty years after his #1 hit, Brown returned to the stage appearing at the prestigious Blues Estafette Festival in Holland and was also the cover story in Juke blues magazine the same year. This feature starts with some of Tommy's vintage sides plus a batch from his new record. Tommy was a fascinating interview as he talks about his comeback, his early hits, the thriving Atlanta blues scene, playing at the Apollo, his wild stage antics, how he wrote the classic "Honky Tonk" and much more.

Little Walter Feature/Interview With Scott Dirks (71 min.): Here's our birthday tribute to Little Walter who is widely considered the greatest of all the blues harmonica players. The feature starts off with a half hour of Little Walter music before Gary and I chat with Scott Dirks, one of the co-authors of "Blues With A Feeling: The Little Walter Story."

Robert Lockwood Feature (49 min.): Our birthday tribute to the legendary Robert Lockwood. We span his entire career starting with his 1941 debut and work our way to his 2004 release, "The Legend Live." We start off by playing a couple of sets before talking to Lockwood himself the day after celebrating his 89th birthday. After chatting with Lockwood we play a few more sets from this underrated master.

Lafayette Thomas Feature (24 min.): A birthday tribute to one of my favorite guitar players and a true forgotten hero of the blues. Lafayette Thomas was a brilliant and influential guitarist, and fine singer, whose primary reputation resides on the stinging fret work he laid down as a session guitarist. In his 1977 obituary Tom Mazzolini wrote: "Unquestionably the finest guitarist to emerge from the San Francisco-Oakland blues scene, there is hardly a guitarist around here today who doesn't owe a little something to Lafayette Thomas..." The bulk of his recordings were with Jimmy McCracklin's combo in the 50's and 60's. During his lifetime only a scant fifteen sides were issued under his own name (a number were left unissued) but his body of work stands larger than the man himself. We play a batch of his great sides including a couple of rarities.

Bobby Rush Feature (57 min.): While many of his contemporaries are slowing down or easing into retirement, 50-year blues veteran Bobby Rush seems to be just hitting his stride. With the launch of his own label in 2003 Rush has cut some of his best records. 2004's, "FolkFunk", was one of his finest. We spotlight the new disc plus some other numbers and chat with Bobby about his remarkable career. Bobby talks about his new record, his early years running with Elmore James, Boyd Gilmore among others and his role in the PBS Blues series plus much more.

Gatemouth Moore Feature (56 min.): We did this tribute ten days before Gatemouth passed away. I had wanted to interview Gatemouth but he had been sick for some time and I never got a chance to talk with him. Gatemouth Moore was a larger than life figure who went on to a remarkable career as a blues crooner, gospel singer, disc jockey and ordained Reverend. In this lengthy tribute we play many of his classic 40's sides, some comeback recordings plus snippets of the always articulate Gatemouth in his own words.

Johnny Copeland Feature (47 min.): Our birthday tribute to Johnny Copeland as we span from the 50's through the 90's covering a number of classics and obscurities. Johnny "Clyde" Copeland traveled a long way from the ghetto's of Houston's Third Ward to blues super stardom in the early 1990's. Before his death in 1997 Copeland was riding a wave of success with several recordings on a major label, a Grammy Award as well as multiple W.C. Handy Awards. His newer fans were likely unaware of his rich musical background and a lengthy recording career that stretched way back to the 1950's.