Johnny Otis Feature (Aired 1/2/05, 1 hr 49 min.): Johnny Otis did it all during his remarkable career; bandleader, record producer, talent scout, label owner, nightclub owner, disc jockey, TV host, author, R&B pioneer, rock & roll star. In our lengthy feature we follow Johnny's recording path from the late 1940's through the early 1980's. He formed his own jazz orchestra in the mid-40's and then when he and partner Bardu Ali opened the Barrelhouse Club in Watts he changed his style to R&B. He pared the big band down and discovered young talent such as the Robins, guitarist Pete Lewis, vocalists Mel Walker, Little Esther Phillips, Linda Hopkins and many others. In this feature we hear all these artists, spotlight many of his early chart hits plus play some great live cuts.

Lonnie Johnson Feature (Aired 2/6/05, 75 min.): Lonnie Johnson is one of my all time favorites and every year around his birthday I do a tribute to this amazing musician. Johnson's unparalleled guitar skill has been rightly celebrated but less has been said about his exceptional, imaginative songwriting and bittersweet vocals. In addition blues critics seem to focus on Lonnie's early 20's and 30's sides in exclusion of his fine electric recordings of the late 40's and the string of strong albums he cut during the 60's. In this feature we span Lonnie's entire career starting with his very first recording from 1925, "Mr. Johnson's Blues", through the 30's and early 40's for Bluebird with hits like "He's A Jelly-Roll Baker, two sets of his electric sides for King (1947-52) and wrap up with a batch of strong recordings from the 1960's. In addition we chat with Chris Albertson who was responsible for getting Lonnie out of retirement in the 50's and went on to produce a number of his fine Bluesville albums in the 60's.

Finis Tasby Feature (Aired 2/13/05, 61 min.): Finis Tasby is one of those fine journeymen blues singers who's been around a long time with little in the way of recordings or fame but, as this feature proves, he can flat out sing the blues. Tasby's profile has got a boost in recent years turning in fine vocals performances on records by Alex Schultz, Kirk Fletcher, Enrico Crivellaro and most recently fronting the West Coast super group The Mannish Boys. We spotlight Tasby with these artists plus feature his own records like "People Don't Care" (1995), "Jump Children!" (1998), "A Tribute to John Lee Hooker" (2002). Tasby talks about The Mannish Boys, his early years playing in Dallas and working with artists like Freddie King, Z.Z. Hill, Lowell Fulson, John Lee Hooker, Percy Mayfield and others.

Big Joe Duskin Feature (Aired 3/20/05, 57 min): A stalwart of the overlooked Cincinnati blues scene, boogie pianist Big Joe Duskin is one of the last of the old time piano men who unfortunately has recorded only sporadically. "Big Joe Jumps Again!" was his welcome comeback released at the end of 2004. We spotlight his great boogie-woogie chops playing cuts from "Don't Mess With the Boogie Man" (1988), his classic debut "Cincinnati Stomp" (1979) and a batch from his new one. About a half hour in we chat with Joe who was absolutely charming and told some great stories. People really responded to Joe making this particular interview one of our most popular. Listen as Joe talks about his early years when he had to don a fake moustache just to play in the clubs, the early Cincinnati scene, his relationship with his preacher father who didn't want him to play that devil's music, his new record and reminisces about artists like Doctor Clayton, Roosevelt Sykes and Pete Johnson.

Doctor Clayton Feature (Aired 4/10/05, 27 min): Doctor Clayton has always been one of my favorites and I finally got around to doing an extended feature on him. Nearly 50 years after his untimely death the exceptional singer and masterful songwriter known as Doctor Clayton is little spoken of today. Clayton worked strictly as a vocalist, employing an impressive falsetto technique, later refined into a powerful, swooping style that was instantly recognizable. In addition he was an unparalleled songwriter, writing mostly original material with a rare wit, intelligence and social awareness. Clayton's vocal style was widely emulated and a number of his songs became blues standards although he rarely gets the credit. B.B. King said this about him: "Dr. Clayton was the man I used to idolize; just about everything he did, I used to sing along with it for hours." In this feature we provide some background on Clayton, relate some stories from his blues contemporaries and play some of his most memorable sides.

Shor'ty Billups Feature (Aired 4/24/05, 67 min): We had never heard of singer Shor'ty Billups until we were sent his exceptional CD "Shor'ty's Got The Blues." The record quickly became one of our favorites. Apparently Shor'ty's been singing since the late 50's, drumming from the early 60's and cut several 45's back in the day. He's played behind folks like Wilson Pickett, Lattimore, Clarence Carter, Z.Z. Hill and a number of other heavyweights. Shor'ty was a great guy to talk to and relates a fascinating career entertaining troops for the USO, his early 45's and working with lumeneries like Oscar Toney Jr,. Z.Z. Hill, Wilson Pickett among others.

Memphis Minnie Feature (Aired 6/5/05, 42 min): Memphis Minnie is one of those artists we try to spotlight every year when her birthday comes around. Minnie's career falls into that rarefied territory of artists like Tampa Red, Lonnie Johnson and Roosevelt Sykes who had amazingly long, prolific recordings careers waxing hundreds of sides but maintaining very high artistic standards right up to the end. Minnie recorded steadily between 1929 and 1953 and was one of the few figures to make the successful transition from the rural, guitar dominated blues of the 1920's to the urban nightclub styles of the 40's and 50's. We kick things off with her very first record "Goin' Back To Texas" (1929) move on to later 30's and 40's sides often filled out with piano and horns and wrap up with a pair of late period sides.

Jimmy "T99" Nelson Feature (Aired 8/7/05, 61 min): I became a fan of Jimmy Nelson many years ago after hearing an LP collection of his early sides on the Ace label. I always hoped he would start recording again and in 1999 he issued the terrific "Rockin' And Shoutin' The Blues." I interviewed Jimmy when that record came out and it was one of the best interviews I ever did so when he put a new one out I knew I had to talk with him again. Blessed with a booming voice and a hip delivery, Jimmy cut a swath of fine sides for Modern's RPM and Kent imprints in the early 50's and 60's but only scored big with his signature "T-99 Blues." After getting dropped from Modern Nelson bounced through a number of small labels before giving up music in the 60's. At nearly 80 Jimmy is as charming and funny as ever and has some great stories. Listen in as Jimmy talks about his comeback, hopping freight trains, meeting Big Joe Turner, the 40's California blues scene, cutting sides for Modern Records and much more.

Gatemouth Brown Feature (Aired 9/25/05, 2 hr 5 min): Born in Louisiana but raised in Orange, Texas, Gatemouth had been living in Louisiana for many years when hurricane Katrina demolished his home. His life came full circle when he escaped to his hometown of Orange, Texas, and subsequently died there on September 10th, 2005. We payed tribute to him later that month with a two hour feature spotlighting a recording career which stretched from 1947 to 2004. He may have started out playing jumping big band blues in the tradition of T-Bone Walker but through the years he's tackled just about every roots genre including R&B, country, swing, bebop, cajun and more. A virtuoso on guitar, violin, harmonica, mandolin, viola, and even drums, Gatemouth did it his way for more than fifty years. As Gate said: "A long time ago, people advised me not to mix blues, country, jazz and cajun music. ...It took me a long time to convince the world it could be done. Even now they want to label me a "blues musician" but I refuse to be a blues musician. I'm a musician."

Duke Robillard Feature (Aired 10/30/05, 2 hr 4 min): Duke was playing in town so we took the opportunity to chat with him an do an extended feature on this versatile guitarist playing music from all facets of his career. Duke is one of the founding members of Roomful of Blues, as well as one of the guitarists that replaced Jimmie Vaughan in the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1990. Between that time, Robillard pursued a solo career that found him exploring blues, rockabilly, jazz, and rock & roll. We play a little over an hour of his music and chat with Duke as he talks about his early influences, his years with Roomful, talks in depth about his own records and working with legends like Johnny Adams, Jimmy Witherspoon, Jay McShann and others.

Chick Willis Feature (Aired 11/20/05, 1 hr 1 min): I remember when I first saw Chick Willis. I didn't really know who he was when I went down to a great joint called the BK Lounge and witnessed him put on a phenomenal display of showmanship including a hilarious 20 minute version of his classic "Stoop Down Baby." Chick will forever be linked to that number and unfortunately that song seems to have overshadowed just about everything else he's done which is a shame. Willis has soldiered on issuing fine, if unheralded, records for a number of labels. His newest, "I Did It All!", on his own label, ranks among his best and was my pick for number one record of the year. Chick was a great interview; funny, down to earth and had some great stories to tell. Listen as Chick talks about his new record, singing those dirty songs, the huge success of "Stoop Down Baby", his cousin Chuck Willis, Guitar Slim, traveling in the South during the segregation era and much more.