HARLEM: Week Of 7/31/06

The

SWALLOWS

This week, Matt The Cat spotlights one of the greatest R&B vocal groups of all time, The Swallows. Today, they're mostly remembered for their risqué classic "It Ain't The Meat" (which wasn't a hit at the time), but their real strength was in ballads. Their smooth, harmonies are almost peerless. Catch all of their amazing R&B hits as well as the story behind the story on The Swallows, this week on Harlem.

Harlem Airs on the 50s on 5:
Monday 7/31 @ 1pm ET
Tuesday 8/1 @ 9pm in LA and Midnight in NYC
Friday 8/4 @ 6pm ET
Sunday 8/6 @ 11am ET

-MTC

Floyd Dixon RIP

Floyd Dixon

1929 - 2006

Today we lost one of the great R&B pianists of the late '40s, early '50s Los Angeles scene. Dixon falls in-between Charles Brown and Ray Charles on the R&B evolutionary scale. I'll air a tribute to Floyd Dixon tonight on the Night Prowl Show (7-11pm EST) featuring a live interview with music historian and musician Billy Vera, who knew Floyd personally. Also, Bill Wax and I were privileged to do an interview with Floyd last year, so I'll let Floyd tell a lot of his own story.

Floyd Dixon Tribute, Friday, July 28th 7-11pm on The 50s on 5

HARLEM: Week Of 7/24/06

R&B

INSTRUMENTALS

This week's Harlem is beyond words. That's because it features a solid hour of rhythm & blues instrumentals. You'll hear the LA honkers Big Jay McNeely and Joe Houston, pianists Ray Charles and Fats Domino and guitarist T-Bone Walker, just to name a few. You'll be speechless with 1950s instrumental R&B on Harlem.

HARLEM airs on the 50s on 5:
Monday 7/24 @ 1pm EST
Tuesday 7/25 @ 9pm over LA – Midnight over NYC
Friday 7/28 @ 6pm EST
Sunday 7/30 @ 11am EST

Hot instrumental fun in the summertime!

Matt The Cat

HARLEM: Week Of 7/17/06

The

KING RECORDS

Story

Part 2

Matt The Cat finishes his review of The King Records R&B Story with part 2 of 2 on this week's Harlem. We'll dig deep in the vaults and shine the spotlight on the great vocal groups, band leaders and blues shouters that came out of the King label before the rock n' roll "explosion" of the mid-1950s. You'll hear Little Willie John, Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris, Roy Brown, The "5" Royales, The Swallows and many more. Only King Records spin on my turntable this week.

Harlem Airs on XM-5:
Monday, 7/17 @ 1pm EST
Tuesday, 7/18 @ 9pm PST & midnight EST
Friday, 7/21 @ 6pm EST
Sunday, 7/23 @ 11am EST

Yum Yum's Dedication!

It's never been questioned, but I think we can all see that Yum Yum's devotion to the Night Prowl Show is strong and real. This photo shows how The Yum is actually driving around the NY/NJ metro area. Let's hope he doesn't get pulled over.

Yum Yum with his new Night Prowl Banner

"Pookie" Doo Wop Thursday!

Pookie Hudson

of

The Spaniels

joins Matt The Cat on a special edition of Doo Wop Thursday! We'll find out the true history of the Spaniels from the guy who was there. You'll also get an opportunity to talk to Pookie, so if you have a question that you've always wanted to ask him, have it ready. This is sure to be the best Doo Wop Thursday EVER on The Night Prowl Show.

78 RPM Insanity Continues...

Cats n' Kittens,
Here are the latest 78s added to my collection. OK, this is getting out of hand. I'm going to try and take a break from buying 78s for a while and just stare at my Sun 221. Here are some label scans, if you're interested in checkin' 'em out.

HARLEM: Week of 7/10/06

The

KING RECORDS STORY

Part 1

Syd Nathan launched KING RECORDS in 1944 as a country & western label in his native Cincinnati. He controlled every aspect of the business from recording, record pressing, album jacket printing and even distribution. He got into the R&B market in 1947 with the signing of Bull Moose Jackson. For the next 2 weeks, Matt The Cat digs deep into the satellite vaults to feature the hit, misses and influence of this "king of all labels". There will be vocal group sounds from The Midnighters, The Swallows, The Dominoes and the "5" Royales as well as down-home R&B from Bull Moose, James Brown, Little Willie John and Freddy King. This is part 1 of a 2 part special on The King Records Story.

Harlem Airs on the 50s on 5:
Monday 7/10 @ 1pm EST
Tuesday 7/11 @ 9pm PST and midnight EST
Friday 7/14 @ 6pm EST
Sunday 7/16 @ 11am EST

This Week on The Prowl

West Coast Wednesday:

Along with the great West Coast sounds of West Coast Wednesday, The Night Prowl will also:
-Celebrate rock n' roll history as we commemorate the 52nd anniversary of Elvis, Scotty and Bill's first session at Sun Records (July 5, 1954). We'll hear all the songs recorded during that session.
-Ernie K-Doe dies on this day in 2001.
-Smiley Lewis was born on this day in 1913.


Bill Haley Thursday:

Tonight we honor Bill Haley on what would have been his 81st birthday with a re-airing of an interview I did last year with author Jim Dawson. Jim's book "Rock Around The Clock" traces the long history of Bill Haley's biggest hit from the 1920s up to Bill Haley's 1954 recording. Get the story behind the story on one of greatest recordings in history.

Also, The Duke Of Earl, Gene Chandler turns 69 today.