stevecutway's blog

When you hear the dying strains of Van Halen's Happy Trails signalling the end of The Mosen Explosion from the future, don't touch your PC, your device or your internet radio and join me in The Early Years on Mushroom FM.
Hello, I'm Steve Cutway and my musical focus is the 1950s and 1960s.
Elvis Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, 110 years ago last Sunday (we're still in 2045, aren't we?) Few artists before or since have had the impact that he had on the first two decades of rock, which by now feels like ancient history.

Last week, the “Juke In The Back” featured every recording made by the innovative BO DIDDLEY during the year 1955. This week, the Juke picks it up in early 1956 and showcases BO DIDDLEY’s influential and diverse releases through 1959. He remained mostly off the R&B Charts during this period. That’s inexplicable, since many of the singles issued by Checker Records became R&B, Rock n’ Roll and Blues standards.

When you hear the dying strains of Van Halen's Happy Trails signalling the end of The Mosen Explosion for another week, don't touch your PC, your device or your internet radio and join me in The Early Years on Mushroom FM.
Hello, I'm Steve Cutway and my musical focus is the 50s and 60s.
Elvis Presley was born Jan. 8, 1935, 82 years ago today. Few artists before or since have had the impact that he had on the first two decades of rock.
In the first of two programmes, I'll play many of his top songs from the 50s and I'll throw in some of my favourites as well.

This week’s “Juke In The Back” takes a look at the breakthrough year of one of rock n’ roll’s true architects and innovators, Bo Diddley. His first recording session was held at Chess Records in Chicago on March 2nd and 3rd, 1955, where he laid down 4 original tunes. One of those songs, “I’m A Man,” would inspire blues great Muddy Waters’ “Manish Boy,” while the other, “Bo Diddley,” would be the igniting spark for rock n’ roll. Diddley was a complicated and compelling artist, who’s talents go way beyond his signature “hambone” rhythm, his vibrato guitar and his crazy lyrics.

When you hear the dying strains of Van Halen's Happy Trails signalling the end of The Mosen Explosion for another week, don't touch that PC, that device or that internet radio and join me in The Early Years on Mushroom FM.
Hello, I'm Steve Cutway and my musical focus is the 50s and 60s.

Matt The Cat has dug up some more R&B Christmas treasures and added a few tunes about New Years for this week’s continuation of the “Juke In The Back” R&B Christmas Special. The holiday juke is jumpin’ with cool tunes by Big John Greer, Champion Jack Dupree, Lowell Fulson, The Moonglows, Marvin & Johnny and many more. The range of topics is wide, from dancing Santas to lonely Christmases to making up with your baby on New Year’s Eve.

Tucked in between the Mosen Explosion Family Christmas and Come by the Hills Sunday evening Mushroom FM time is a little show called The Early Years.
Hello, I'm Steve Cutway and my normal musical focus is the 50s and 60s. But not Christmas night.

The entire “Juke In The Back” is loaded with the greatest R&B 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 grab some ‘nog and get groovin’. Saturday afternoon at 03:00 PM Eastern, with an encore presentation Thursday morning at 04:00 AM Eastern, on Mushroom FM, the home of the fun guys, making four decades of magic mushroom memories!

Clyde McPhatter had one of the sweetest and most powerful tenor voices in all of Rhythm & Blues and early Rock n’ Roll. His issue throughout his 22 year recording career, was getting the recognition he thought he deserved. After singing memorable leads on many hit records for Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Clyde left because Billy Ward wouldn’t put his name on the records or pay him a fair share of the profits. Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records was ready to sign McPhatter and give him his own group, The Drifters.

The Drifters would become the most successful vocal group in history, charting hit after hit for over 20 years, with no less than a dozen different lead singers. This week, the “Juke In The Back” spotlights The Drifters’ first chapter with the great high tenor of Clyde McPhatter out front. The group was created by Atlantic Records in order to showcase McPhatter’s beautiful and powerful voice after his 2 year stint with Billy Ward & The Dominos ended.