Big Maybelle this week on The Juke In The Back!
The Juke In The Back” focuses on the “soul that came before rock n’ roll,” the records that inspired Elvis, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and countless others.
The “Juke In The Back” highlights the often ignored early career of Big Maybelle, one of the great female blues shouters. She was born Mabel Louise Smith in 1929 and cut her first record with Christine Chatman’s Orchestra for Decca in 1944. Mabel Smith made her first solo recordings for King in 1947 before being signed to Okeh Records by Fred Mendelsohn in 1952. He renamed her Big Maybelle and she hit the RB charts right out of the gate with her first Okeh release, “Gabbin’ Blues.” Maybelle would score a few more hits for them before following Mendelsohn over to Savoy Records in 1956. That year, she hit the national spotlight with her interpretation of the standard, “Candy.” Matt The Cat reviews the vocal power and soul of this truly original blueswoman, Big Maybelle, on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”
Join Matt the Cat for Juke in the Back, tomorrow morning at 04:00 AM Eastern, with an encore presentation, Saturday afternoon at 03:00 PM Eastern, on Mushroom FM, the home of the fun guys, making four decades of magic mushroom memories!