Crossroads

Fridays at 10pm
Repeats Sundays at 7pm

Crossroads is KMUW’s contemporary blues and soul show. Hosted by Chris Heim, the program highlights blues, R&B and soul from the post-war era to the present, from classic recordings to new releases, and from mainstream sounds to a diverse and wide-ranging collection of artists and recordings with roots in the blues and branches in nearly every other musical genre.

Each week Crossroads highlights the latest blues new releases, music from artists with birthdays on the date of the show, and performers with regional concerts in the coming week.

The music world just lost two of the greats of rhythm and blues - Johnny Otis and Etta James. Crossroads has been featuring music from both artists and offers some additional information here.

Johnny Otis wrote several books, including a look at the Los Angeles music scene, Upside Your Head!: Rhythm and Blues on Central Avenue; Listen to the Lambs, his response to the Watts riots; and even a cookbook, Red Beans & Rice and Other Rock ‘N’ Roll Recipes. George Lipsitz (who occasionally sounds like the professor – of black studies and sociology – that he is) wrote an intriguing biography of Otis, Midnight at the Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story.

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February 2012: Mardi Gras Month - New Orleans Blues and R&B

Throughout February, Crossroads teams up with Global Village and Night train for a Mardi Gras celebration with the sounds of New Orleans. At the Crossroads, it’s the sound of New Orleans blues and R&B.

Though New Orleans is known as the birthplace of jazz, it also has an illustrious R&B history as well. In the ‘50s and ‘60s an astonishing collection of artists, hits and lesser known but still classic tracks came from the Crescent City.  Fats Domino, Professor Longhair and Lee Dorsey called the city home. Hits like “Working in a Coal Mine,” Let the Good Times Roll,” “Iko Iko,” “Time Is On My Side,” “I’m Walking” and more sprang from this golden era of New Orleans R&B. That music remains popular and influential to this day, as new generation brass bands and eclectic jazz-funk groups like Galactic continue to build on the tradition. Though not as big an influence, New Orleans also has been home to some fine blues artists, including Guitar Slim, Earl King and Walter “Wolfman” Washington.

Throughout February, Crossroads features the great artists and recordings of New Orleans blues and R&B. The work of two influential figures in New Orleans R&B honored this year - studio owner Cosimo Matassa inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and producer, performer and songwriter Dave Bartholomew a Recording Academy Trustees Award recipient - will also be featured.