Air Week: April 6-12, 2026

Imperial Records was a major player among the indie labels of the late 1940s and the entirety of the 1950s. Started in Los Angels in 1946 by Lew Chudd, a Canadian raised in Harlem, Imperial began filling the ethnic and cultural voids left by the majors at the time. Chudd knew there was a large market for Latino Music in America, so he headed to Mexico City and recorded some Mexican jump bands that sold very well. He then included square dance records which also racked up sales as now square dances could be held without callers. He began recording Rhythm & Blues in 1947 and by ’49, he had hired Dave Bartholomew to scout talent in fertile New Orleans. The Braun Brother had beat him to The Crescent City by recording Paul Gayten and Annie Laurie first, but with Bartholomew’s help, Chudd was able to sign Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Archibald and Jewel King, dominating the New Orleans R&B scene. This week, we continue our Imperial series with part four, focusing on Imperial’s R&B releases from 1953. Fats Domino dominated the Imperial roster, racking up four charting singles in ’53, one going all the way to #2 nationally. Lew Chudd sent bluesman T-Bone Walker to New Orleans to work with bandleader and producer Dave Bartholomew and record at Cosimo Matassa’s famous J&M Recording Studio, while the “unsung hero” of this series, Lil’ Son Jackson continued recording in Fort Worth, TX. We’ll hear the debut singles from Bobby Mitchell & The Toppers as well as some rare sides from Lil’ Willie Gibson, “Boogie Bill” Webb and Rose Mitchell. Matt The Cat keeps those records spinning as he features part four of the Imperial Records Story on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”

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Air Week: March 30-April 5, 2026

Imperial Records was a major player among the indie labels of the late 1940s and the entirety of the 1950s. Started in Los Angels in 1946 by Lew Chudd, a Canadian raised in Harlem, Imperial began filling the ethnic and cultural voids left by the majors at the time. Chudd knew there was a large market for Latino Music in America, so he headed to Mexico City and recorded some Mexican jump bands that sold very well. He then included square dance records which also racked up sales as now square dances could be held without callers. He began recording Rhythm & Blues in 1947 and by ’49, he had hired Dave Bartholomew to scout talent in fertile New Orleans. The Braun Brother had beat him to The Crescent City by recording Paul Gayten and Annie Laurie first, but with Bartholomew’s help, Chudd was able to sign Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, Archibald and Jewel King, dominating the New Orleans R&B scene. This week, we continue our Imperial series with part three, focusing on the last half of 1951 and all of 1952. Due to a disagreement with Lew Chudd, Imperial was without Dave Bartholomew for most of this period, but Fats Domino kept crankin’ out the hits with producer and songwriter Al Young, including his first R&B #1, “Goin’ Home.” Lil’ Son Jackson, T-Bone Walker and Big Jay McNeely released some great records during this period and Smiley Lewis had his first charting record with “The Bells Are Ringing.” Bartholomew returned to the fold in April of ’52 and produced some scorchers from Fats, Tommy Ridgley and a beautiful, obscure single with Allen Matthews. Matt The Cat keeps those records spinning as he features part three of the Imperial Records Story on this week’s “Juke In The Back.”

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1940s & â€50s Rhythm & Blues

At the end of the Second World War, economics forced the big bands to trim their once great size and thus, the Jump Blues combo was born. Between 1946-1954, rhythm and blues laid the tracks for what was to become Rock n†Roll. So how come, 70 years later, this vibrant and influential music is still so unknown to so many?

Matt The Cat is going to change that with the radio program, “Juke In The Back.†These were the records that you couldnâ€t hear on the jukebox in the front of the establishment. To hear all this great 1950s rhythm & blues, you had to go to Juke In The Back.