On today's Lucky Old Souls, Feldie takes you on a chronological tour of the music of Ivory Joe Hunter (1914-1974), one of the greats of the rhythm & blues era.  Like Ray Charles, his music incorporated the influences of jump blues, jazz, and country.  Ivory Joe is best known for his 1956 hit "Since I Met You, Baby," but he'd already been making records for over a decade when that song came out.  His very first recording, 1945's "Blues At Sunrise" was a #3 hit.  Ivory Joe played the piano, wrote almost all of his own songs, and had a wonderful voice (somewhere between a blues shouter and Nat King Cole).  Like so many of the rhythm & blues stars of his era, Ivory Joe recorded with some great instrumentalists, including guitarist Mickey Baker, tenor saxophonist Budd Johnson, and several members of the Ellington orchestra.

The show will close with some more under-appreciated R&B music--Sugar Pie DeSanto's classic early '60s records for the Chess label and Little Willie John's 1966 David Axelrod-produced Capitol session.

And tune in next week, when Feldie is joined in the studio by guitarist/singer/songwriter Ben "Bananas" O'Neill (of the MLMs).  The two will be sharing some of their favorite "pop" songs (loosely defined) of all time.

Full playlist for today's show here as it unfolds:

Ivory Joe Hunter - Blues At Midnight (1945-1947)

Ivory Joe Hunter - Boogin' In The Basement (1945-1947)

Etta James & Sugar Pie DeSanto - In The Basement, Part 1 (Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles, 1961-1966)

Ivory Joe Hunter - Jammin' Down In Town (1945-1947) 

The Deep River Boys - That Lucky Old Sun (London Harmony) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - Did You Mean It? (1947)

Ivory Joe Hunter - The Code Song (1947) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - In Time (1947

Ivory Joe Hunter - Landlord Blues (1947) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - Don't Know (1947)

Ivory Joe Hunter - That's The Girl For Me (1947-1950)

Ivory Joe Hunter - Guess Who (1947-1950) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - Too Late (1947-1950)

Ivory Joe Hunter - I Got Your Water On (1947-1950)

Ivory Joe Hunter - I Quit My Pretty Mama (1947-1950)

Jackie Wilson - Doggin' Around (The Very Best Of Jackie Wilson)

Ivory Joe Hunter - I Almost Lost My Mind (1947-1950)

Ivory Joe Hunter - Jealous Heart (1947-1950)

Arthur Alexander - Call Me Lonesome (The Greatest)

Ivory Joe Hunter - I Feel So Good (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter)

Ivory Joe Hunter - It May Sound Silly (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter)

Mickey & Sylvia - Shake It Up (Love Is Strange And Other Hits)

Ivory Joe Hunter - I Feel So Good (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter)

Ivory Joe Hunter - A Tear Fell (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - You Mean Everything To Me (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - Since I Met You Baby (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter) 

Ivory Joe Hunter - Worried Mind (Since I Met You Baby: The Best Of Ivory Joe Hunter) 

Little Willie John - You Are My Sunshine (1966: The David Axelrod & HB Barnum Sessions)

Little Willie John - In The Dark (1966: The David Axelrod & HB Barnum Sessions) 

Nina Simone - In The Dark (The Blues)

Little Willie John - Early In The Morning (1966: The David Axelrod & HB Barnum Sessions) 

Louis Jordan - Early In The Morning (The Best Of Louis Jordan)

Sugar Pie DeSanto - A Little Taste Of Soul (James Brown's Original Funky Divas)

Sugar Pie DeSanto - Go Go Power (Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles, 1961-1966)

Sugar Pie DeSanto - Ask Me (Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles, 1961-1966) 

Sugar Pie DeSanto - Slip-In Mules (No High Heel Sneakers) (Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles, 1961-1966) 

Sugar Pie DeSanto - Use What You Got (Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles, 1961-1966)