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Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of December 23rd in blues history.

December 23 becomes a surprising fault line in the story of the blues – a single date that connects a roaring Carnegie Hall piano, a church-soaked soul voice, a modern electric torchbearer, and a jazz giant whose every note was steeped in blues feeling. From Albert Ammons shaking New York’s most prestigious concert hall in 1938, to the birth of soul‑blues singer Wee Willie Walker, to the arrival of guitarist Kirk Fletcher and the passing of Oscar Peterson, this date traces how the blues rose from rent parties and juke joints to the world’s big stages without ever losing its earthy core. Along the way, the episode explores the blues as a shared musical language that flows into gospel, soul, boogie‑woogie, and jazz, and shines a light on the missing pages in the global record – a call for listeners in places like Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Europe to help write their local blues histories into the books.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Keep the blues alive.

© 2025 The Blues Hotel Collective.

Mentioned in this episode:

Special Subscriber Gift – The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Subscribe to The Blues Hotel Collective before December 24th and receive an exclusive bonus episode featuring blues legends getting into the festive spirit. This special Christmas edition won't be released publicly—it's our gift to you. Subscribe now: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1388278/172318053380392029/share

Sign up to our seasonal newsletter and we'll gift you an exclusive blues podcast:

The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Drops December 24th, 2025!

Sign up HERE and receive this exclusive edition podcast that won't be released publicly!

Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of December 20th in blues history.

December 20th may not shine with blockbuster recording sessions or chart‑shaking releases, but its story runs deep in the veins of blues history. In this episode, we explore how a seemingly understated date becomes a crossroads of resilience, community, and musical evolution.

From the 1966 birth of Chris Robinson—future frontman of The Black Crowes and a torchbearer for blues‑drenched rock—to Joe Walsh’s game‑changing arrival in the Eagles lineup in 1974, December 20th reveals how the blues keeps shaping mainstream sound in unexpected ways. We also revisit the 1968 Stax Records Christmas celebration, a moment of soul, solidarity, and cultural uplift during one of the label’s most transformative eras.

Together, these threads remind us that the blues isn’t only preserved in headline milestones. It lives on through the artists who carry its fire, the communities that gather in its spirit, and the quiet dates on the calendar that end up echoing louder than anyone expects.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Listen Tomorrow for: Another Blues Moment in Time

Keep the blues alive.

© 2025 The Blues Hotel Collective.

Mentioned in this episode:

Special Subscriber Gift – The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Subscribe to The Blues Hotel Collective before December 24th and receive an exclusive bonus episode featuring blues legends getting into the festive spirit. This special Christmas edition won't be released publicly—it's our gift to you. Subscribe now: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1388278/172318053380392029/share

Sign up to our seasonal newsletter and we'll gift you an exclusive blues podcast:

The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Drops December 24th, 2025!

Sign up HERE and receive this exclusive edition podcast that won't be released publicly!

Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of December 19th in blues history.

December 19th sits at a crossroads in blues and rock history — a single date where the music’s deepest contrasts collide. It’s a day of beginnings, marked by the births of two transformative forces: Professor Longhair, the New Orleans piano wizard whose rhythmic inventions shaped an entire city’s sound, and Alvin Lee, the British rock‑blues firebrand who pushed guitar speed and intensity into new territory.

But woven into that same date are some of the genre’s most poignant farewells. Blind Lemon Jefferson, one of the first national stars of the blues, died under mysterious circumstances on December 19th. Chicago blues cornerstone Jimmy Rogers and gospel‑blues patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples also passed on this day, leaving behind legacies that continue to anchor the music’s emotional and spiritual core.

And as if to underline the blues’ eternal cycle, December 19th has also hosted unforgettable live moments — from Fleetwood Mac’s breakthrough U.S. performance to explosive AC/DC shows in Australia, and a legendary on‑stage meeting between The Rolling Stones and John Lee Hooker, hailed as “the ultimate blues meeting.”

This episode explores a date where joy and loss, innovation and remembrance, all converge. December 19th reminds us that the blues is not just a genre — it’s a living rhythm of sorrow and celebration, forever turning.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Listen Tomorrow for: Another Blues Moment in Time

Keep the blues alive.

© 2025 The Blues Hotel Collective.

Mentioned in this episode:

Special Subscriber Gift – The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Subscribe to The Blues Hotel Collective before December 24th and receive an exclusive bonus episode featuring blues legends getting into the festive spirit. This special Christmas edition won't be released publicly—it's our gift to you. Subscribe now: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1388278/172318053380392029/share