February 9th marks a turning point where the blues loops back into American culture, fuels political change, and evolves from rural porch music into an urban force. In 1964, 73 million viewers watched the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, unknowingly witnessing the “re‑importation” of the blues as British bands sent American teenagers searching for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and the Chicago masters who shaped them.

The date also sits at the heart of the Civil Rights era: in 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. met with President Lyndon Johnson to strategize the Voting Rights Act, giving political voice to the dignity long expressed in Delta blues. But February 9 also recalls darker moments—like Senator McCarthy’s 1950 Red Scare speech, which blacklisted folk‑blues artists who dared to speak out.

Musically, the day captures key transitions: Big Bill Broonzy’s 1932 recordings bridging country blues and city grit, and Elvis Presley’s 1957 chart‑topping momentum signaling the shift from pop‑blues to raw rock and roll.

We also mark the births of bassist Walter Page, inventor of the walking bassline, and Chicago soul star Major Lance, alongside the passings of Bentonia bluesman Jack Owens and the velvet‑voiced Tyrone Davis.

February 9th stands as a snapshot of the blues in motion—crossing oceans, shaping politics, and carrying the music from front porches to city streets and global stages.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective - your home for EVERYTHING BLUES.

Website: https://www.theblueshotel.com.au/

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.

February 8th traces the blues from survival code to social justice soundtrack and global rock foundation. We start in 1915 with the premiere of The Birth of a Nation, a racist propaganda film that pushed Black communities into constant vigilance and turned early Delta blues into coded music of survival—songs that said one thing on the surface and another underneath.

We then move to 1968 and the Orangeburg massacre in South Carolina, when police killed three students protesting a segregated bowling alley. In the wake of that tragedy, the blues grew a sharper edge, shifting from juke‑joint escape to “justice joint” advocacy and paving the way for soul blues artists to speak truth to power.

Along the way, February 8th spotlights key musical figures and turning points: the 1899 birth of Lonnie Johnson, who turned the guitar into a true lead voice with single‑note solos; Eddie “Guitar” Burns, who carried Mississippi mud to Detroit’s Motor City; and the 1956 hit “See You Later Alligator,” a Bobby Charles blues tune that became a Bill Haley rock and roll smash—an example of how Black architects built the house while others got their names on the deed.

We close with Marvin Sease, who died on February 8, 2011—a Chitlin’ Circuit giant whose raw, funny, and scandalous shows kept Southern blues alive long after mainstream radio moved on. February 8th stands as a reminder that the blues is resilience in motion: coded, borrowed, electrified, and always rooted in the full, messy human experience.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective - your home for EVERYTHING BLUES.

Website: https://www.theblueshotel.com.au/

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.

February 7th marks the moment the blues stepped into the historical spotlight, the global stage, and the electric future. In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week, creating the first national space where the stories behind the blues could be recognized as essential American history.

Fast‑forward to 1964: the Beatles land at JFK, openly praising Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf, forcing a segregated America to confront—and finally value—its own blues heritage.

The date also captures key musical turning points: Johnny Dodds’ 1929 Chicago recordings shifting from New Orleans improvisation to the hard, driving pulse of Chicago blues, and Little Richard’s 1956 “Long Tall Sally,” where pure R&B plugged straight into rock and roll.

We celebrate the 1934 births of Earl King and King Curtis—regional giants who shaped New Orleans R&B and Texas tenor sax—and remember the 1959 passing of Guitar Slim, the flamboyant, distortion‑driven pioneer who redefined what a blues guitar hero could be.

February 7th stands as a crossroads where history, fandom, and raw sonic power pushed the blues into new eras and new ears.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective - your home for EVERYTHING BLUES.

Website: https://www.theblueshotel.com.au/

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.