In this episode of Blues Moments in Time, we stop the clock on January 28—a single date that captures the blues as a living, breathing continuum. We move from the elegant Piedmont finger-picking of Luke Jordan, born January 28, 1892, to the community-rooted legacy of DC Minner, born January 28, 1935 in an all-Black Oklahoma town, and finally to the passing of Alabama harmonica original J-Bird Coleman on January 28, 1950.

Set against the tense political backdrop of McCarthyism, early Civil Rights organizing, and the rise of television, we drop into 1950 as Sam Phillips opens his Memphis studio and Muddy Waters and Little Walter refine the amplified Chicago sound at Chess Records. This episode traces how one date threads together front-porch Piedmont blues, smoke-filled Chicago clubs, and schoolroom blues education—showing that the music is never frozen in time. It’s a torch, passed from hand to hand, generation to generation.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.