Here at American Routes we don’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice—we have a present for everyone. So stoke the fire and mix up a nice hot toddy as we play Santa and deliver two hours of great holiday and seasonal music. We’ll also bring you a live recording of the Zion Harmonizers, coming to carol at the studio. And don’t bother keeping the receipt—we’re sure you’ll want to hang onto this one.

Jazz may have been born here, but by the 1950s the music of choice in New Orleans was rhythm & blues, and local talent topped the charts with songs like “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”, “The Fat Man”, and “Working in the Coalmine”. We’ll talk to many key figures in New Orleans R&B, from hitmakers like Lloyd Price, Dr. John, and Aaron Neville and producers Allen Toussaint and Harold Battiste, to bandleader Dave Bartholomew and musicians like drummer Earl Palmer. Plus music recorded in New Orleans’ legendary J&M Studios by Little Richard, Fats Domino and Professor Longhair, and funk, jazz, pop and soul along the way.