May Programs
Spokane Public Radio | By John Johnson
Published April 30, 2016 at 6:00 AM PDT
Lonnie Mack
A tribute to the recently deceased Indiana guitarist whose early 1960's mix of rock and roll, blues, country, and gospel was well ahead of his contemporaries.
From Blues to Hip Hop
A career retrospective on Johnny "Guitar" Watson covering his journey from blues guitar maestro of the 1950's through his much sampled funk workouts of the 1980's.
Seven Day Weekend
An eclectic selection of songs with days of the week in their titles, including Louis Jordan, Fleetwood Mac, Elvis Costello, Steely Dan, and Blondie.
Nat "King" Cole
A tribute to the trail blazing multi talented pop and jazz vocalist with guest Bill Wright, the guru of SPR's annual Record and Video Sale.
Programming ProgrammingJIHOP
When asked where he draws his inspiration for Johnson's Improbable History of Pop, John had this to say, "I write and produce based on my interest in all forms of popular music. I've been listening to this "stuff" since in pre-school." That seems to work well for John, who's produced 625 shows since 1995. The show evolved out of an idea John had in December '93. He did a few specials and the concept eventually gelled into the JIHOP of today. Outside of the studio, John recently retired from Boeing and enjoys golf, jogging and radio, especially the Saturday night lineup on KPBX. He and his wife Melinda have two daughters Korissa and Alicia, and 3 grandchildren.
See stories by John Johnson
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