The Infinite Dial

Between 1946 and 1949, Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends had nine top 10 R&B hits, two of them No. 1, with titles like "King Size Papa," "Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got," "Snatch And Grab It," "You Ain't Got It No More," and "I Didn't Like It The First Time." (The double entendre of the last song is given away by its subtitle, "The Spinach Song.") "Snatch And Grab It" -- the subtitle here is "Opportunity Knocks But Once" -- was No. 1 for 12 weeks, but for many, Lee exists only as an intriguing entry in Joel Whitburn's "Top R&B Singles" book somewhere between Jackie Lee ("[Do] The Duck") and Levert.

But at Midnight, Lee becomes a core artist for Adult Standards CFZM (AM 740) Toronto, which recently added a program called "Midnight Blue," specializing in the risqué R&B that was part of the incubation of rock 'n' roll. "Midnight Blue" mixes the most famous songs of that era ("I'm A King-Bee," "Sixty Minute Man") with those long lost to history and with their descendents, ranging from "Strokin'" to Christina Aguilera's "Candyman" to "Love To Love You Baby." It's a genre that many of us know only from an occasional cover (Aerosmith doing "Big Ten-Inch Record") or the occasional spin on "Dr. Demento" in the '70s and '80s.

"Midnight Blue" is part of the retooling of AM 740, one of the more durable AM standards stations, under new owner Moses Znaimer and its longtime programmer Gene Stevens. It's a radio successor to the late-night "Baby Blue Movies" that were part of Znaimer's groundbreaking tenure at Toronto's CITY-TV in the '70s and which continue to this day. It's an interesting gambit when you consider that the freshening of the Adult Standards format -- where it still exists -- usually consists of adding more Manilow or Michael Bublé to the mix (something that AM 740 actually did some time back). And although some of the music comes off as more quaint than shocking now, it's still easier to imagine this show existing in Canada where lyrical regulations are less strict -- even before midnight.

AM740 can be streamed here. It can also be heard throughout the northeast at night. Here's last night's show:

Julia Lee, "My Man Stands Out"
Wynona Carr, "Ding Dong Daddy"
Roy Brown, "Cadillac Baby"
Chaka Khan, "Fever"
Marvin Gaye, "Sexual Healing"
Dusty Springfield, "Spooky"
Sheba Potts-Wright, "Private Fishing Hole"
Crown Prince Waterford, "Move Your Hand, Baby"
Dorothy Ellis, "Drill Daddy Drill"
David A. Stewart f/Candy Dulfer, "Lily Was Here"
Barrelhouse Annie, "If It Don't Fit, Don't Force It"
Etta James, "I Just Want To Make Love To You"
Red Prysock, "Purple Whale"
Orioles, "Hold Me, Squeeze Me"
Bull Moose Jackson, "I Want A Bowlegged Woman"
Barbara Stanwyck, "Take It Off the E-String (Play It On the G-String)"
Dominoes, "If You Don't Like Chicken, Leave That Hen Alone"
Sylvia, "Pillow Talk."