Feder: Steve Cushing celebrates 40 years of 'Blues Before Sunrise'

It's been 40 years since Steve Cushing launched "Blues Before Sunrise," the five-hour weekly public-radio showcase for vintage blues, R&B and gospel recordings spanning the 1920s through the '60s. Fortunately for all of us, he's still at it, Robert Feder writes.

"Chicago is still the world capital of the blues and 'Blues Before Sunrise' is one reason why," said Dan Bindert, station manager of College of DuPage's WDCB 90.9-FM, which airs the show Saturday nights from midnight to 5 a.m. "It's incredible that Steve's been keeping blues fans up all night with his incredible trip into the rich cultural legacy of the blues for 40 years."

Bindert attributes the popularity and longevity of the show to its host's "excellent taste and amazing record collection," which Cushing began amassing just after graduating from Proviso East High School.

"I watched my mentor Dick Buckley work and have fun far past retirement age and can easily see myself doing the same thing," Cushing, 68, told me. "What's been weird is that over the past couple of decades the alternate musics - jazz, blues, folk - which were a staple of public radio's early days, are no longer on its menu."

Get the full report, and more Chicago media news, at robertfeder.com.