That Driving Beat

You'll hear some Motown from the Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, Martha & the Vandellas, and from a group out of and named for Vancouver, BC. We also have Bettye Lavette covering Neil Young, Ann Sexton, Z.Z. Hill, Jackie Shane, Dolly Parton, plus random assumptions, potentially misremembered facts, and a bunch of real songs by real artists, played from real records selected by a real person. -O...

James got some record digging in this week, and he has a few newly unearthed vintage 45s to spin on this show this week by Fred Waters, Ann Duquesney, Donald Jenkins & The Delighters, Bobby Byrd, plus an unlikely cover by Lena Horne, and favorites you've heard on That Driving Beat before by Ruby Winters, Edwin Starr, Brenda Holloway, B.B. King, and so many more! -Originally broadcast June 14,...

"They drilled right through the little bunny's head!" The record box steers this show in a Funkier direction than the average episode of That Driving Beat. You'll hear late 1960s and early 1970s funky movers from Clarence Reid, Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul, Candi Staton, Ohio Players, Swamp Dogg (of course!), Junior & The Classics, Indianapolis's The Vanguards, and more. P...

It's two more hours of vintage 1950s and 60s vinyl soul and R&B found on record labels ranging from obscure locals almost lost to time to the Big Dogs of those genres: Motown, Atlantic, Chess, etc. Slip on your dancing shoes and hit the floor! -Originally broadcast May 31, 2026- Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Percy Sledge / Baby, Help Me Bob & Earl / Dancin' Everywhere James Carr...

James is Back with another 2 hours of upbeat soul, R&B, popcorn, and funk movers and shakers. We give a nod to Clarence Carter, spin a soul group from way up in the Appalachian Mountains, a double shot of Dusty, a rare Louisville Gospel jumper, two Popcorn R&B work songs new to the collection, and so much more! -Originally broadcast May 24, 2026- Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Cl...

This week we start with some Northern Soul stompers, dip into some popcorn and midtempo steppers, head to the garage, then finish big with some greasy R&B movers. You'll hear Sam the Sham's girl group backup singers out at the front of the stage, a couple of Willie Dixon compositions, a favorite train song, a group called The Virginia Wolves with a fine double-sider including some delicious Rh...

Another 2 hours of vintage (antique?) vinyl dancers, including some recent finds. The scores from a rural Kentucky barn and collectables auction provide a few more nice rare soul finds from the Solars (aka the new Famous Flames), The Romeos, Don Gardner, and Detroit's own Edward Hamilton. You'll also hear a Sunset Strip scene take on "Sinner Man", some beautiful Big City orchestral arran...

James has some recent finds for his collection from a rural Kentucky barn and an auction where they let some great dusty 45s go unnoticed while they concentrated on signed(?) Beatles stuff and other collectables. We get into some things from King Records empire, and several Motown spins from a big hit to a weird miss with a few in between. Plus, hear some stories about obsessively scroll...

Another packed show full of vinyl survivors from the 1960s and 70s. James talks about some recent bulk buys of dusty records from barns and auctions, and asks his listeners to hassle him to get finished sorting, cleaning, and cataloging them so y'all can hear them on the show! In the meantime, this show has a bunch of stuff from deeper in the collection, including R&B shakers, classic Nor...

It was Vinylthon at WXOX, which means there were DJs in the studio for over 100 hours straight of 24-hours-per-day all vinyl radio! That's nothing new for That Driving Beat, you weekly vinyl 1960s soul, R&B dance party! James finally has a copy of a long-time want by Little Willie John and a friend stops by to share a 45 containing a Nashville take on Motown that almost never go...

James has some hot 1950s, 60s, and 70s dance tunes from Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, New Orleans, Muscle Shoals, Louisville, Houston, and more! There's no theme, no plan, just letting the playbox full of 45 rpm soul, funk, rhythm & blues, rock, pop, and more pull us in the direction it wants. -Originally broadcast April 12, 2026- Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Soul Ambassadors / I've...

Almost every song in this episode is by a band with the word "The" in their name! Two different songs are called "Run, Run, Run"! It's an all 1960s rock episode of That Driving Beat this week, with garage rock, proto-punk, psych, British Beat, Mod rock, pop-rock, and more with The Kinks, The Seeds, The Pretty Things, The Mojo Men, The Guilloteens, Them, and The Shadows of Knight, plus a...

No nonsense, just 2 packed hours of classic rare 1960s vinyl soul and R&B dance tunes! -Originally broadcast March 29, 2026- Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat Ricky Allen / It's a Mess I Tell You Chuck Wood / Seven Days Too Long Jesse Gee / Don't Mess with My Money Jimmy Hughes / I Want Justice The V.I.P.'s / Flashback Russell Evans & The Nite Hawks / Send Me Some Cornbread Jackie Paine...

Here's another 2 hour radio dance party full of incredible classic soul and rhythm & blues vinyl relics from the past that we're lucky enough to still have access to here in the future. Les McCann, Solomon Burke, the Four Tops, Varetta Dillard, Little Milton, James Brown & the Famous Flames, Gene Chandler, Jerry Williams, James & Bobby Purify, and so much more! We've got grit...

It's the 400th episode of That Driving Beat! James welcomes Uwe back for this episode, and we're joined by our new Canadian friend Norm to share some of his favorite records from his previous home in Chicago. It's another 2 hour radio dance party packed full of Northern Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Funk, and just a hint of...banjo? -Originally broadcast March 15, 2026- Willie Mitchell / Tha...

Here's another hot two hours of 1960s vinyl soul shakers, relentless R&B, popcorn steppers, and more from Darrell Banks, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Bland, Tom Jones, The Miracles, Lulu, Barbara Lewis, Kentucky's own Gail Wynters, plus Johnnie Taylor and Little Johnny Taylor, who were two different guys! -Originally broadcast March 08, 2026- Willie Mitchell / That Driving Beat James Carr / Talk...

James has a few new soul and R&B finds to share this week from recent digging success, and has cleaned up a stack of Stax records he's neglected in the collection for years and years ready to have their moment. You'll also hear some crunchy garage and psych on this episode including some rare Louisville originals, and Gene Pitney sneaks another one onto the show! -Originally broadcast Mar...

DJ Lee Ochoa from San Antonio, Texas (@djthegeneralsa) made a quick trip to Louisville, and he brought some of his favorite records to spin on That Driving Beat. You'll hear rare, in-demand Chicano soul from the Royal Jesters, Sunny & The Sunliners, Dimas Garza, the Commands, and more, plus some Northern Soul, funk, Latin, and R&B favorites from the likes of the Festivals, Joe Bataan,...

This episode has Ohio funky soul, a St. Louis sweaty gospel shaker, pounding Motown Northern Soul, a Nashville A-Team session guy getting Fidgety, some Mod R&B, some James Bond nonsense, an all-girl rock band from Nashville, West Virginia college rockers, British Beat from London, West Texas jet-setter garage rock, and more! Also, your host admits to knowing absolutely nothing about...

Art FM, the home of That Driving Beat, went from online-only to broadcasting as WXOX on the FM dial in Louisville on February 14th, 2016, so we're celebrating 10 years on the FM dial and 8 years of That Driving Beat! James put together a That Driving Beat Instant Record Collection for entry into the silent auction at WXOX's Decade On The Dial variety show extravaganza! In this episode, y...

"Invite me to DJ at your Mod or soul night, and I'll play you my favorite Neil Young record." -James, in this episode. James has a few new finds and old favorites to share, including some rare 1960s small-town Kentucky rockers, northern soul and rhythm & blues classics, garage rock and psych shakers, funky interludes, and a few oddball spins, all on original vinyl 45s. -Originally broadca...

It's an episode heavy on Louisville & Lexington, Kentucky records today, because James just found the box he keeps a lot of that stuff in. We've got soul, R&B, and rockers from the likes of The Berkshire Seven, Mary Ann Fisher, Boot Hog Pefferly and the Loafers, The Mercy Men, Cosmo and the Counts, The Magnificent 7, and The Oxfords, plus tunes from farther afield by Carl Carlton, Richard...

James has another action-packed radio dance party full of 1960s tunes by Ray Charles, Bob and Earl, Johnny Guitar Watson, Bobby Byrd, Alvin Cash, The Steinways, Maxine Brown, Betty Everett, and more! We'll get Loaded, Broke and Lonely, Work Together, Donkey Walk, and Do the Ali Shuffle. Today's unexpected artist with That Driving Beat: The Osmonds?! -Originally broadcast January 18, 2026...

Uwe is in the studio for one last show before leaving town again, and he's got one more show worth of classic and rare soul and R&B records new to his collection to share with us on today's radio dance party. We analyze the ownership history left behind on a record, look at a group called the Supremes that wasn't THAT Supremes but used the name first, and listen to a song that really wants you...

DJ Uwe is back in the studio again for another episode sharing his recent record digging finds. We talk about Texas place name pronunciations, lucky breaks and regrettable decisions in collecting, and potential trades. We take a request from a toddler! Mostly we just play 1960s Northern Soul, R&B, and Mod dancers, on their optimal format - the 45 rpm vinyl single! -Originally br...