A Playlist For…
A PLAYLIST FOR…Early Morning Blues

A playlist for…

Early Morning Blues

Slow guitar, organ and piano blues for the hours before anyone else is up. Coffee, a quiet house, and nearly 4½ hours before you need to talk to anybody.

Length
4h 27m
Tracks
50
Energy
Mellow
Vocals
Instrumental

Instrumental. Every track was listened through for singing, speech and wordless vocals.

Listen on Spotify

Published October 28, 2026

Some mornings you get up before the house does on purpose. The coffee is the first thing that happens and nothing else needs to happen for a while. This playlist is for that stretch: long enough to cover a slow breakfast, the paper and a second cup, and quiet enough that it never asks for your attention.

It’s built almost entirely from instrumental blues: guitar first, with organ, piano and the occasional saxophone. There are the names you’d expect at this hour: B.B. King, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Peter Green from both his Fleetwood Mac days and after. Running through the whole thing is Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, who show up 19 times out of 50, often enough to set the tone, not so often that it turns into one artist’s record.

The order keeps things level: short pieces sit between the long ones, so no stretch of the morning is all eleven-minute jams. Tunes come back in different hands, too: Kenny Burrell’s “Chitlins Con Carne” at track 13, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s recording at 29.

There’s no singing anywhere on it. Every track was listened through for vocals before it went up, so you can leave it on while you read.

Put it on low, start it early, and let it run.

Tracklist

Side A

  1. 01AlbatrossFleetwood Mac · 2018 Master3:11

    Peter Green wrote it, and Fleetwood Mac’s single went to No. 1 in the UK in January 1969. Not a bad way to start a morning that should take its time. [source]

  2. 02Soul LamentKenny Burrell · Remastered 1999/Rudy Van Gelder Edition2:43

    From Kenny Burrell’s Midnight Blue, recorded at Van Gelder Studio on January 8, 1963. Stanley Turrentine’s tenor sax and Ray Barretto’s congas sit this one out. Burrell turns up six times here, more than anyone but Ronnie Earl. [source]

  3. 03Slabo DayPeter Green5:09
  4. 04Easy Listening BluesB.B. King2:37
  5. 05Barcelona MorningRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters4:57

    The first of 19 tracks by Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, the band he formed in 1984 and named after an early Fender guitar. If this playlist has a host, it’s him. [source]

  6. 06Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)Ray Bryant3:54
  7. 07LennyStevie Ray Vaughan4:57
  8. 08Beautiful ChildRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters8:29
  9. 09Slow WalkB.B. King3:15
  10. 10Derek's PeaceRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters2:39
  11. 11Sweet DreamsRoy Buchanan3:32
  12. 12Time to RememberRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters6:52
  13. 13Chitlins Con CarneKenny Burrell5:30
  14. 14The Sad Nite OwlFreddie King1:51
  15. 15Kansas City MonarchRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters7:38
  16. 16Back At The Chicken ShackJimmy Smith8:03
  17. 17Blues Boys TuneB.B. King3:29
  18. 18Indigo BurrellRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters5:38
  19. 19My Blues (Blues #5)Ray Bryant7:44
  20. 20ApostlePeter Green3:12
  21. 21Eyes That SmileRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters4:24
  22. 22When I Grow Too Old To DreamJimmy Smith9:54
  23. 23Confessin'B.B. King2:41
  24. 24Blues For Dr. DonnaRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters6:09
  25. 25Harlem NocturneDanny Gatton4:46

Side B

  1. 26The Super-NaturalJohn Mayall & The Bluesbreakers2:56
  2. 27PatienceRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters6:07
  3. 28MuleKenny Burrell · Remastered 1999/Rudy Van Gelder Edition6:56
  4. 29Chitlins Con CarneStevie Ray Vaughan3:56
  5. 30Bill's BluesRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters2:32
  6. 31Walkin'B.B. King2:47
  7. 32Rego Park BluesRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters11:35
  8. 33Cause We've Ended as LoversJeff Beck5:41
  9. 34Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To YouKenny Burrell · Remastered 1999/Rudy Van Gelder Edition4:25
  10. 35Spann's GrooveRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters6:05
  11. 36Blues We LikeB.B. King5:06
  12. 37Tommy's Midnight BluesRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters5:06
  13. 38Wayfaring PilgrimRoy Buchanan5:08
  14. 39Wavy GravyKenny Burrell · Remastered 1999/Rudy Van Gelder Edition5:47
  15. 40MiracleRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters5:59
  16. 41UnderwayFleetwood Mac · 2013 Remaster3:05
  17. 42Ethan's SongRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters5:30
  18. 43Rockin' ChairRay Bryant5:19
  19. 44Blue GuitarRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters5:05
  20. 45Messy BessieJimmy Smith12:30

    The longest track here at 12:30, Jimmy Smith’s organ. By this point the house is probably waking up anyway.

  21. 46I Am With YouRonnie Earl & The Broadcasters9:04
  22. 47Saturday Night BluesKenny Burrell · Remastered 1999/Rudy Van Gelder Edition6:16
  23. 48Cristo RedentorRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters5:12
  24. 49Riviera ParadiseStevie Ray Vaughan8:49
  25. 50Blues For BillRonnie Earl, The Broadcasters3:11

    It ends on a short one, so you can tell when the morning is over.

Total4h 27m

At a glance

How long is the “Early Morning Blues” playlist?
4 hours 27 minutes, 50 tracks, played in the order listed.
Does it have singing?
Instrumental. Every track was listened through for singing, speech and wordless vocals.
Where can I listen to it?
On Spotify, as a public playlist. Anyone can see the tracklist there, and playing it needs the Spotify app or web player.
Who made it?
It was picked, put in order and listened through by the editor at A Playlist For…. Software did not choose the songs.