Don Barnes, original member of .38 Special, leads the band today on vocals and guitar. Celebrating 50 years, the band has just released their latest album – Milestone. Multi-award winning program director Ray White, hooked up with Don in September of 2025 as they released their latest studio album – the first by the band in 21 years. Don shared his insights on the current band members who’ve been with him for over two decades, key collaborators on the album, and shared many personal thoughts on the bands’ new music. Be sure to check out Don talking about his solo album and more from .38 Special on Episode 55! Don and .38 Special are keeping Southern Rock alive and well after all these years!! In our showcase segment, we feature a tribute to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with Bad Company, Mick Ralphs, who passed away on June 23, 2025. Mick landed on the international music scene back in 1966 with the British band, Mott The Hoople. Celebrating 20 years in 2025, Classic Artists Today… is still going strong too!!!
Ray's passion for music and the musicians, started as a youth listening to transistor radios under the covers at bedtime. The bands and performers he liked, he followed throughout their career. In 2005 he was fed up with the evolution of a majority of the music the radio stations were playing and began investigating the bands he grew up listening to in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. Radio wasn't playing any of those band's "new" songs, just the "classic" hits. Researching the industry for a year, Ray launched Classic Artists Today syndicated radio show - featuring "new" songs by "classic" artists and included interviews and classic tracks too. The show was carried by several dozen radio stations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. Featuring Rock/Pop musicians and bands, Ray and the show won several awards from New Music Weekly magazine. With the success of these shows, he launched Coool CAT syndicated radio show, 5 years later, featuring Soul/R&B/Smooth Jazz/Blues performers and bands. In 2017, Ray starting producing his show in a 30-minute podcast format. Today, you can hear his work at Sittin' In With The CAT and Sittin' In With The Coool CAT. The legacy continues!
