Advertise on podcast: Echoes of Indiana Avenue

Join guest host Rodney Stepp as we explore the history of Words of Wisdom, a popular Naptown soul group of the early 1970s. They released two singles, including a 1973 record on Lamp Records and a 1976 recording for IX Chains. We’ll share interviews with members of the group and their manager, Rickie Clark, and examine the contributions of songwriter Charles “Moose” Amos.

Join guest host Rodney Stepp for the final episode in our two-part series celebrating the music of the late drummer Jozell Carter. On this week’s show, we focus on Carter’s work in the Naptown jazz scene, featuring performances with Billy Wooten, Steve Weakley, Jonathan Wood, and the Small Talk Quintet.

Earlier this year, the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation announced its 2026 inductees for the Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame, including the late drummer Jozell Carter — a pioneering force in soul jazz music known for his bold, powerful sound. For the next two weeks, join guest host Rodney Stepp, as we explore Carter’s music and legacy. This week’s program spotlights his recordings with vibraphonist Johnny Lytle.

Guest host Rodney Stepp pays tribute to John Terrell, founder of KnapTown Records. His label created opportunities for young local musicians, including Stepp. In 1970, his group, Jazzie Cazzie and the Eight Sounds, released a single with them. Hear rare recordings from the KnapTown catalog and conversations with the artists behind it, including The Sentimentals.

Celebrate Women’s History Month with music from the legendary blues women of Naptown. Blues was one of the most popular forms of entertainment on Indiana Avenue, and some of the earliest recordings in the genre were made by women from the Avenue. Join guest host Debbie Nelson as we explore the lasting contributions of these pioneering artists.

In the 1960s, girl groups like The Supremes, The Ronettes, and Martha and the Vandellas helped define the sound of rhythm and blues and shape the course of American popular music. The Avenue was home to many legendary girl groups. This week on Echoes of Indiana Avenue, join guest host Debbie Nelson as we celebrate Women’s History Month with a tribute to Naptown’s own girl groups. Join us for an hour of words and music featuring the Pearls, the Indys, the Stovall Singers, the Chordelles, Joy Upton, Josephine Cheatham, Ethel McCane, and Pam Tanner.

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of John Coltrane, one of the most influential musicians in jazz history. Join guest host Rodney Stepp as we celebrate Coltrane’s centennial by exploring his connections to Indiana Avenue. Indianapolis musicians were part of Coltrane’s story from the very beginning. Coltrane credited the Naptown bandleader Joe Webb with providing one of his first professional gigs. Coltrane himself appeared on the Avenue at least twice during his career, including a week-long residency at the Chateau de Count & Eve. Join us for music exploring Coltrane’s work with Naptown musicians including Joe Mitchell, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, Ray Appleton, and Buddy Montgomery.

Celebrate the life and legacy of M.L. Allen Jr., a legendary Indianapolis gospel songwriter and guitarist who passed away on January 26 at the age of 89. Allen’s music helped shape the sound of gospel in Indianapolis, beginning with his rise in the 1950s alongside the Wandering Travelers of Indianapolis. For over 15 years, the group performed in neighborhood churches across Naptown—from Indiana Avenue to Haughville and Martindale-Brightwood—leaving a lasting mark on the city’s gospel scene. After the Wandering Travelers dissolved, Allen continued performing as a solo artist, accompanying himself on his guitar, “Magic.” Beyond music, he was a successful entrepreneur, owning a record shop and a dry cleaner in Haughville, and a devoted mentor, opening a karate studio and teaching at the Boys and Girls Club.

Celebrate the life and music of Orville “Hoppy” Jones, a founding member of the Ink Spots, a legendary vocal group with roots in the Indiana Avenue scene.   As the Ink Spots’ bass vocalist, Hoppy developed a unique “talking bass” — a spoken-word recitation that helped define the group’s sound. Immensely popular with listeners in the late 1930s and 1940s, its rhythmic, narrative delivery has led some music historians to describe Hoppy as a forerunner of later spoken-word and rap traditions.  Though his life was cut tragically short at age 39, Hoppy left behind a sound and a style that helped shape American popular music.

Explore the music of the Indianapolis saxophonist, bandleader, and music educator Larry Leggett, known professionally as Larry Liggett. We’ll share rare recordings from Liggett, including his work for the legendary Chicago label Chess Records.  Larry Liggett was born in Brazil, Indiana in 1921. He began playing music at an early age. At 10-years-old, he became the youngest member of the Brazil High School Marching Band. He continued to distinguish himself in college, becoming the first Black musician in the symphonic band and orchestra, at Indiana State University.  Liggett moved to Indianapolis during the 1940s and began teaching at Crispus Attucks High School in 1948. He continued working in the Indianapolis Public School system for the next 40 years. During that time, Liggett was performing jazz music at nightclubs across Indianapolis. Liggett also enjoyed success as a recording artist. During the 1950s, his recordings for Chess received national airplay.  In 2004 his contributions to Indiana music were acknowledged by the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation, who inducted Liggett into the Indianapolis Jazz Hall of Fame.

Listen to music from Enoch “Sonny Boy” Williams, a Rhythm & Blues pianist and vocalist from Indianapolis.  Williams was born in London, Kentucky in 1917, but he was raised in Indianapolis. He began performing professionally in 1935, quickly establishing himself as a regular presence at Indiana Avenue venues including The Cotton Club, The Rhumboogie, and Sunset Terrace, where he became known for his energetic piano playing and engaging vocal style. In the early 1940s, Williams achieved national recognition through a series of recordings made for Decca Records. Among his most remembered records was the 1943 single “Reverse the Charges,” which became a modest hit. The song was influential enough that later artists such as Bud Powell and Etta Jones recorded their own versions.

On December 19, 1970, the Indianapolis affiliate of the Southern Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket held a “Black Christmas Parade” on Indiana Avenue. The parade featured marching bands, floats, and local celebrities. The grand marshal of the parade was the Soul Saint, an Afrocentric version of Santa Claus. The “Black Christmas Parade” was part of a full day of events that also included a keynote speech by Reverend Jesse Jackson. The day ended with a “Black Christmas Party” at Foster’s Motor Lodge, featuring some of the greatest funk and soul bands in Indianapolis, including the Highlighters, the Moonlighters, the Turner Brothers, Indy 5, the Perfections, and others. The purpose of the “Black Christmas Parade” went beyond spreading holiday cheer. A spokesperson for Operation Breadbasket said the parade was created to raise awareness of the services and products available through local Black business owners and to develop a sense of Black pride within the Indianapolis community. Listen to a tribute to the “Black Christmas Parade,” featuring an hour of music from Indianapolis funk bands that performed at the event.

Celebrate the Christmas holiday at Sea Ferguson’s Cotton Club — a legendary Avenue nightclub that hosted the greatest stars in American music, from Ray Charles to Louis Armstrong. Along with his brother, Denver Ferguson, Sea played a key role in shaping the Avenue’s entertainment scene. Sea was born in Brownsville, Kentucky, in December of 1899. He came to Indianapolis during the 1920s, and by the 1930s, he had become one of the most prominent businessmen on the Avenue. His influence as a civic leader in Naptown was recognized in 1938, when Sea was voted “Mayor of Bronzeville” — an informal title used in Black communities during segregation for someone who held real power and leadership in everyday life, at a time when official political power was often out of reach. Today, Sea is best remembered for his connection to the Avenue music scene. In 1931, he opened the Trianon Ballroom. The club’s official grand opening took place on Christmas Eve of that year. The ballroom occupied the third floor of a building located at the corner of Vermont and Senate Streets. In 1933, Sea expanded to the first floor, opening a restaurant and bar called the Cotton Club. Before long, the name “Cotton Club” stuck, and locals used it to describe the entire building — not just the bar. Sea Ferguson hosted legendary concerts at the club, and on this week’s show, we’ll celebrate the season by listening to holiday music from the artists who performed there, including Fats Waller, Ray Charles, Big Maybelle, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong, Lowell Fulson, and more.

Celebrate the December birthday of the late, great jazz organist Jimmy Smith by listening to his recordings with the Avenue jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery. Jimmy Smith was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in 1928. He began his career on piano before switching to the organ in the early 1950s, developing a revolutionary sound that blended bebop and blues with deep gospel roots. In 1956, Smith signed with Blue Note Records, where he quickly became a sensation with groundbreaking albums like The Sermon, Back at the Chicken Shack, and Midnight Special. Today, Jimmy Smith is recognized as one of the most influential musicians in the history of jazz—and the most important figure in establishing the Hammond B-3 organ as a leading instrument in the genre. Jimmy Smith performed on Indiana Avenue in 1961 at the Pink Poodle nightclub. But his strongest connection to Naptown came in 1966, when he entered the studio with guitarist Wes Montgomery. Those sessions produced two albums: Jimmy & Wes: The Dynamic Duo and The Further Adventures of Jimmy and Wes. At the time, Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery were two of the most recognizable instrumental voices in jazz, each with a massive audience of devoted listeners. Expectations were high for their collaboration. Jazz fans were not disappointed. Jimmy and Wes shared a rare chemistry in the studio, and critics have since cited these sessions as some of the finest recordings of Jimmy Smith’s career.

The music of Indiana Avenue has been sampled dozens of times, by famous artists including Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, and many more. Listen back to this archived episode to hear some of the most sampled artists from the Avenue.