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Sanders Hits the Blues on a National Scale
Mike Sanders has the blues,
but it’s not over the success of his
internationally syndicated radio
show. Sanders is the creator and
host of Blues Quest, a one-hour
documentary and interview show
airing on 38 public radio stations
all over the U.S. and in Australia.
What sets Blues Quest apart
from other radio shows is that
it focuses on one musician at a
time. Sanders spends an entire
hour telling the story of one blues
man or woman, playing music he
or she has been inspired by.
Sanders said that anyone
who encounters the blues has
to address its history, and the
purpose of Blues Quest is to
share the discovery of individual
histories through music.
“People who discover the
blues begin a backward journey
into the historical influences to
fully appreciate and understand
it,” he said. “The late songwriter
and bassist Willie Dixon,
described it best, ’The blues is
the roots; everything else is the
fruits.’”
Sanders graduated from CMSU
in 1978 with a bachelor of arts
degree in mass communication.
He also is a veteran of the
CMSU faculty. In 2000 he served
as a visiting professor in the
Department of Communication.
It was at that time Jon Hart, the
director of CMSU’s public radio
station KTBG 90.9 The Bridge,
offered Sanders the opportunity
to do a blues show.
However, it was Sanders’ wife,
Janet — whom he met while
attending CMSU in the late 1970s
— who actually came up with the
idea to focus each show on one
particular artist.
“Janet came up with an
element that, I think, really makes
the show,” Sanders said. “Every
artist tells stories of the first time
music really hit them, or when
the blues got a hold on ‘em.”
Sanders started his career
in broadcasting while he was
a student at CMSU, working at
different times for three different
radio stations, usually during the
night shift. Sanders said during
his senior year at CMSU, he
worked the overnight shift at what
is now Kansas City’s Mix 93.3.
“Jon Hart worked an overnight
air-shift at [then, KY 102] and
we would car pool to and from
Kansas City,” Sanders said. “Then
we’d try to stay awake in class.
Looking back on it, it seems crazy,
but by the time I graduated in
1978, all that experience really
paid off.”
After graduation, Sanders
worked as a reporter for the ABC
TV affiliate in Jackson, MS, where
in addition to reporting the
evening news, he filed a number
of stories for ABC, CNN and
Independent Television News in
London.
Sanders returned to Missouri
in 1983 to work for CBS affiliate
KCTV in Kansas City, where he
won a number of awards for his
work including an Emmy. While
working in television, Sanders
earned his master’s degree. In
2000, he was offered the chance
to return to CMSU to teach.
“Teaching had been a lifelong
goal for me,” he explained.
“It was a moving experience to
return to CMSU and inspire a new
generation of students going into
radio and television.”
In 2004, he and Janet set out
to syndicate Blues Quest with
12 public radio stations in their
pocket and a dream of reaching
more. In their second year of
distribution, they’ve more than
tripled that number and are
continuing to grow.
“Our goal is to get Blues Quest
on hundreds of public radio
stations around the world and
showcase as many performers as
we can,” he said.
Sanders said that although
he hasn’t yet felt the financial
effects of the present political
controversy over the future
funding of public radio, he
encourages people to write
to their representatives in
Washington in support of it.
Sanders said America “needs”
public radio now more than ever
so programs like Blues Quest can
survive. Sanders said they put
their show together with public
radio listeners in mind. He said
commercial stations require
too many breaks for advertising
and disrupt the program’s
documentary feel. Sanders
stressed the importance of paying
homage to an important and
diminishing part of America’s
cultural heritage.
“Sadly, we are losing older
musicians who devoted their lives
to this music and contributed
so much to its legacy,” he said.
“We want to interview as many as
possible while they’re still with
us so we can share their stories
and insights, preserve this musical
heritage and enrich the lives of
our listeners.”
Blues Quest can be heard on
public radio stations nationwide
including CMSU’s KTBG The
Bridge Sundays at 7 p.m. More
information about the show can
be found at www.bluesquest.org.
— Michael Bradshaw ’05
Mike Sanders ’78, right, has found success producing Blues Quest. His niche is to focus each show on just one blues legend, such as R.L. Burnsides, before his recent death.
winter 2005
central today
page 23