Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska

by Warren Zanes

The program’s name played on that of a legendary radio program out of the American South, King Biscuit Time. The latter first aired in 1941, coming out of Helena, Arkansas, and featuring Sonny Boy Williamson and Robert Lockwood Jr. From 1951 forward its host was “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, who would start the program declaring, “Pass the biscuits, ’cause it’s King Biscuit Time!” In those days the sponsor got its nod right up front, nothing quiet about it. King Biscuit Time was a significant megaphone for the Delta Blues, reaching a wide audience that included the likes of B. B. King, Levon Helm, and hundreds of others who were going to make something from what they heard. In 1973, the show’s name was adopted and adapted, given a hippie slant, as the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The first program featured Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and a young Bruce Springsteen playing Max’s Kansas City. It was just after Springsteen’s debut release.