Lester Grimes, portrayed by actor Ato Essandoh, is a standout character in the acclaimed first season of HBO's 1970s music industry drama VINYL. The blues artist-turned-manager is a force to be reckoned with, and is also the inspiration for the show's weekly character-inspired playlist of classic songs, curated by music supervisor Randall Poster.

I had the chance to speak with Poster about this new playlist for Lester Grimes, and asked how he chose these songs and how the character inspired the choices.

"This was really about looking back at our inspirationals for the character," Poster told Music Times. "So I went back into the sanctuary and I pulled out what I thought were some of the rarest and tastiest R&B/Blues jams that we had all been listening to."

As you can tell from the selection of tracks below, we get a great taste of popular and rare artists that helped mold the character Lester Grimes.

Here is the tracklist for this week's VINYL playlist from music supervisor Randall Poster, inspired by the character Lester Grimes:

1. Bad Blood - Champion Jack Dupree

2. Bewildered - Amos Milburn

3. Black Cadillac - Lightnin' Hopkins

4. Boom, Boom Out Goes the Lights - Little Walter

5. Cry, Cry, Cry - Bobby "Blue" Bland

6. The First Time I Met the Blues - Little Brother Montgomery

7. Fool That I Be - Otis Blackwell

8. Hopeless - Percy Mayfield

9. If the Sea Was Whiskey - Willie Dixon

10. Just a Sittin' and a Rockin' - Jimmy Witherspoon

11. Life Is Suicide - Percy Mayfield

12. Poor Me - John Lee Hooker

13. Rain Rain Rain - Jay McShann & Jimmy Witherspoon

14. Come On Baby (with The Ted Walker) -Andre Williams

15. I'll Forget About You - Little Junior Parker

16. Well Well Well Baby-La - Nappy Brown

Listen to this Lester Grimes playlist from Randall Poster right here: