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Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History July 1st
Daily Rock and Roll History, Birthday and short music clips.
A year long, day by day look back at this date in Rock History in 3-5 minute segments. Now airing WRGG in Greencastle, PA, weekday mornings on KSRQ in Three River Falls, Minnesota, KIYU in Galena, Alaska, KPUP in Patagonia, Arizona, WIZU in Newark, Delaware, KSLU at St. Louis University.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
July 1st
- July 1st Birthday, Legendary American blues musician Willie Dixon, born William James Dixon in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1915. He died on January 29th, 1992 of heart failure, at the age of 76.
- July 1st Birthday, Blues harmonica great James Cotten, born in 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi. He died on March 16th, 2017, aged 81.
- July 1st Birthday, Singer, songwriter Delaney Bramlett of Delaney and Bonnie, born in Pontotoc, Mississippi in 1939. He died on December 27th, 2008, aged 69.
- July 1st Birthday, Pianist, lyricist and film music composer Jeff Wayne, born in New York City in 1943.
- July 1st Birthday, Blondie singer Deborah Harry, born Angela Trimble in 1945 in Miami, Florida.
- July 1st Birthday, Asylum Choir singer, songwriter and guitarist Marc Benno, born in Dallas, Texas in 1947. A veteran session player, Benno was the second guitar player on several tracks for the Doors album L.A. Woman.
- July 1st Birthday, Strawbs singer, songwriter and bass guitarist John Ford. Ford co-founded Hudson-Ford with fellow Strawbs band mate Richard Hudson, born in Fulham, London, England in 1948.
- July 1st Birthday, Singer, songwriter and co-founder of The B-52s, Fred Schneider, born in 1951 in Newark, New Jersey.
Today In Rock and Roll History
July 1st
- July 1st, 1956 Elvis Presley made an appearance on The Steve Allen Show. He was instructed not to dance. Elvis’ gyrating performance on a previous episode of The Milton Berle Show provoked controversy, so as a goof, he serenaded a real basset hound wearing a tuxedo with tails, singing the song “Hound Dog.”
- July 1st, 1957 Chess Records release “Oh Baby Doll” backed with “Lajuanda (Espanol)” on 45 by Chuck Berry. Both songs were written by Berry. “Oh Baby Doll” was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago either the 6th or 15thof May with Leonard and Phil Chess producing. Playing with Chuck on the session were Ellis “Lafayette” Leake on piano, Willie Dixon on double bass and Fred Below on drums. “Lajuanda (Espanol)” was recorded on December 15th, 1956 at Chess Studios with Johnny Johnson on piano, again with Leonard and Phil Chess producing.
- July 1st, 1961 The Beatles’ first recording contract, with Bert Kaempfert Produktion, goes into effect. Tony Sheridan signed at the same time. The contract was good until June 30th, 1962. A clause in the contract stated that it could be automatically renewed at that point unless terminated in writing by notice by either party three months before expiration. John Lennon was authorized as The Beatles’ representative for payments. Brian Epstein canceled the contract with Bert Kaempfert Produktion and The Beatles on behalf of the group in a letter to Kaempfert on the 27th of March, 1962. On the 25th of May, 1962, the day after The Beatles last recording session for Polydor, Kaempfert and The Beatles put their signatures to an agreement dissolving their contract. It is of particular interest that most of the Beatles’ Hamburg recordings were rereleased after The Beatles success with EMI with additional vocals, remixes and edits not on the original German Polydor releases.
- July 1st, 1963 Monument Records release the “In Dreams” LP by Roy Orbison. Recorded at his home studio in Hendersonville, Tennessee, the LP featured four hit singles, “In Dreams”, Falling”, Blue Bayou” and “Pretty Paper.” The record peaked at No. 35 on November 2nd.
- July 1st, 1963 The Beatles record two sessions in Studio Two at EMI Studios, 3 Abbey Road, St. John’s Wood, London with producer George Martin, engineer Norman Smith and second engineer Geoff Emerick, from 2:30–5:30pm and 7:00-10:00pm. Taped that day were two Lennon and McCartney songs, “She Loves You” and “Get You In The End”, later changed to “I’ll Get You.” John Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing “She Loves You” after a show during the Roy Orbison tour in June and finished it at the McCartney family home in Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney sing most of “I’ll Get You” in unison with occasional harmonies, with John on harmonica, recorded as an overdub quickly as session time that day was running out. No original master tapes of “She Loves You” or “I’ll Get You” are known to exist. Standard procedure at EMI at the time was to erase the original two-track session tape for singles once they had been “mixed down” to the master tape used to press records. An unknown number of takes of both songs were recorded at this session and edited together and mixed to mono on July 4th by George Martin, working in the control room of EMI Studio Two. “She Loves You” and “I’ll Get You” became The Beatles’ fourth Parlophone single, released August 23rd. The record entered the British charts on August 31st and remained there for thirty-one consecutive weeks, becoming The Beatles all-time biggest selling single in Britain. In America, Swan Records released the single on September 16th, 1963. The record entered the American charts on January 25th, 1964 and peaked at No. 1 on March 21st
- July 1st, 1963 The Ronettes record “Be My Baby” at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood with Phil Spector producing, pushing the studio band through forty-two takes before it was completed. Philles Records released the song as a single on August 7th. Co-written by producer and label owner Phil Spector with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, the song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche (Nitch-ee) and engineered by Larry Levine. Ronnie Spector is the only Ronette to actually appear on the recording. The record peaked at No. 2 on October 12th.
- July 1st, 1964 Ten days before the premier of The Beatles’ movie “A Hard Days Night”, The George Martin Orchestra release an instrumental version of Lennon and McCartney’s “This Boy”, retitled “Ringo's Theme”, which featured in a poignant scene in the forthcoming film. The single entered the charts on July 25th and reached No. 53 on September 12th.
- July 1st, 1966 Epic Records release Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman.” The song was written by Donovan Leitch, recorded in December, 1965 at EMI Studios in London with producer Mickie Most. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, later of Led Zeppelin, played on the session. The record went to No. 2 in the UK, No. 1 in America, on September 3rd.
- July 1st, 1967 “Windy” by The Association is the No. 1 record in the US.
- July 1st, 1967 The Beatles “Sgt Pepper” LP is the No. 1 album in the US and Britain.
- July 1st, 1967 “The Queen Alone” by Carla Thomas enters the album charts following a May release on Stax Records. The record featured the hits “Something Good (is Going to Happen to You)”, co-written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and “I’ll Always Have Faith in You”, written by Eddie Floyd with Stax’ then-promotion man Al Bell. The record peaked at No. 133 on July 29th.
- July 1st, 1967 “You Were On My Mind” by Crispian St. Peters enters the singles charts. Written by Sylvia Fricker in 1961, it was originally recorded by Ian and Sylvia. Produced by David Nicholson, the Crispian St. Peters recording peaked at No. 36 on July 22nd. Released in Britain, the record went to No. 2.
- July 1st, 1968 Capitol Records release “Music From Big Pink”, the debut album by The Band. Named after a house and group rehearsal space shared by Band bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel and organist Garth Hudson in West Saugerties, New York, the record peaked at No. 30 on November 16th.
- July 1st, 1969 Columbia Records reissued “White Bird” by San Francisco band It’s A Beautiful Day on 45. The single came out earlier in the year on the independent San Francisco Sound Records label. Produced and arranged by David LaFlamme, who co-wrote the song with his wife Linda, the song just missed the Top 100 Pop charts but received ample FM radio airplay.
- July 1st, 1970 Atco Records release the self-titled debut album by Cactus. The group was formed around drummer Carmine Appice and bassist Tim Bogart. Joining the band for the record were guitarist Jim McCarty from Mitch Ryder’s Detroit Wheels and The Buddy Miles Express, and singer Rusty Day from Amboy Dukes. The record peaked at No. 54 on October 10th.
- July 1st, 1970 T Rex record “Ride A White Swan” with producer Tony Visconti at Trident Studios in London. Written by the group’s singer, guitarist and founder Marc Bolan, it became the first single issued under the band’s new truncated name, shortened from Tyrannosaurus Rex, on October 9th, 1970, released by Fly Records in Britain. In the US, the single peaked at No. 76 on February 13th, still under the Tyrannosaurus Rex name.
- July 1st, 1971 Fantasy Records release “Cast The First Stone”, the second solo single by Tom Fogerty. The song was written by Tom Fogerty, which he co-produced with Brian Gardner.
- July 1st, 1972 “Pop That Thang” by The Isley Brothers enters the singles charts following a June release on T Neck Records. Co-written by the three Isley brothers, OKelly, Rudolph and Ronald, with Howard Kelly and Clive Otis, and self-produced by the band, the record peaked at No. 24 on September 16th.
- July 1st, 1972 Reprise Records release “City Of New Orleans” by Arlo Guthrie on 45. Written and first recorded by Steve Goodman in 1971, the Guthrie version was co-produced by Lenny Waronker and John Pilla. The single peaked at No. 18 on October 28th. “City Of New Orleans” was Guthrie’s only Top 40 hit in America.
- July 1st, 1972 Peg Records in Britain release “Excersizes”, the second album by Scottish band Nazareth. Notable that all the songs on the LP were group compositions and many were acoustic arrangements, it was the group’s third album project with producer Roy Thomas Baker. The album came out on Warner Brothers Records in November in the US, but didn’t chart.
- July 1st, 1972 Scepter Records release “That’s What Friends Are For” by B.J. Thomas on 45. The song was written by Paul Williams. co-produced by Steve Tyrell and Al Gorgoni, the record entered the singles charts on July 15th and peaked at No. 74 on August 5th.
- July 1st, 1972 “Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond is the No. 1 record in the US.
- July 1st, 1972 Hi Records release “I’m Still In Love With You” by Al Green on 45. Produced by Willie Mitchell and co-written by Mitchell, Al Green and Al Jackson, Jr., the single sold over a million copies and peaked at No. 3 on September 2nd.
- July 1st, 1972 Warner Brothers Records release “Toulouse Street”, the second album by The Doobie Brothers. Produced by Ted Templeman at Warner Brothers Studio in North Hollywood and Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, Billy Payne played keyboards on the record. The LP featured the hit singles “Listen to the Music” and “Jesus Is Just Alright.” The record peaked at No. 21 on December 2nd.
- July 1st, 1972 “The Partridge Family’s version of Neil Sedaka’s “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” enters the singles charts following a June release on Bell Records. Produced by Wes Farrell, the record peaked at No. 28 on August 19th.
- July 1st, 1972 Epic Records release “All Together Now”, the third album by Argent. Recorded at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London, co-produced by Rod Argent and Chris White, it was the band’s first LP to chart in the US. Featuring the hit single “Hold Your Head Up”, the record peaked at No. 23 on September 23rd.
- July 1st, 1972 “School’s Out”, the fifth album by Alice Cooper, enters the album charts. The original gatefold record cover pictured a school desk top that opened. The record itself was wrapped in a pair of women’s panties. The LP was produced by Bob Ezrin, and title track was a No. 7 hit on the singles charts. The album peaked at No. 2 on July 29th.
- July 1st, 1972 “Delta Dawn” by Tanya Tucker enters the singles charts following a May release on Columbia Records. Co-written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and country and western songwriter Alex Harvey, the song was a 1973 No. 1 for Helen Reddy. Though Collins and Harvey are credited with composing the entire song, the melody of the chorus is virtually identical to the Christian hymn “Amazing Grace.” The Tanya Tucker version peaked in the Pop Singles charts at No. 72 on August 5th, and was Top Ten on the Country charts.
- July 1st, 1972 Bob Seger’s cover version of Tim Hardin’s “If I Were A Carpenter” enters the singles charts on Palladium Records. The track was produced at RCA Studios in Toronto, Canada by Palladium label owner and Seger’s manager Edward “Punch” Andrews. Issued on 45 from the album “Smokin’ O.P.’s”, The record peaked at No. 76 on August 19th.
- July 1st, 1972 Kapp Records release “When You Say Love” by Sonny and Cher on 45. The song was co-written by American songwriters Bill Rice and Jerry Foster. Produced by Snuff Garrett, the record entered the singles charts a week later and peaked at No. 32 on August 19th.
- July 1st, 1972 Paramount Records release “Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar” by Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen on 45. The song was co-written by Don Raye, Hughie Prince and Eleanor Sheehy and first recorded by Will Bradley and His Orchestra featuring Ray McKinley and Freddie Slack in 1940. The Commander Cody version was co-produced by Dale Lear and Larry Blac, and peaked at No. 81 on August 5th.
- July 1st, 1974 Shelter Records release the self-titled debut album by Phoebe Snow. Engineered by Phil Ramone and co-produced by Ramone and by Dino Airali, the album features the hit “Poetry Man.” The record peaked at No. 2 on March 15th, 1975. That year, Snow won a Grammy for Best New Artist.
- July 1st, 1975 David Bowie began filming in Northern New Mexico in his first starring film role as the alien Thomas Jerome Newton, the lead character in “The Man Who Fell To Earth”, directed by Nicholas Roeg.
- July 1st, 1985 Columbia Records release “Billy Joel’s “Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II.” The double album set peaked at No. 6 on September 28th.
- July 1st, 1987 The Grateful Dead’s “In The Dark” album is released. Co-produced by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, California, the LP was recorded in a week, from January 6th through the 13th. The group recorded together in real time, with electric instruments taped in isolated rooms and drums set up on stage. “Touch Of Grey”, from the LP became their biggest selling single. “In The Dark” went to No. 6 on August 22nd.
- July 1st, 1989 “In Step”, the fourth studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, enters the album charts on Epic Records following a June release. Co-produced by Double Trouble and Jim Gaines at Kiva Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and both Sound Castle and Summa Studios in Los Angeles, California from January through March. The record peaked at No. 33 on August 26th.
- July 1st, 1991 Capitol Records release “Woodface”, the third album by Crowded House. The band submitted tracks for the LP, but Capitol rejected the proposed album. Neil Finn had completed a writing session with brother Tim Finn for songs intended for a Finn Brothers record. When Crowded House began again on “Woodface”, it was with Tim Finn in the band as a full member and writing credits on seven songs. Recorded at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, Periscope and Platinum Studios in Melbourne, Australia and Ocean Way in Hollywood with Neil Finn and Mitchell Froom co-producing, the album peaked at No. 83 on July 20th.
Miscellaneous July
- July 1959, Chess Records release “Go Bo Diddley”, the second album by Bo Diddley.
- July 1959, Chess Records release “Berry Is On Top” by Chuck Berry. Other than the song “Blues For Hawaiians”, the record was a collection of previously issued singles with nine hit 45’s.
- July 1967, Elektra Records release “The 5,000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion” by The Incredible String Band in England. Recorded at Sound Techniques in Chelsea, London with producer Joe Boyd, it was the group’s second album, having regrouped as a duo following their first album in 1966. “The 5,000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion” went to No. 25 in Britain. The LP came out in America in January 1968.
- July 1969, Douglas Records release “Devotion”, the second album by John McLaughlin. There are conflicting dates attributed the release. Some say May, some July, and others say September. The record was recorded while McLaughlin was a member of Tony Williams Lifetime, using a backing band of organist Larry Young, bassist Billy Rich and Buddy Miles. The album did not chart in the US.
- July 1970 Capitol Records release the self-titled debut album by British jazz-rock band “If.” The album reached No. 187 in the US.
- July 1974, Casablanca Records release “Strutter”, the third single by Kiss. The song was co-written by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. The track was co-produced by Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise, taken from Kiss’ self-titled first album.
- July 1976 Oyster Records release “Child In Time” by the Ian Gillan Band. It was the first solo album by former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. The group featured keyboardist Mike Moran, guitarist Ray Fenwick and bassist John Gustafson. The LP was produced by Purple’s Roger Glover at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany in December, 1975 through January, 1976. The album reached No. 55 in England.
- July 1983 Virgin Records release “Wonderland” by XTC on 45 in England. Written by Colin Moulding, the session was co-produced by XTC and Steve Nye. It was the only single from the group’s “Mummer” LP to be released in the US, in February, 1984.
- July 1987 Virgin Records release “You’re A Good Man Albert Brown (Curse You Red Barrel)” by The Dukes Of Stratosphere on 45. The band were XTC with guitarist Dave Gregory’s brother Ian on drums. The song was written by Andy Partridge, and credited to Sir John Johns. The record was co-produced by the band and John Leckie.
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of June 29th
This Week In Rock and Roll History is a weekly one hour look back at the songs, the artists, and the stories behind the music of the rock and roll era.
The Cool Song Of The Week
Cool Song Of The Week June 29th - Nilsson
Cool songs from the Rock and Roll Era, Closet Classics and more.
Nektar Wax Museum interview 4/11/22
Nektar interviewed by Chris Palladino on the second night of the 2025 "Mission To Mars" Tour
- Click image to hear the exclusive the Wax Museum interview with Nektar discussiing the current tour, future plans and group history.
The Paul Bielatowicz Band Wax Museum interview 4/11/22
The Paul Bielatowicz Band interviewed by Chris Palladino on 4/11/25 their 2025 Spring Tour
- Click image to hear the exclusive the Wax Museum interview with The Paul Bielatowicz Band discussiing the current tour and future plans.
Music and conversation with Andy Tillison of The Tangent
Wax Museum interview May 2024
- Click image to hear The Wax Museum's Andy Tillison interview
Jonas Reingold Interview with Chris Palladino
Jonas Reingold in The Wax Museum
Click image to hear Chris Palladino's Wax Museum Interview with Jonas Reingold
Carl Giammarese interview with Chris Palladino
The Buckinghams Radio Show
Click image to hear Chris Palladino's interviews on WRGG with Carl Giammarese from The Buckinghams in 2022 and 2024
Craig Maher Interview on WRGG-FM 6/26/21
Craig Maher from Exo-X-Xeno talking about the new single "Onward, Love"
- Click picture to listen to the interview with Craig talking about the Exo-X-Xeno project with Yes members Billy Sherwood, Jay Shellen and Patrick Moraz.
Woody Lissauer Wax Museum Interview 2/22/20
Baltimore based Woody Lissauer steps up to the Wax Museum microphones for this in depth interview!
- Click picture to listen to the Wax Museum interview with Woody Lissauer and his latest album "Trouble The Water" with Barbara Ireland and Steve Caplan.
Robert Fripp Radio Oz interview 7/25/85
King Crimson guitarist interviewed by Chris Palladino
- Click Fripp's image to hear the King Crimson guitarist, record producer, solo artist in this 1985 interview for the WARX Sunday night Radio Oz program. Fripp discusses his then current Guitar Craft courses, King Crimson stories, his start in the music business, and more.
Annie Haslam 2019 Wax Museum interview
Renaissance singer interviewed by Chris Palladino
- Click picture to hear Annie Haslam "In Words and Music". The iconic Renaissance singer talks at length about music, her life, and artwork for an exclusive interview in The Wax Museum.
Tommy James Wax Museum Interview January 2019
Tommy James with Chris Palladino
- Click picture to hear Tommy promoting all his planned 2019 activities; new album, Sirius XM radio show, touring, new movie, etc.
From Chris Palladino's Radio Oz interview archives
Recently released 1980 Firesign Theatre interview
- Click picture to listen to this archival interview with The Firesign Theatre recorded during their 1980 Fighting Clowns tour of the US for Chris Palladino's Radio Oz program, now available for purchase in the Firesign Theatre's "Fighting Clowns" of Hollywood" collection!
