Wax Museum Radio
Next broadcast May 23rd Friday Night at midnight and Saturday night at 10pm on WRGG.
Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History May 23rd
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.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
May 23rd
- May 23rd Birthday, The inventor of the Moog Electronic Music Synthesizer, Robert Moog (pronounced Moug), born in New York City in 1934. He died on August 21st, 2005, aged 71.
- May 23rd Birthday, Chairman of the Board singer Norman Johnson, known as General Johnson, born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1941. He died on October 13th, 2010, aged 69.
- May 23rd Birthday, Parliament and Funkadelic drummer Tiki Fulwood, born Ramon Fulwood in 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fulwood died of stomach cancer on October 29th, 1979 at the age of 35.
- May 23rd Birthday, J. Geils Band bassist Daniel Klein, born in The Bronx, New York City in 1946.
- May 23rd Birthday, Guitarist Rick Fenn, session guitarist and a member of 10cc since 1976, born in 1953.
- May 23rd Birthday, Radiohead drummer Phil Selway, born in Abingdon-on Thames, Oxfordshire, England in 1967.
- May 23rd Birthday, Singer, songwriter Jewel, born in Payson, Utah in 1974.
Today In Rock and Roll History
May 23rd
- May 23rd, 1958 The Coasters “Yakety Yak” is the No. 1 record in the US.
- May 23rd, 1960 Cadence Records release The Everly Brothers’ “When Will I Be Loved” backed with “Be Bop A-Lula” on 45. With Chet Atkins on guitar, Floyd Cramer playing piano and Buddy Harmon on drums, the session was produced by Wesley Rose. The song was written by Don Everly and the record peaked at No. 8 on July 23rd.
- May 23rd, 1962 ABC-Paramount Records release “Save Your Kisses” backed with “Sheila” by Tommy Roe on 45. Originally recorded for Judd Records in 1960, credited to Tommy Roe and The Satins, “Sheila” was written by Roe and was rerecorded with producer Felton Jarvis. The hit version was recorded in the style of Buddy Holly and bears a strong resemblance to Holly’s “Peggy Sue.” Playing guitar on the session was Joe South. The record went Gold for a million copies sold in the US. “Sheila” became Roe’s first chart hit in July and went to No. 1 on September 1st.
- May 23rd, 1963 Paul Revere And The Raiders sign with Columbia Records after nine singles on independent labels from 1960 through 1963. The band had a No. 38 hit on April 22nd, 1961 with the instrumental “Like, Long Hair.” On Columbia, the group would have fourteen Top Forty singles between 1965 and 1971.
- May 23rd, 1969 The Who release their double album set “Tommy” in England. Recorded September 1968 through March 1969 at IBC studios, London with producer Kit Lambert. It was The Who’s breakthrough album, with a narrative about a boy that loosely portrayed spiritual concepts as taught by Indian guru Meher Baba, who Pete Townshend had become a follower of, that passed away in 1969. The band promoted the album’s release with an extensive tour, including a live version of Tommy, which lasted throughout 1969 and 1970. The album went to No. 2 in Britain. Out on the 31st in the US, the album peaked at No. 4 on September 19thand remained on the charts for one hundred and twenty-six weeks.
- May 23rd, 1969 British trio Thunderclap Newman release “Something In The Air” in the UK. The single hit No. 1 in Britain for three weeks in the beginning of July. The recording session for the song was produced by Pete Townshend, was doubled as the bassist as well. The song would have an August release on 45 in the states and was featured in the closing scene of the Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr film The Magic Christian. In America, the record peaked at No. 37 on November 1st.
- May 23rd, 1969 Columbia Records release “Wake Up” by The Chambers Brothers on 45. Co-written by American songwriters Marvin Hamlisch and Joel Hirschhorn, the single peaked at No. 92 on July 12th.
- May 23rd, 1970 Ode Records release the Merry Clayton version of “Gimme Shelter” on 45. Clayton was the backing vocalist on the original version by The Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 73 on July 18th.
- May 23rd, 1970 Bell Records release “Melanie Makes Me Smile” by Tony Burrows on 45. Burrows was the voice of Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows,” “Beach Baby” by First Class and several other hits not released under his own name. The record peaked at No. 87 on June 27th.
- May 23rd, 1970 “Spill The Wine” by Eric Burdon and War enters the singles charts on MGM Records. The song was co-written by Charles Miller, Howard E. Scott, B.B. Dickerson, Lonnie Jordan, Harold Ray Brown, Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen, Lee Oskar and Eric Burdon. The song was inspired by an accident in which keyboardist Lonnie Jordan spilled wine on a mixing board. Produced by Jerry Goldstein,“Spill The Wine” was War’s first chart hit, hitting No. 3 on August 22nd.
- May 23rd, 1970 The Grateful Dead play their first British concert at The Hollywood Rock Festival. Also on the festival bill were Free, Family, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Colosseum, Black Sabbath, Mungo Jerry, Screaming Lord Sutch, the Radha Krishna Temple and Traffic.
- May 23rd, 1970 “Man Of Constant Sorrow” by Ginger Baker’s Air Force enters the singles charts on Atco Records. Also known as “I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow,” the song is a traditional American folk song first published by Dick Burnett, a partially blind fiddler from Kentucky. The song was originally titled “Farewell Song” in a songbook by Burnett dated to around 1913. The Ginger Baker version is a live recording with Denny Laine on vocals that charted for two weeks and peaked at No. 85 on May 30th.
- May 23rd, 1970 “Mama Told Me Not To Come,” Three Dog Night’s version of the Randy Newman song enters the singles charts on Dunhill Records. Written by Newman for the first Eric Burdon solo album, the Three Dog Night arrangement was close to the Burdon version, which came out first, in 1967. Donna Summer sang an uncredited backing vocal on the Three Dog Night session. The record peaked at No. 1 on July 11th.
- May 23rd, 1970 Probe Records release “The Witch” by The Rattles on 45. The song was written and produced by Herbert Hildebrandt-Winhauer. The record entered the charts in June and peaked at No. 29 on July 25th.
- May 23rd, 1970 Roulette Records release “Tighter Tighter,” by Brooklyn band Alive ‘n Kickin’. The song was co-written and produced by Tommy James and Bob King and arranged by Jimmy Wisner. James wrote the song intending it to be released as a solo record, but couldn’t find an arrangement that worked for him, so he brought in Alive ‘n Kickin’ to add their instruments to basic tracks James had already taped. Led by singers Pepe Cardona and Sandy Toder, James rewrote the lyrics as a duet. “Tighter Tighter” entered the charts in June, went to No. 7 on August 8th, sold over a million copies and was the band’s only charting single.
- May 23rd, 1972 David Bowie records four songs for the BBC Radio show Sound Of The Seventies. The program was broadcast on June 19th.
- May 23rd, 1972 Reprise Records release “Sail Away” by Randy Newman, co-produced by Larry Waronker and Russ Titleman, at three Los Angeles studios, Amigo, Western and Poppi. Ry Cooder played guitar on the LP and Jim Keltner and The Byrds’ Gene Parsons played drums. “Sail Away” peaked at No. 163 on October 7th.
- May 23rd, 1975 Bearsville Records release “Initiation,” the sixth album by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren produced the LP at Secret Sound and Mediasound Studios in New York City and at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York. At sixty-seven minutes long, the capacity for one vinyl album to contain more than the usual twenty minutes per side was stretched to the point where Rundgren compromised the bass response and volume to keep the grooves small enough for it to fit on a single disc. The music on both sides of the record was also sped up to make it fit. “Initiation” peaked at No. 86 on June 28th.
- May 23rd, 1975 Melodyland Records release “She’s Got The Biggest Parakeets In Town” by Jud Strunk on 45. Co-produced by Mike Curb and Don Costa, the record entered the singles charts in July and peaked at No. 50 on August 9th.
- May 23rd, 1979 Tom Petty files a petition for bankruptcy and asks to be released from his contract with ABC Records.
- May 23rd, 1979 Casablanca Records release “Dynasty,” the seventh studio album by Kiss. Produced by Vini Poncia, it was the first time that the four original members of Kiss did not all perform together for the entire album. Kiss hired the South African-born studio drummer Anton Fig with Peter Criss suffering the after-effects of a car accident the year before. The record peaked at No. 9 on July 21st.
- May 23rd, 1980 United Artists Records in Britain release “Ready An’ Willing” by Whitesnake. Recorded between December 1979 and February 1980 in London with producer Martin Birch, Ian Paice joined his fellow x-Deep Purple band mates, David Coverdale and Jon Lord for the LP. The record peaked at No. 90 on September 20th.
- May 23rd, 1980 EG/Polydor Records in England release “Flesh And Blood,” the seventh studio album by Roxy Music. It marked the departure of original band drummer Paul Thompson, reducing the band to its core trio of Bryan Ferry, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay. Out June 21st in America on Atco Records, the record peaked at No. 35 on August 16th. “Flesh And Blood.” went to No. 1 in Britain in June.
- May 23rd, 1980 “11 O’ Clock Tick Tock,” the second single by U2 is released in England, following their debut EP and the 45 “Another Day.” Both earlier releases were issued in Ireland only. The record was produced by Martin Hannett, who had worked with Joy Division.
- May 23rd, 1981 “The Breakup Song (They Don’t Write ‘Em)” by the Greg Kihn Band enters the singles charts on Berserkley Records. Produced by Matthew King Kaufman, the song was co-written by Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. The record peaked at No. 15 on September 5th.
- May 23rd, 1987 The Doobie Brothers reunite with twelve former members at a charity concert in LA’s “Hollywood Bowl,” raising three hundred and sixty-thousand dollars for Vietnam Veterans.
- May 23rd, 1995 Reprise Records release “Forever Blue,” the fifth album by Chris Isaak. Producer Erik Jacobsen recorded the tracks at Studio D and Dave Wellhausen Recording in San Francisco. The LP peaked at No. 31 on June 10th.
- May 23rd, 1998 Reprise Records release “Debbie” by The B-52’s as a CD single and promotional twelve-inch vinyl disc. The song was co-written by the band members, Keith Strickland, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. Inspired by Blondie singer Debbie Harry, it was the lead single from the band’s “Time Capsule: Songs For A Future Generation” album.
Miscellaneous May
- May 1949 “Back Home Blues” backed with “Rock Awhile” by Goree Carter and His Hep Cats is released as a 78 rpm record on the Freedom Records label. Influenced by the guitar work of T Bone Walker, “Rock Awhile” stakes a legitimate claim as the first rock and roll record released. Eighteen years old when he recorded the song, the overdriven guitar tone and pentatonic lead predated rock and a style similar to Chuck Berry.
- May 1966 White Whale Records release “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” backed with “I’ll Go On,” the second single by Lyme & Cybelle, the folk rock duo of Warren Zevon and Violet Santangelo. Bob Dylasn wrote “If You Gottsa Go, Go Now,” and the B-side was a Zevon/Santangelo co-write. The record was produced by Bones Howe.
- May 1968 Parlophone Records in Britain release “(The Autobiography Of) Mississippi Hobo,” the second single by Hans Christian. Hans Christian was future Yes singer Jon Anderson. The single was arranged and produced by Paul Korda.
- May 1970 Viking Records press promotional copies of “From Denver To L.A.” on 45. Credited with a vocal by “Elton Johns,” it was taken from the movie soundtrack from the 20thCentury Fox film The Games. Original copies of the record are considered one of the rarest Elton John singles.
- May 1972 Bearsville Records release “Wonder Girl,” the debut single by Sparks. Written by Ron Mael, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren. Rundgren signed the band to Bearsville and produced their first album when the band was known as Halfnelson. The band changed its’ name to Sparks after the LP came out in October 1971. The name change led to a new cover and re-release of the album in February 1972.
- May 1973 Chrysalis Records release “Grand Hotel” by Procol Harum on 45. Co-written by Keith Reid and Gary Brooker, the song served as the title track of Procol Harum’s sixth studio LP, produced by Chris Thomas.
- May 1975 Harvest Record release “HQ,” the eighth studio album by Roy Harper. Recorded in March at Abbey Road Studios in London with producer Peter Jenner, when the LP came out in America, the cover art and the title changed to “When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease.” David Gilmour, Chris Spedding, Bill Bruford and John Paul Jones played sessions on the LP.
- May 1976 MCA Records release “Gimme Back My Bullets” by Lynyrd Skynyrd on 45. The song was co-written by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant. The studio track was produced by Tom Dowd.
- May 1977 CBS Records in Britain release “Ian Hunter’s Overnight Angels” album. Recorded at several different studios in the US, Canada and England with producer Roy Thomas Baker, Hunter’s US label, Columbia Records refused to release the LP with Hunter’s business management in disarray and no tour scheduled to support the album. Featured on the album sessions were guitarist Earl Slick.
- May 1984 Passport Records release “Russians & Americans,” the tenth studio album by Al Stewart. The LP was produced by Mike Flicker at four different studios, three in California and Abbey Road Studios in London. British and US issues on the record had different tracks. A 2007 reissue collected all the songs on one CD.
- May 1985 EMI Records in Britain release remixed versions of “Loving The Alien” backed with “Don’t Look Down” on 45, originally from from the David Bowie LP “Tonight.” Bowie wrote the AS-side. “Don’t Look Down” was a song co-written by David Bowie and The Stooges’ guitarist James Williamson.
- May 1985 Legacy Records in Britain release “Under Fire” backed with “On Top Of The World” by Roy Wood on 45. Both songs were written and produced by Roy Wood from the LP “Starting Up.”
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of May 17th
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 5/17 The Beatles
Cool songs from the Rock and Roll Era, Closet Classics and more.
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Nektar Wax Museum interview 4/11/25
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Tommy James Wax Museum Interview January 2019
Tommy James
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Firesign Theatre interview 1980
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Baltimore based Woody Lissauer steps up to the Wax Museum microphones for this in depth interview!
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