Wax Museum Radio
Next broadcast August 22nd Friday Night at midnight and Saturday night at 10pm on WRGG.
Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History August 21st
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
August 21st
- August 21st Birthday, Singer, songwriter Kenny Rogers, once a member of the New Christie Minstrels and The First Edition; born in 1938 in Houston, Texas. He passed away on March 20th, 2020 at the age of 81.
- August 21st Birthday, Session Guitarist James Burton, born in 1939 in Dubberly, Louisiana. Burton’s recordings were made on hits by Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers and many others.
- August 21st Birthday, Influential 1960’s international hit singer, songwriter Jackie DeShannon born Sharon Lee Myers in 1944 in Hazel, Kentucky.
- August 21st Birthday, The Buckinghams guitarist and singer Carl Giammarese, born in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois.
- August 21st Birthday, Deep Purple, Trapeze bassist and solo artist Glenn Hughes, born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England in 1951.
- August 21st Birthday, Songwriter, record producer and session musician Richie Zito, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1952.
- August 21st Birthday, The Clash guitarist, singer, songwriter Joe Strummer, born John Graham Mellor in 1952 in Ankara, Turkey. He died on December 22nd, 2002 at the age of 50.
- August 21st Birthday, Journey drummer and solo artist Steve Smith, born in Whitman, Massachusetts in 1954.
Today In Rock and Roll History
August 21st
- August 21st, 1954 Federal Records release “Annie Had A Baby” by The Midnighters on 45. The song was co-written by Henry Glover and Lois Mann as an answer to The Midnighters hit “Work With Me Annie” in April. The lyrics earned the record a ban by the FCC but still sold more than a million copies and reached No. 1 on the R&B charts.
- August 21st, 1959 United Artists Records release “You Got What It Takes” by Marv Johnson on 45. Produced by Berry Gordy Jr., the songwriting credits include Gordy with Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Roquel Davis. However, the song was first recorded as the debut single by Bobby Parker and released on Vee Jay Records in 1958. Parker claimed he wrote the song, reflected on the record label writing credits and claimed Berry Gordy flat out stole the song from him. With limited resources, Parker said he did not have the money to bring forth a lawsuit against Gordy. The Marv Johnson version peaked at No. 10 on February 13th.
- August 21st, 1961 The Dovells from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania release “Bristol Stomp.” Co-written by Kal Mann and Dave Appel, the song went to No. 2 in the United States on October 28th and sold over one million copies, earning a Gold Record. The Dovells lead vocalist was Len Barry.
- August 21st, 1961 Tamla Records release The Marvelettes’ first single, “Please Mr. Postman.” Co-written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman, Funk Brother “Chank” Willis played guitar and Marvin Gaye played drums on the session. It was the group’s debut single for the label and Motown’s first No. 1 hit, selling over a million copies.
- August 21st, 1965 The No. 1 album in the US was The Rolling Stones “Out Of Our Heads.”
- August 21st, 1965 “You’ve Got Your Troubles” by The Fortunes enters the singles charts. Released earlier in the month, the song was co-written by the songwriting duo of Roger Greenaway and Roger Cook. Produced for Decca Records by Noel Walker, the 45 went to No. 2 in Britain and Top Ten in the US at No. 7. Les Reed, who arranged the session, wrote the signature trumpet motif in the song.
- August 21st, 1965 Sonny Bono’s solo single “Laugh At Me” and the Sonny and Cher 45 “Baby Don’t Go” enter the singles charts the same day. Released August 7thby Atco Records, “Laugh At Me” was written and arranged by Sonny Bono and peaked at No. 10 on September 25th. Like Sonny’s solo record, “Baby Don’t Go” was written and arranged by Sonny Bono, but was released ten months earlier, in October 1964, by Reprise Records. With the huge success of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” Reprise reissued the single. A year later, “Baby Don’t Go” peaked at No. 8 on October 9th, 1965.
- August 21st, 1967 Capitol Records release “Ode To Billie Jo,” the debut album by Bobbie Gentry. The album dislodged The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” LP at No. 1 on October 14th.
- August 21st, 1967 Stax Records release Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man.” Co-written and produced by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the record would hit No. 2 in America on November 4th and earn Gold Record status. “Soul Man” won the 1968 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental. Steve Cropper of Booker T. and the MGs, the house band who provided the instrumentation for “Soul Man” and other Sam and Dave singles, is name checked before the solo guitar break in the song and appeared on The Blues Brothers cover as well, in 1978.
- August 21st, 1970 A&M Records release “We’ve Only Just Begun” by The Carpenters on 45. Co-written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, the record entered the charts in September and peaked at No. 2 on October 31st.
- August 21st, 1970 Columbia Records release Simon and Garfunkel’s “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” on 45. Spanish for “The Condor Passes,” the song was written by Paul Simon, who co-produced the single with Roy Halee. The 45 entered the charts in September and reached No. 18 on October 31st.
- August 21st, 1970 The Bee Gees record “Lonely Days” at IBC Studios in London following writing sessions at Barry Gibbs Holland Park, London flat which produced “Lonely Days” and “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart.” The orchestral arrangement is an homage to side two of The Beatles “Abbey Road” LP. Atco Records released “Lonely Days” as a single on November 6th. The record entered the charts in December and went to No. 3 on January 30th, 1971.
- August 21st, 1971 Columbia Records release “Get It While You Can” by Janis Joplin on 45. Co-written by Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Shuman, the track was produced by Paul Rothchild. The record peaked at No. 78 on September 18th.
- August 21st, 1971 Stephen Stills “Marianne” enters the singles charts, released earlier in the month on Atlantic Records. Issued as the second 45 from the “Stephen Stills 2” LP, Stills co-produced the track with Bill Halverson. The record would peak at No. 42 on September 25th.
- August 21st, 1971 The double album soundtrack to the movie Shaft, enters the album charts. With mostly instrumental music for the film composed by Isaac Hayes, the record charted for seventy-one weeks and peaked at No. 1 on November 6th.
- August 21st, 1971 Big Tree Records release “California Kid And Reemo” by Lobo on 45. The song was co-written by Andrew Michael Gately and Robert John Pedrick, Jr. The record, produced by Phil Gernhard, peaked at No. 72 on September 11th.
- August 21st, 1974 Carole King’s “Jazzman” is released on 45, co-written by Carole King with lyrics by David Palmer, formerly of Steely Dan. The record was produced by Lou Adler at A&M Studios in Hollywood with a sax solo by Tom Scott. The record went to No. 2 on November 9th. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
- August 21st, 1976 Linda Ronstadt’s version of the Buddy Holly song, “That’ll Be The Day,” enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Buddy Holly and The Crickets drummer Jerry Allison. Produced by Peter Asher, the single reached No. 11 on October 23rd.
- August 21st, 1976 The Rolling Stones appear in front of two hundred thousand fans with Todd Rundgren, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 10cc and others on the bill at England’s annual Knebworth Festival. The concert was falsely advertised as “the last Stones show ever to be held in Britain.” The Stones came on several hours after scheduled when a member of their road crew cut cables before opening act 10cc’s set to allow Keith Richards to sleep off a drunken stupor.
- August 21st, 1978 RCA Records release “Along The Red Ledge” by Daryl Hall and John Oates. The LP was the first to feature the band the duo played with on the road as opposed to mostly session players on previous records, guitarist Caleb Quaye, bassist Kenny Passarelli and drummer Roger Pope. Produced by David Foster, the LP does feature guest guitarists George Harrison, Robert Fripp, Steve Lukather, Rick Nielson, Todd Rundgren and Dick Wagner. The album peaked at No. 27 on November 4th.
- August 21st, 1978 Capitol Records release “London Town” by Paul McCartney and Wings on 45. Co-written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, the song was recorded well over a year before it was issued as a single from the “London Town” LP. The 45 peaked at No. 39 on October 14th.
- August 21st, 1980 Warner Brothers Records release “Real Love” by The Doobie Brothers on 45. Co-written by Michael McDonald and Patrick Henderson and produced by Ted Templeman, the record peaked at No. 5 on October 25th.
- August 21st, 1982 “Steppin’ Out” by Joe Jackson entered the singles charts following a July release on A&M Records. Written by Jackson and co-produced Jackson and David Kershenbaum, the record spent twenty-seven weeks on the charts and peaked at No. 6 on December 11th. “Steppin Out” was Jackson’s highest charting single in the United States.
- August 21st, 1989 Chrysalis Records release “Rock Island,” the seventeenth studio album by Jethro Tull. For the sessions, Doane Perry was now the band’s full-time drummer and keyboards were performed by Fairport Convention’s Maartin Alcock and former Tull member Peter John-Vettesse. The record peaked at No. 56 on October 14th.
- August 21st, 2000 Paul McCartney releases the experimental “Liverpool Sound Collage” disc. Asked by artist Peter Blake to create music with a Liverpool spirit to it to complement his concurrent artwork exhibition. Over five tracks, McCartney created a collage of samples of The Beatles talking in the studio, music and various snippets of sound with remix artists Youth and Welsh band Super Furry Animals.
Miscellaneous August
- August 1957 Ace Records release “Rockin’ Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu” by Huey “Piano” Smith on 45. The song was co-written by Smith and Johnny Vincent. The session for the track included Sidney Rayfield and “Scarface” John Williams on vocals, Lee Allen on tenor sax, Earl King on guitar, Frank Fields on bass and Charles “Hungry” Williams on drums. The record peaked at No. 52 on the Pop singles charts.
- August 1958 Dot Records release “Scratchin’” backed with the novelty song “I Hates Rabbits” by Jerry Neal on 45. Neal was a stage name of Jerry Capehart. He co-wrote both songs with Eddie Cochran. Cochran is rumored to play all the instruments on “Scratchin’,” while Cochran plays lead guitar on “I Hates Rabbits.”
- August 1958 Tune Town Records release “Boxtop” by Ike Turner, Carson Oliver and Little Ann, the first record release to feature the future Tina Turner on vocals. The song was written by Ike Turner, who heard the seventeen-year-old sing during the intermission of a Kings Of Rhythm set at the Manhattan Club in East St. Louis. Carson Oliver was one of the vocalists in Turner’s group, the Kings Of Rhythm band. The track was recorded at Turner’s house on Virginia Place, in East St. Louis.
- August 1963 Original Sound Records release “Heavies” backed with “The Cruncher” by The Rotations on 45. The Rotations were an alias for Paul Buff and Dave Aerni. Both songs were co-written by Aerni and Buff, produced by Frank Zappa at PAL Studio in Cucamonga, California in June. A few seconds of “Heavies” is heard in the opening moments of “Nasal Retentive Caliope Music” on The Mothers Of Invention LP “We’re Only In It For The Money.”
- August 1963 Original Sound Records release “Tijuana” backed with “Grunion Run” by The Hollywood Persuaders on 45. Paul Buff wrote the A-side. “Grunion Run” was performed by Paul Buff and Frank Zappa, recording at PAL Studios in Cucamonga, California in June. Zappa played guitars, bass and drums with Paul Buff on saxophone.
- August 1965 Autumn Records release “Beau Brummels Volume II.” The record featured the hit “You Tell Me Why” and follow-up single “Don’t Talk to Strangers,” but didn’t chart. Sylvester Stewart, later known professionally as Sly Stone, is listed as the album’s producer, but members of the band didn’t recall him being there for the recording sessions.
- August 1969 Immediate Records in Britain release the self-titled album by “The Nice,” the group’s second album.
- August 1971 A&M Records release “White Light,” the second studio album by The Byrds’ singer, songwriter Gene Clark. The LP was recorded at A&M Studios and Village Recorders in Los Angeles with Jesse Ed Davis producing in the Spring, 1971. Playing on the record were Davis, bassist Chris Ethridge of the Flying Burrito Brothers, organist Michael Utley, pianist Ben Sidran and drummer Gary Mallaber, both of the Steve Miller Band.
- August 1972 Thunderclap Newman pianist Andy Newman releases the solo LP “Rainbows” on Track Records in England. Pete Townshend is the executive producer of the album.
- August 1974 Ardent Records release “September Gurls” by Big Star on 45. The song was written by Alex Chilton with autobiographical lyrics about several women in his life. The record was co-produced by Big Stay and John Fry on a six track recording console at Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee during sessions for the band’s second album “Radio City.”
- August 1976 Mushroom Records in Australia release “Second Thoughts,” the second LP by Split Enz. The group’s first LP “Mental Notes” had not been released in America or in Europe, so Chrysalis Records issued “Second Thoughts” in September in Britain and January 1977 in the US – as “Mental Notes” with new cover art. “Second Thoughts” was produced by Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera at Basing Street Studios in London. The LP went to No. 18 in the New Zealand album charts.
- August 1978 Chrysalis Records release “I’m Gonna Love You Too” by Blondie on 45, a cover version of The Crickets’ song from 1957. The song was written by Crickets’ bassist Joe Maudlin, guitarist Niki Sullivan and record producer Norman Petty. Produced by Mike Chapman, it was the first single released from Blondie’s “Parallel Lines” LP.
- August 1980 Virgin Records in Britain release “Generals And Majors” by XTC on 45. Written by Colin Moulding and produced by Steve Lillywhite, it was the first single released from the band’s “Black Sea” album and peaked at No. 32 in England.
- August 1980, Virgin Records release “Doc At The Radar Station” by Captain Beefheart. The album was recorded in June at Sound Castle Recording Studios in Los Angeles with Beefheart producing.
- August 1983 Warner Brothers Records release “Song For A Future Generation” by The B-52’s as the second single from the “Whammy!” LP. The song was written collectively by The B-52’s, produced by Steven Stanley.
- August 1984 EG Records release “The Pearl,” the second album by Harold Budd and Brian Eno. Recorded in Toronto, Canada with Daniel Lanois also producing, the premise of the recordings were established on the pair’s first collaboration “The Plateaux Of Mirror,” with Eno treating Budd’s improvised piano parts with studio effects and later making compositional decisions together to create the released tracks.
- August 1986 IMP Records in Britain release “Tokyo Storm Warning” by Elvis Costello and The Attractions on 45, a song Costello wrote with his wife, The Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan. The track was Costello’s first single release to give credit to his given name MacManus. “Tokyo Storm Warning” was co-produced by Nick Lowe and Colin Fairley.
- August 1987 Virgin Records in England release “Psonic Psunspot,” the first full-length album by The Dukes Of Stratosphere, actually XTC under a different name with guitarist Dave Gregory’s brother Ian on drums. The record was co-produced by John Leckie and the band at Sawmills Studio in Fowey, Cornwall, England in June.
- August 1987 Columbia Records release the movie soundtrack LP “Back To The Beach,” a various artists collection of songs from the film. Highlights include the Stevie Ray Vaughn/Dick Dale remake of “Pipeline,” songs by Dave Edmunds, Eddie Money, Aimee Mann, M<arti Jones and a Herbie Hancock version of “Wipe Out” featuring Dweezil Zappa on guitar and Terry Bozzio on drums.
- August 1989 Virgin Records release “The Loving” by XTC on 45 in Britain. The track came from the band’s Paul Fox produced “Oranges And Lemons” LP.
- August 1992 Warner Brothers Records in Britain release “Real Cool World” by David Bowie on 45. The song was the theme from Real Cool World movie, written by Bowie and produced by Nile Rodgers. The B-side was an instrumental version of the track.
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of August 16th
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 8/16 The Band
Cool songs from the Rock and Roll Era, Closet Classics and more.
Craig Maher / Exo-X-Xeno Wax Museum Interview
Craig Maher from Exo-X-Xeno talking about the 2025 album "Luminous Voyage"
- 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.
Nektar Wax Museum interview 4/11/25
Nektar interviewed 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 4/11/25
The Paul Bielatowicz Band interviewed on 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
Jonas Reingold in The Wax Museum
Click image to hear the Wax Museum Interview with Jonas Reingold
Carl Giammarese / The Buckinghams Interview
The Buckinghams Radio Show
Click image to hear Chris Palladino's interviews on WRGG with Carl Giammarese from The Buckinghams in 2022 and 2024
Robert Fripp Radio Oz interview 7/25/85
King Crimson guitarist Radio Oz interview
- 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
Annie Haslam "In Words and Music"
- 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
- Click picture to hear Tommy promoting all his planned 2019 activities; new album, Sirius XM radio show, touring, new movie, etc.
From the Radio Oz interview archives
Firesign Theatre interview 1980
- Click picture to listen to this archival interview with The Firesign Theatre recorded during their 1980 Fighting Clowns tour of the US for Radio Oz now available for purchase in the Firesign Theatre's "Fighting Clowns" of Hollywood" collection! Also check out this Tiny Ossman interview from 1995 -
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.
