Wax Museum Radio
Next broadcast January 31st Friday Night at midnight and Saturday night at 10pm on WRGG.
Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History January 25th
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
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.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
January 25th
- January 25th Birthday, Memphis and Chicago bluesman “Sleepy” John Estes, born in either 1899 or 1890 in Ripley, Tennessee.
- January 25th Birthday, Stig Anderson, songwriter, producer and ABBA’s manager, born in Hova, Sweden in 1931.
- January 25th Birthday, Soul, blues, jazz singer Etta James, born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938 in Los Angeles, California. She died on January 20th, 2012 of leukemia, aged 73.
- January 25th Birthday, Keyboard player Michael Cotten from The Tubes, born in 1950.
- January 25th Birthday, British born Split Enz drummer Malcolm Green, born in 1953.
- January 25th Birthday, The English Beat and The Fine Young Cannibals guitarist Andy Cox, born in 1956 in Birmingham, England.
- January 25th Birthday, Bassist Gary Tibbs from Roxy Music and Adam and the Ants, born in 1958 in Northwood, Middlesex, England.
- January 25th Birthday, R&B and soul singer, songwriter Alicia Keys, born Alicia J. Augello-Cook in 1981 in New York City.
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.
Today In Rock and Roll History
January 25th
- January 25th, 1957 RCA Victor Records release the four song “Strictly Elvis” EP by Elvis Presley.
- January 25th, 1958 Buddy Holly records “Rave On” at Bell Sound Studios in New York City with Milton DeLugg producing. Co-written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty, Coral Records released the 45 on April 20th. A year and a half later, August 2nd, 1959 “Rave On” peaked at No. 5 in Britain. The record is one of Holly’s last to become a hit in his lifetime.
- January 25th, 1963 After starting there as the hat check girl, Cilla Black makes her stage debut at Liverpool’s Cavern Club.
- January 25th, 1963 “California Sun” by South Bend, Indiana band The Rivieras enters the singles charts. Originally recorded by New Orleans singer Joe Jones in 1960, the song was written by American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player Henry Glover. The Rivieras covered “California Sun” and had the bigger hit with it, peaking at No. 5 on February 29th.
- January 25th, 1964 “The Ventures In Space” enters the album charts following an October 1963 release on Dolton Records. The record peaked at No. 27 on February 29th.
- January 25th, 1964 “Oh Baby (Don’t You Weep)” by James Brown and The Famous Flames enters the singles charts on King Records. Written by James Brown, the song is based on the spiritual “Mary Don’t You Weep.” It was the last original release by Brown credited to he and The Famous Flames. A dispute Brown had with producer Gene Redd during the recording session led to Brown leaving the label for Mercury Records. Canned audience noise was added to the otherwise studio recording to create the sound of a live concert performance. The full-length track was split into Pts. 1 and 2 on both sides of the single. The record hit No. 23 on March 14th.
- January 25th, 1967 The Beatles began recording ‘A Day In The Life’ at Abbey Road studios London recording four takes during the sessions for the band’s LP “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”
- January 25th, 1967 The Four Tops record “Bernadette” at Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A) in Detroit. The session was co-produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier and co-written by the pair with Eddie Holland. Four Tops’ singer Levi Stubbs sang lead on the song with instrumental backing by The Funk Brothers. Earl Van Dyke played keyboards on the session. Motown released the song as a single on February 16th. The record peaked at No. 4 on April 8th.
- January 25th, 1969 “Hey! Baby” by Jose Feliciano enters the singles charts. The song is a cover of the Bruce Channel song from 1961, co-written by Channel and Margaret Cobb. The Feliciano version was produced by RCA staff producer Rick Jarrard. The record peaked at No. 71 on February 15th.
- January 25th, 1969 “Crossroads” by Cream enters the singles charts. The song was originally recorded by blues musician Robert Johnson in the 1930s. According to legend, Johnson went to the crossroads and made a deal with the Devil, giving up his soul in exchange for the ability to play the blues. The Cream version was a live recording taken from the group’s “Wheels Of Fire” album and reached No. 28 on March 8th.
- January 25th, 1969 “Indian Giver” by 1910 Fruitgum Company enters the singles charts. The band began in Linden, New Jersey as Jeckell and The Hydes, led by guitarist Frank Jeckell. They changed their name and signed with the Kasenetz Katz organization, who produced a clutch of bubblegum pop hits for Buddah Records in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Co-written by Bobby Bloom, Ritchie Cordell and the record’s producer, Bo Gentry, the record went to No. 5 on March 22nd, No. 1 in Canada and South Africa.
- January 25th, 1969 Scepter Records release “This Girl’s In Love With You” by Dionne Warwick on 45. The song was co-written and produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, recorded at A&R Studios in New York City with Phil Ramone engineering. The single peaked at No. 7 on March 8th.
- January 25th, 1969 “Purple Haze” by Dion enters the singles charts. A cover version of the Jimi Hendrix song, he session was produced by Phil Gernhard. The record charted for four weeks and peaked at No. 63 on February 8th.
- January 25th, 1969 “River Deep Mountain High” by Deep Purple enters the singles charts. A cover of the Tina Turner original, the song was co-written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. The single was edited to a minute and a half down from the album length of over ten minutes. The record charted for five weeks and peaked at No. 53 on February 8th.
- January 25th, 1969 ABC Dunhill Records release the second single by Three Dog Night on 45. The song first appeared in 1932, co-written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly and Henry Woods. Popularized three years earlier by Otis Redding, the Three Dog Night version entered the singles charts in February and peaked at No. 29 in the states on April 19th, No. 19 in Canada.
- January 25th, 1969 The Beatles began recording the song “Let It Be” at their Apple Studios in London with producer George Martin. Paul McCartney claimed he began writing the song after he’d had a dream about his late mother, Mary Patricia McCartney, who’d died from breast cancer when he was fourteen years old. Written towards the end of the group's White Album sessions in 1968 the band first rehearsed the song in September that year and again during Get Back rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios. The master take of the track was recorded on January 31st,1969 at Apple Studios with Billy Preston on organ. Take 27 was chosen as best. The final overdubs and backing vocals were recorded on January 4th, 1970 with Linda McCartney on backing vocals and an orchestral arrangement added under the supervision of McCartney and George Martin. The single version was mixed for release on January 4th, 1970. Phil Spector's March 1970 mix for the album changed the feel of the track, adding echo to Ringo's high hat, mixing in an alternative George Harrison guitar solo and boosting the orchestral score in the mix. Apple Records released “Let It Be” on 45 backed with “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)” on 45 in Britain on March 6th, 1970. In America, the single came out on the 11th, debuted in the Top Ten on the 21st and peaked at No. 1 on April 11th. On the same day, The Beatles recorded George Harrison's “For You Blue.” Take six was used in the Let It Be film. Take seven was chosen for use on the “Let It Be” soundtrack LP. Harrison rerecorded his lead vocal on January 8th, 1970. The track was also released as the B-side of The Beatles final US single “The Long And Winding Road.”
- January 25th, 1971 A&M Records release “Nature’s Way backed with “Mr. Skin” by Spirit on 45. Produced by David Briggs and taken from the LP “Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus,” “Nature’s Way” was written by guitarist Randy California as a reflection on mortality, a lament for the fate of the Earth, as nature is telling us that something is wrong. “Mr. Skin” was originally issued as the single’s A-side on November 15th, 1970. Re-released in 1973 to capitalize on the enduring popularity of the album, the single entered the charts in October and peaked at No. 92 on November 3rd.
- January 25th, 1973 Reprise Records release “The Great Lost Kinks Album,” a collection of previously unreleased Kinks material issued after the band left for RCA Records. After the record peaked at No. 145 on March 17th, The Kinks brought suit with the label for distributing unauthorized records. Reprise deleted the album from its catalog in 1975.
- January 25th, 1973 Warner Brothers Records release “Dixie Chicken,” the third studio album by Little Feat. The band added guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton to the line-up for the recording of the LP. Bassist Kenny Gradney replaced original band bassist Roy Estrada, who had left to join Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band. Sessions for the LP took place at three different studios, Clover Recorders and Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and Warner Brothers Recording Studio in North Hollywood with Lowell George producing. Danny Hutton from Three Dog Night, Gloria Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett were among the backing vocalists that sang on the record.
- January 25th, 1973 David Bowie finished a week of rehearsals at the Royal Ballroon in Tottenham, London, for the forthcoming UK leg of his Ziggy Stardust tour. Bowie had already played dates in North America and Japan. The tour saw the singer playing a total of 182 shows.
- January 25th, 1974 Led Zeppelin play Market Square Arena in Minneapolis to over seventeen thousand fans. Tickets were $8.50 to get in.
- January 25th, 1974 Charisma Records in Britain release “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” by Genesis on 45. Co-written by the band, who co-produced the track with John Burns, the single became the band’s first chart single in England, reaching No. 21 in June.
- January 25th, 1974 Polydor Records in Britain release “The Air That I Breathe” by The Hollies on 45. The song was co-written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood for Hammond’s “It Never Rains In Southern California” LP in 1972. The Hollies and producer Ron Richards with studio engineer Alan Parsons cut their version at EMI Studios in London during two sessions on November 15th and the 22nd. Epic Records in the US issued the single on March 11th. The record entered the US singles charts in April and reached No. 6 on August 3rd, No. 2 in the UK.
- January 25th, 1975 The Carpenters’ “Please Mr. Postman” becomes the No. 1 single in the US.
- January 25th, 1975 “Chico And The Man” by Jose Feliciano enters the singles charts. The song was the theme from the prime-time sitcom on NBC television from 1974 through 1978. The record peaked at No. 96 on February 1st.
- January 25th, 1975 “Have You Never Been Mellow” by Olivia Newton-John enters the singles charts. Written and produced by John Farrar, the song was released as the lead single and title track of Newton-John’s fifth album. The single hit No. 1 on March 8th. “Have You Never Been Mellow” was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards.
- January 25th, 1978 Joy Division made their live debut when they played Pips in Manchester, England.
- January 25th, 1980 EMI Records in Britain release “Save Me” by Queen on 45. Written by Queen guitarist Brian May as a stand-alone single, “Save Me” was recorded in Munich, Germany in the summer of 1979 with Queen and Reinhold Mack producing. The record was later issued on the Queen album “The Game.” “Save Me” peaked at No. 11 in Britain.
- January 25th, 1988 Dark Horse Records release George Harrison’s Beatles’ pastiche “When We Was Fab” on 45 in Britain, out five days later in the US. Co-written and produced by Harrison and Jeff Lynne, the single reached No. 23 in America on March 26th, No. 25 in the UK. It was Harrison’s last Top Forty single.
- January 25th, 1989 Virgin Records release “After The War,” the seventh solo album by Irish guitarist Gary Moore. Cozy Powell played drums on the album, along with Don Airey on keyboards and a guest vocal from Ozzy Osborne. The LP peaked at No. 114 on April 29th.
- January 25th, 1991 Paul McCartney appears on MTV’s Unplugged The performance was broadcast in April and later released as a limited-edition album by Capitol Records on June 4th.
- January 25th, 2000 Artemis Records release “Life’ll Kill Ya,” the tenth studio album by Warren Zevon. Co-produced by Paul Q. Kolderie and Sean Slade, the record peaked at No. 173 on February 12th.
Miscellaneous January
- January 1959 Del Fi Records release “Fast Freight” backed with Big Baby Blues” by Arvee Allens on 45. Both instrumentals, the name was a pseudonym for Ritchie Valens, who wrote the songs. Rereleased later under his real name, it was Valens’ last single issued in his lifetime.
- January 1967 Verve Folkways Records release “More Than A New Discovery,” the first album by Laura Nyro. The LP was produced by Milton Okun from July through November 1966 at Bell Sound Studios in New York City. Verve reissued the tracks as “The First Songs” in 1969 on their Verve Forecast imprint and Columbia did the same in 1973, reissued with a new cover, when it peaked at No. 97 on March 24th.
- January 1968 CBS Records in Britain release “Come Out Fighting Genghis Smith,” the second album by Roy Harper. The LP was produced by Shel Talmy.
- January 1969 CBS Records in Britain release “Love Chronicles,” the second album by Al Stewart. The LP was co-produced by Roy Guest, John Wood and Al Stewart. Session musicians included Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and four members of Fairport Convention, Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble and Ashley Hutchings.
- January 1971 Warner Brothers Records release the self-titled debut album by Little Feat. Produced by Russ Titelman, the LP didn’t chart. Little Feat were formed by guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in Los Angeles in 1969.
- January 1972 Reprise Records release “The Spotlight Kid,” the sixth studio album by Captain Beefheart. The album was recorded in the Autumn of 1971 with Beefheart and Phil Schier co-producing.
- January 1972 Buddah Records release “City Of New Orleans” by songwriter Steve Goodman. Although Goodman’s version didn’t chart, two subsequent cover versions did. Arlo Guthrie and Willie Nelson both had hits with the song. Goodman received a posthumous Grammy award for best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Nelson’s cover of the song.
- January 1973 Palladium Records release “Back In ‘72” by Bob Seger. The album contains the original studio version of one of Seger’s signature songs, “Turn the Page.”
- January 1974 Warner Brothers Records release “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath” by Black Sabbath on 45. The single version of the song was edited to three minutes and thirty-three seconds from the album version that was nearly six minutes long.
- January 1974 Ardent Records release “Radio City,” the second album by Big Star. Down to the three-piece unit of Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel, former guitarist Chris Bell did contribute to the writing of a few songs on the LP before departing in late 1972. A few of the songs were completed by Chilton with session players. Sales were hampered by poor distribution of the album when Ardent’s parent company had disagreements with Columbia Records, who otherwise would have placed the album in stores.
- January 1975 Wilco Johnson’s band, Dr. Feelgood, release their first LP “Down The Jetty” on United Artists Records in Britain.
- January 1976 Mercury Records release “Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed” by Thin Lizzy on 45. The song was co-written by Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham and Brian Downey. The track was produced by John Alcock from the band’s “Johnny The Fox” LP.
- January 1977 Private Stock Records release the eponymous first album by Blondie. Produced by Richard Gottehrer, the group bought back their contract with Private Stock and re-signed with Chrysalis Records, wrote re-released the album the following September.
- January 1981 Full Moon/Epic Records release “Outside” by Ambrosia as a single backed with the Eagles song “I Can’t Tell You Why” on the flip side. Both songs were featured in the 1980 Richard Donner film soundtrack Inside Moves. The record peaked at No. 102 in the US.
- January 1981 Sire Records release Talking Heads “Once In A Lifetime” on 45. Co-produced and written by the band and Brian Eno. It was the lead single from Talking Heads’ fourth studio album, “Remain In Light.” The LP went to No. 19 on December 6thbut the single never entered the Top One Hundred despite significant airplay on early MTV broadcasts. A live version released in 1986 peaked at No. 91.
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
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of January 25th
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.
Jonas Reingold Interview
Jonas Reingold in The Wax Museum
Click image to hear Chris Palladino's 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
The Cool Song Of The Week
Cool Song Of The Week January 25th - Spirit
Cool songs from the Rock and Roll Era, Closet Classics and more.
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.
