Wax Museum Radio
Next broadcast December 6th, Friday Night at midnight and Saturday night at 10pm on WRGG.
Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History December 4th
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
December 4th
- December 4th Birthday, “Palisades Park” singer Freddy Cannon, born Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. in Revere, Massachusetts in 1940.
- December 4th Birthday, The Byrds bassist Chris Hillman born in 1944 in Los Angeles, California.
- December 4th Birthday, Moby Grape bassist Bob Mosley, born in 1942 in San Diego, California.
- December 4th Birthday, Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, born in 1944 in Inglewood, California. On December 28th, 1983, Wilson drowned at Marina Del Rey, Los Angeles at the age of 39.
- December 4th Birthday, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes singer Southside Johnny, born John Lyon in Neptune, New Jersey in 1948.
- December 4th Birthday, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington born in 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida. He passed away on March 5th, 2023 at the age of 71.
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
December 4th
- December 4th, 1956 Carl Perkins records “Your True Love” and “Matchbox” at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee with Perkins’ band, Jay and Clayton Perkins and W.S. “Fluke” Holland and Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Both songs were written by Perkins, who improvised the lyrics of “Matchbox” in the studio based on the 1927 song “Match Box Blues” by Blind Lemon Jefferson. Later that day, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash joined Lewis, Perkins and his band for an impromptu session, later released as The Million Dollar Quartet.” “Your True Love” peaked at No. 67 on April 6th.
- December 4th, 1961 Gene Chandler’s “Duke of Earl” is released on Vee Jay Records. The song was a co-write between Chandler, Bernice Williams and Earl Edwards. Chandler and Edwards were members of The Dukays when Chandler was still known by his given name, Eugene Dixon. Recorded as a Dukays track, Dixon was offered a chance to issue the song as a solo artist and adopted the name Gene Chandler for its’ release. Produced by Bill Edwards at Universal Recording Studios in Chicago, Illinois, by the first week of February 1962, “Duke of Earl” would reach No. 1, on its way to selling over one million copies worldwide.
- December 4th, 1961 “The Wanderer” by Dion enters the singles charts. Released in November the song was written by Ernie Moresca, who co-wrote Dions previous No. 1 hit, “Runaround Sue.” The track was recorded with producer Gene Schwartz and an uncredited background vocal group, the Del-Satins, who later formed the core of Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge. Mickey Baker of Mickey and Sylvia played lead guitar on the track. “The Wanderer” charted for eighteen weeks and peaked at No. 2 on February 24th, 1962.
- December 4th, 1961 Scepter Records release “Baby It’s You” by The Shirelles on 45. Co-written by Burt Bacharach, Hal David and Luther Dixon, who was credited as Barney Williams, the studio track was produced by Dixon. The record went to No. 3 on the R&B charts and No. 8 on the Pop Singles charts, on February 3rd.
- December 4th, 1964 Columbia Records in Britain release “Yeh Yeh” by Georgie Fame And The Blue Flames on 45. The song was co-written by Jon Hendricks, Laurdine Patrick Jr. and Rogers Grant. Produced by Tony Palmer, the single went to No. 1 in England.
- December 4th, 1964 The Beatles release their fourth studio album, “Beatles For Sale.” Recorded at EMI Studios in London, England with producer George Martin from August through October the album spent eleven weeks at No. 1 in the UK and would stay in the British Top Twenty for Forty-Six weeks.
- December 4th, 1965 The Rolling Stones LP, “December’s Children (And Everybody’s),” the band’s fifth album is released in the US. The LP was essentially a collection of previously unreleased tracks from 1963 through October 1965, including The Stones’ latest single “Get Off Of My Cloud.” The record reached No. 4 in the American album charts on January 8th, 1966.
- December 4th, 1965 The Byrds “Turn! Turn! Turn!” is the No. 1 record in the US.
- December 4th, 1965 New Jersey quintet The Knickerbockers enter the singles charts with “Lies.” Co-written by Beau Charles and Buddy Randell and produced by Jerry Fuller, the track was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in West Hollywood with Bruce Botnick engineering. The multi-track master was taken to Leon Russell’s house in Hollywood Hills where the band recorded the vocals and overdubbed a new guitar part. “Lies” peaked at No. 20 on January 22nd, 1966 during its nine-week chart run.
- December 4th, 1968 Ode Records release “The Family That Plays Together,” the second studio album by Spirit. Recorded from March through September with producer Lou Adler, the record featured the No. 25 hit single “I Got A Line On You.” The LP peaked at No. 22 on March 1st, 1969.
- December 4th, 1971 “Family Affair” by Sly & The Family Stone is the No. 1 record in the US.
- December 4th, 1971 Island Records release “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys” by Traffic. The record was produced by Steve Winwood at Island Studios in London, England in September. It is the only Traffic LP to feature drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Ric Grech. The album reached No. 7 on the American charts on February 19th, 1972.
- December 4th, 1971 Think’s “Once You Understand” enters the singles charts. The song had a very heavy message regarding the inability of parents to understand their children, resulting in the death of the child from a drug overdose. In spite of the difficult subject matter, the single reached No. 23 in the US.
- December 4th, 1971 Bob Dylan’s single “George Jackson” enters the singles charts. Jackson was a member of The Black Guerilla Family of inmate activists and died in jail while serving time for a seventy-dollar robbery, during a prison uprising. Written and produced by Dylan, the Columbia single featured a different version of the song on each side of the record, the “Big Band” version and the “Acoustic” version. “George Jackson” peaked at No. 33 on January 8th, 1972.
- December 4th, 1971 “We’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” by The New Seekers enters the singles charts following a September release on Elektra Records. Co-written by songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenway, the song was popularized when it was used in ads for Coca-Cola. Folk group The Hillside Singers recorded it and their single version went to No. 13. The New Seekers’ version went to No. 7 in the US on January 15th, No. 1 in England. The record charted for eleven weeks and received a Gold Record for a million copies sold.
- December 4th, 1975 Atlantic Records release “Stephen Stills Live.” The album was recorded after the breakup of Stills band Manassas. Recorded both nights of the Stills concerts in Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Tom Dowd mixed the album in November 1975 at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado. The record reached No. 42 on February 14th, 1976.
- December 4th, 1976 Janus Records release Al Stewart’s “Year Of The Cat” on 45. Co-written by Stewart and Peter Wood and produced by Alan Parsons at Abbey Road Studios, London during sessions in January. The song was recorded in the Vietnamese Year of the Cat, one of the twelve signs of the Vietnamese zodiac. The record entered the charts a week later and reached No. 8 on March 5th, 1977 and served as the title track for Stewart’s “Year Of The Cat” LP.
- December 4th, 1976 Rod Stewart “Tonight’s The Night” is the No. 1 record in the US.
- December 4th, 1976 Linda Ronstadt’s “Someone To Lay Down Beside” enters the singles charts. The song was written by Karla Bonoff. The studio track was produced by Peter Asher at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles during March sessions for Ronstadt’s “Hasten Down The Wind” LP. The record peaked at No. 42 on January 22nd, 1977.
- December 4th, 1976 Lynyrd Skynyrd’s live version of “Free Bird” enters the singles charts. Co-written by guitarist Allen Collins and singer Ronnie Van Zant, the full-length in-concert version was recorded at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre and included on the band’s “One More From The Road” album. “Free Bird” peaked at No. 19 on January 25th, 1975.
- December 4th, 1976 Robin Trower “Caledonia” enters the singles charts. The song was co-written by Trower and bassist/vocalist James Dewar and the studio track co-produced at AIR Studios in London by Robin Trower and Geoff Emerick during the “Long Misty Days” LP sessions. A successful album artist, “Caledonia” was Trower’s only charting single in the US, peaking at No. 82 on January 8th, 1977.
- December 4th, 1976 Robert Palmer “Man Smart Woman Smarter” enters the singles charts. The single gave writing credit to David Kleiber, but has variously been credited to either Norman Span, D. L. Miller, F. Kuhn and Charles Harris. The studio session was produced by former Muscle Shoals Studio engineer Steve Smith, who became a staff producer for Island Records. The 45 was Palmer’s first to chart in the US, peaking at No. 63 on January 8th, 1977.
- December 4th, 1980 Columbia Records release a limited-edition interview album by Paul McCartney called “The Paul McCartney Interview.” Deleted from the catalog the same day, the recording was made during a Musician Magazine interview. Copies of the interview, expanded to a two-record set, were issued to select radio stations in the US. “The Paul McCartney Interview” was issued by Parlophone Records in Britain on February 23rd, 1981.
- December 4th, 1988 Roy Orbison played his final gig when he appeared at The Front Row Theater in the Cleveland suburb of Highland Heights.
- December 4th, 1995 Apple Records release “Free As A Bird” by The Beatles on 45. The song was put together by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr using a John Lennon demo of the song from 1977, completing the track as if John had already recorded his part for a new Beatles record. Issued as part of the “Anthology” project of unreleased band material, the record was produced by Jeff Lynne. “Free As A Bird” peaked at No. 6 on January 6th, 1995.
- December 4th, 2009 Paul McCartney releases the album “Good Evening New York City,” recorded live at New Yorks new Citi Field stadium July 17th through the 21st. A companion DVD of the shows was issued along with the CD. Billy Joel appeared onstage to sing “I Saw Her Standing There” with McCartney and his band.
Miscellaneous December
- December 1951 RPM Records release “3 O’Clock Blues” backed with “That Ain’t The Way To Do It,” the first single by B. B. King. Both songs were written by B.B. King. Johnny Ace played piano on the track.
- December 1953 Specialty Records release “The Things I Used To Do” backed with “Well, I Done Got Over It” by Guitar Slim and His Band on 45. The tracks were recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio in New Orleans with John Vincent producing. The songs were arranged by Ray Charles, who plays piano on the sessions. Both tracks were written by Guitar Slim, credited to his real name, Eddie Jones. Slim was seriously injured in an automobile accident at the time “The Things I Used To Do” was the No. 1 R&B single in the country.
- December 1959 Checker Records release the Bo Diddley album “Have Guitar Will Travel.”
- December 1963 Daytone Records release “Hurricane” backed with “Sweet Love” by Conrad and The Hurricanes on 45. The tracks were taped at PAL Studios in Cucamonga, California. Both songs were written by Ed Sigarlaki and produced by Frank Zappa and Dave Aerni using the aliases Curry, Ivan. The single was reissued on Era Records in June 1964 with the A&B sides reversed.
- December 1964 Fantasy Records release “Don’t Tell Me No Lies” backed with “Little Girl (Does Your Mama Know?),” the first record by The Golliwogs on 45. Both sides were co-written by Tom and John Fogerty, using the names Rann Wild and Toby Green. The Golliwogs renamed themselves Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967.
- December 1965 Sue Records release “The New Breed (pts. 1&2)” by Ike Turner and His Kings Of Rhythm on 45. The instrumental was written by Ike Turner and co-produced by he and Tinas Turner.
- December 1968 Verve Forecast Records release “Reason To Believe” by Tim Hardin on 45. The song was a No. 62 hit for Rod Stewart when it was released as the first single from Stewarts “Every Picture Tells A Story” LP in 1971.
- December 1968 Island Records in Britain release “What We Did On Our Holidays,” the second album by Fairport Convention, their first to feature singer and songwriter Sandy Denny. Produced by Joe Boyd, the record was released in America with a different cover and a self-titled name.
- December 1969 Mercury Records release “Earth” backed with “Step On Me” by Smile at 45. The A-side was written by singer and bassist Tim Staffell. “Step On Me” was co-written by Staffell and guitarist Brian May. Drummer Roger Taylor and May changed the name of the band to Queen when Staffell quit the group and they hired singer Freddie Mercury.
- December 1969 Island Records in Britain release the Joe Boyd produced “Liege And Lief” album by Fairport Convention. The record was issued in America on A&M Records the following July. A No. 17 hit in England, it was Fairport’s third album of 1969 and their first following the road accident that killed drummer Martin Lamble.
- December 1970 The Famous Charisma Label in Britain release “H To He Who Am The Only One,” the third album by Van der Graaf Generator. The LP was recorded at Trident Studios in London with John Anthony producing. Dunhill Records in the US issued the album in February 1971. Robert Fripp of King Crimson played guitar on the track “The Emperor And His War Room.”
- December 1972 Epic records release “R.E.O. T.W.O.,” the second studio LP by REO Speedwagon. Initial sessions for the LP were recorded in Nashville, then moved to The Record Plant in Los Angeles. The album was co-produced by Paul Leka and Billy Rose II.
- December 1972 United Artists Records release The Move compilation “Splits Ends.” The tracks drew mostly from the band’s previous album “Message From The Country” as well as earlier group singles.
- December 1974 Atlantic Records release “Can’t Stop The Music (He Played It Much Too Long)” by Hall and Oates on 45. Written by John Oates, the record was produced by Todd Rundgren at Secret Sound Studios in New York City.
- December 1987 Barking Pumpkin Records release Frank Zappa “Old Masters Box Three.” The set completed a trio of archival reissues of the original albums Zappa recorded with The Mothers Of Invention. The release featured the albums “Waka/Jawaka,” “The Grand Wazoo,” “Over-Nite Sensation,” “Apostrophe (‘),” “Roxy And Elsewhere,” “One Size Fits All,” “Bongo Fury” and “Zoot Allures”.
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 November 30th
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 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
The Cool Song Of The Week
Cool Song Of The Week November 30th Manfred Mann
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 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 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 Chris Palladino's Radio Oz program, now available for purchase in the Firesign Theatre's "Fighting Clowns" of Hollywood" collection!
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.
