Wax Museum Radio
Next broadcast May 30th Friday Night at midnight and Saturday night at 10pm on WRGG.
Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
Today In R&R History May 27th
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 27th
- May 27th Birthday, The Beatles road manager and record producer Mal Evans, born in Liverpool, England in 1935. He died on January 5th, 1976, aged 40.
- May 27th Birthday, Cilla Black, born Pricilla White in Liverpool, England in 1943. Cilla had many British hit singles, hosted a variety show on BBC-TV and was managed by Beatles manager Brian Epstein. She died on August 1st, 2015, aged 72.
- May 27th Birthday, Singer, songwriter Bruce Cockburn, born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1945.
- May 27th Birthday, Pete Sears, who played bass on various solo projects by Paul Kantner and Grace Slick before joining The Jefferson Starship in 1974, born in 1948 in Bromley, Kent, England.
- May 27th Birthday, Steeleye Span guitarist, singer and songwriter Ken Nicol, born in 1951 in Preston, Lancashire, England.
- May 27th Birthday, Singer, songwriter, vocalist, a member of New Zealand bands Split Enz and Crowded House and a solo artist, Neil Finn, born in 1958 in Te Awamutu, New Zealand.
- May 27th Birthday, Vocalist and songwriter Siouxie Sioux from Siouxsie and The Banshees, born Susan Dallion in 1957 in London, England.
- May 27th Birthday, Black Crowes keyboardist Eddie Harsch, born in 1957 in Toronto, Canada. He died on November 4th, 2016 at the age of 59.
Today In Rock and Roll History
May 27th
- May 27th, 1957 Zephyr Records release “Love Charms” backed with “My Lovin’ Baby” by Ray Stanley on 45. Stanley wrote both songs. A native of Dermott, Arkansas, he played piano on Eddie Cochran’s early sessions at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. Cochran plays lead guitar on “My Lovin’ Baby.” Other Stanley songs Cochran played on include “Market Place, “Pushin',” “Love Charms” and “Kiss & Make Up.”
- May 27th, 1957 Specialty Records release “Jenny Jenny” by Little Richard on 45. Co-written by Little Richard and Enotris Johnson and produced by Robert “Bumps” Blackwell, the track was recorded at Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studios in New Orleans. Drummer Earl Palmer and saxophonists Lee Allen and Alvin “Red” Tyler play on the track. “Jenny Jenny” went to No. 10 on the singles charts.
- May 27th, 1958 Brunswick Records release “Think It Over” backed with “Fool’s Paradise” by The Crickets on 45 as the follow-up to “Maybe Baby.” “Think It Over” was co-written by Buddy Holly, Norman Petty and Jerry Allison, recorded in February with Petty producing. “Fool’s Paradise was co-written by Norman Petty, Horace Linsley and Sonny Le Glaire. “Think It Over” peaked at No. 27 on August 2nd. “Fool’s Paradise” was The Crickets last chart record, reaching No. 58 on August 2nd.
- May 27th, 1963 Columbia Records release Bob Dylan’s second LP “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.” The album was produced by Columbia talent scout John H. Hammond. The LP featured one folk standard “Corrina Corrina,” a co-composition with Henry Thomas and ten Dylan original compositions. The record peaked at No. 22 on October 5th.
- May 27th, 1966 Tamla Records release “Whole Lotta Shakin’ In My Heart (Since I Met You)” by The Miracles on 45. Written and produced by Frank Wilson, the record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 46 on July 30th.
- May 27th, 1967 Imperial Records release Johnny Rivers’ cover version of The Miracles’ “The Tracks Of My Tears” on 45. Issued as the follow-up single to the No. 3 “Baby I Need Your Loving” and before that, the No. 1 “Poor Side Of Town,” the record entered the charts in June and went to No. 10 on July 8th.
- May 27th, 1967 “Me About You” by The Mojo Men enters the singles charts on Reprise Records. Co-written by “Happy Together” songwriters Gary Bonner and Allan Gordon, the record peaked at No. 83 on June 10th.
- May 27th, 1967 Atco Records release “Plastic Man” by Sonny and Cher on 45. Written by Sonny Bono, the record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 74 on June 17th.
- May 27th, 1967 Columbia Records release “Have You Seen Her Face” by The Byrds on 45. The song was written by Byrds’ bassist Chris Hillman and produced by Gary Usher at Columbia Studios in Hollywood. The record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 74 on July 1st.
- May 27th, 1967 “Society’s Child (Baby I’ve Been Thinking)” by Janis Ian enters the charts on Verve Records. Written by Ian when she was fourteen years old, the recording, produced by Shadow Morton, was financed by Atlantic Records, but its controversial subject matter regarding an inter-racial romance, caused the label to pass on releasing it. Janis Ian performed the song to a nationwide television audience on the CBS television show Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution on April 25th, 1967. The record peaked at No. 14 on July 15th. “Society’s Child” was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2002.
- May 27th, 1971 Motown Records release “In These Changing Times” by the Four Tops on 45. Produced by Frank Wilson and co-written by Wilson and Pam Sawyer, the record entered the singles charts in July and peaked at No. 70 on July 17th
- May 27th, 1971 Columbia Records release “Near You” by Boz Scaggs on 45. Written by Scaggs and produced by Glyn Johns, the record entered the singles charts in July and peaked a week later at No. 96.
- May 27th, 1972 “Beautiful” by Gordon Lightfoot enters the singles charts on Reprise Records. Written by Lightfoot and produced by Larry Waronker, the record peaked at No. 58 on July 9th.
- May 27th, 1972 Bearsville Records release the self-titled first album by Foghat. Produced by Dave Edmunds, the album featured the hit single, a Willie Dixon cover version of “I Just Want To Make Love To You.” Edmunds played some guitar on the sessions at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales, Todd Rundgren played piano on “Trouble Trouble” and Andy Fairweather-Low sang backing vocals. The record peaked at No. 127 on November 25th.
- May 27th, 1972 “Oh Girl” by The Chi Lites is the No. 1 record in the US.
- May 27th, 1972 “Too Late To Turn Back Now” by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose enters the singles charts following an April release on United Artists Records. The band were a family singing group from Dania Beach, Florida, siblings Carter, Eddie, Billie Jo and Rose Cornelius. Rose had already worked the Las Vegas circuit when she returned to help form the Brother/Sister group. Written by Eddie Cornelius, the single had previously been released in 1970 on the independent Platinum Records label. United Artists picked it up for national distribution and sold over one million copies, peaking at No. 2 on July 15th and earning a Gold Disc award in August 1972.
- May 27th, 1972 Warner Brothers Records release “Ace,” the first solo album by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir. The LP is essentially a Grateful Dead record with all the group’s members but Ron McKernan playing on the sessions. The album peaked at No. 68 on August 5th.
- May 27th, 1976 Columbia Records release “Last Child” by Aerosmith on 45. Co-written by Steven Tyler and Brad Whitford, the record entered the singles charts in June and peaked at No. 21 on August 7th.
- May 27th, 1977 Virgin Records release “God Save The Queen” by The Sex Pistols on 45. The song is an attack on the treatment of the working class in England in the 1970s by the British government. The song was considered controversial as it was issued during Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee year of 1977. In spite of being banned from the British airwaves, the record went to No. 1 in England.
- May 27th, 1977 A&M Records release “Give A Little Bit” by Supertramp on 45. Written by Supertramp’s Roger Hodgeson and credited to band mates Hodgeson and Rick Davies, the writing of “Give A Little Bit” was inspired by The Beatles “All You Need Is Love.” The song reached No. 12 in America on August 27th.
- May 27th, 1977 Reprise Records release “American Stars ‘n Bars” by Neil Young. Credited to Neil Young, Crazy Horse & The Bullets, the album was co-produced by Neil Young and David Briggs with Tim Mulligan. Sessions for the record were spread over the course of two and a half years, from December 1974 through April 1977 at Quadraphonic studios in Nashville, Young’s own Broken Arrow Ranch in Redwood City, California and Indigo Recording Studio in Malibu. Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt and Nicolette Larson sing backing vocals on the LP. “American Stars ‘n Bars” peaked at No. 21 on August 27th.
- May 27th, 1977 Elvis Costello plays his first live gig in Britain. On the same day, Stiff Records in England release “Alison” as a single from Costello’s first album “My Aim Is True.” Columbia Records released “Alison” in the US in October 29th, but the record didn’t chart.
- May 27th, 1977 Atlantic Records in Britain release “Fanfare For The Common Man” by Emerson, Lake and Palmer on 45, where it peaked at No. 2. The song is ELP’s adaptation of an Aaron Copeland song from 1942. Keith Emerson was playing the song in the studio. A studio engineer started the tape recording as Greg Lake and Carl Palmer ad-libbed their parts and that is the take that was released on the record. The 9:46 album version was edited down to 2:57 for the single. Atlantic Records in America issued the single as well, but it did not chart.
- May 27th, 1978 “With A Little Luck” by Wings is the No. 1 record in the US.
- May 27th, 1978 “Love Will Find A Way” by Pablo Cruise enters the singles charts on A&M Records. Co-written by Cory Lerios and David Jenkins and produced by Bill Schnee, the record peaked at No. 6 on August 26th.
- May 27th, 1978 Columbia Records release “Prove It All Night” by Bruce Springsteen on 45. The track received airplay on FM rock stations around the country and the “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” LP that it came from, out on June 2nd, sold three million copies. Entering the charts in June “Prove It All Night” reached No. 33 on July 22nd.
- May 27th, 1978 “Runaway” by Jefferson Starship enters the singles charts following an early April release on Grunt Records. Written by Nicholas Q. Dewey, the song was sung by Starship’s Marty Balin for the group’s “Earth” LP. “Runaway” reached No. 12 on July 29th.
- May 27th, 1978 “Magnet And Steel” by Walter Egan enters the singles charts on Columbia Records. Egan’s second LP “Not Shy” was self-produced with Richard Daschut and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were among the group of backing vocalists on the song. “Magnet and Steel” reached No. 8 on August 26th.
- May 27th, 1978 “King Tut” by Steve Martin and The Toot Uncommons enters the singles charts on Warner Brothers Records. Written by Martin and produced by William E. McKuen, Martin previewed the song in a live performance on NBC’s Saturday Night Liveon April 22nd. The “Treasures of Tutankhamun” traveling exhibit toured the United States from 1976 through 1979 and attracted an estimated eight million visitors. On August 23rd, Martin was awarded a Gold Record for “King Tut.” The record reached No. 17 on August 12th and sold over a million copies.
- May 27th, 1978 Epic Records release “Heaven Tonight,” the third album by Cheap Trick. Produced by Tom Werman at the Record Plant and Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, California, the album peaked at No. 48 on July 8th.
- May 27th, 1978 Todd Rundgren’s “Can We Still Be Friends” enters the singles charts. Written, produced and performed entirely solo, the 45 went to No. 29 on August 5th, No. 8 in Australia. A 1979 remake by Robert Palmer hit No. 52 in the US.
- May 27th, 1980 Stiff Records in England release “We Got The Beat” by The Go-Go’s on 45. Written by Go-Go’s guitarist Charlotte Caffey, the song was re-recorded a year later for the band’s first album “Beauty And The Beat.” Issued as a single by IRS Records, the new version of “We Got The Beat” peaked at No. 2 in America on April 10th, 1982.
- May 27th, 1982 Full Moon Records release “Chicago 16” by Chicago. The release signaled numerous changes for the band. It was the first Chicago record on Full Moon/Warner Brothers Records, the first with producer David Foster, new band management and new keyboardist and singer Bill Champlain. The album included the No. 1 single “Hard To Say I’m Sorry.” The LP peaked at No. 9 on September 18th.
- May 27th, 2003 Swan Song Records release “How The West Was Won” by Led Zeppelin. Recorded at the L.A. Forum on June 25th, 1972 and Long Beach Arena on June 27th, 1972, the album became the first Zeppelin album to hit No. 1 in the US since 1979’s “In Through The Out Door.”
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 Dylan 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 24th
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 5/24 The Turtles
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.
