January 31 2026

Radio Station in the 60's DJ (Johnny Fever ) 

Radio Station in the 70's KOOL DJ (Johnny Fever)

This Month Sunrise Radio Spotlights  On  DOT Records

Happy Birthday to the RCA 45 Record

The RCA 45 record — introduced in 1949 — revolutionized music consumption, offering a compact, affordable, and high-quality format that shaped pop culture for decades.

Origins and Release

RCA Victor announced the new 7-inch, 45 RPM single in January 1949 as a response to Columbia’s new 33 1/3 RPM long-playing records 102.9 WMGK+1. The first RCA 45 was released on March 31, 1949, with Texarkana Baby b/w Bouquet of Roses by Eddy Arnold Eyes Of A Generation. The “45” speed came from subtracting Columbia’s 33 RPM from the old 78 RPM standard 

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Sunrise Broadcast Bulletin (Daily Updates)

Album Showcase

Segment Features

Vault Vinyl's

Legacy and Lore 

Visual Archives 

Sunrise Steaming Directories 

Legends Remembered & Celebrated — Sunrise Concerts and Tributes

The History of Sunrise Radio and it's Mission

Birthdays Singers and Song Writers 

 

 

1930 - Al De Lory

American record producer and session musician Al De Lory. He played keyboards for various Phil Spector productions, and The Beach Boys Glen Campbell including John Hartford's ‘Gentle on My Mind’, Jimmy Webb's ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’, ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘Galveston’. He was also a member of the Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. As a bandleader, he had his own hit in 1970 with an instrumental version of the ‘Song from M*A*S*H’. He died on 5 February 2012.

 

 

 

On This Day With the Beatles Group or Individuals 

1967 - John Lennon

The Beatles spent a second day at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent, England to complete filming for the 'Strawberry Fields Forever' promotional video. The film was shot in colour, for the benefit of the US market, since UK television was still broadcasting only in black and white. Taking time out from filming John Lennon bought an 1843 poster from an antique shop in Surrey which provided him with most of the lyrics for The Beatles song Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite.

Segment Features 

Segment Features 

Music News For The Week 

 

.January 30, 1961 — The Shirelles become the first black female group to reach #1 in the USA with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"
                     1969 — The Beatles make their final public appearance, an unannounced performance on the roof of the five-story Apple Records headquarters in London. Police shut it down after 42 minutes when a large lunchtime crowd gathers and neighboring businesses complain about the clamor.

January 31, 1958 — Little Richard announces his retirement from music at the peak of his career to become an evangelist.

February 1, 1947 — Legendary blues musician and mouth harpist Sonny Boy Williamson appears on the precursor to Billboard magazine's R&B music chart with "Shake The Boogie," eventually reaching #4. It is a rollicking performance that foreshadows rock 'n' roll.
                     1949 — RCA introduces the 45 r.p.m. record, a lightweight, cheap-to-produce, unbreakable vinyl disc. It would outsell 78 r.p.m records by early 1955 and allow small independent labels to compete with major record companies, helping propel the rock 'n' roll revolution. Among RCA's first seven releases this day is a reissue of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's 1946 R&B disc "That's All Right Mama," a tune Elvis Presley would cover for the Sun label in Memphis, Tennessee, on his first record in 1954.

February 2, 1956 — The Coasters sign to Atco Records and have 19 hits in 15 years.
                    1963 — The Beatles begin their first British tour in Bradford, England, listed last on the bill.


February 3, 1959 — Known as "The Day the Music Died," Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper perish in a light airplane crash (right) near a cornfield north of Mason City, Iowa, during a snowstorm following their Winter Dance Party appearance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.


February 4, 1956 — James Brown records his first single, "Please, Please, Please," for King Records subsidiary Federal in Cincinnati, Ohio. Label owner Syd Nathan hates the song and blames his producer for hiring him, but the record launches Brown's career by selling one million copies and winds up #143 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2010 edition).

February 5, 1975 — Louis Jordan ("Caldonia," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie"), the acknowledged father of rhythm and blues and grandfather of rock 'n' roll, dies of a heart attack at age 66 at his Los Angeles, California, home. A transition artist between the big band swing era and rock 'n' roll, he is among the first 1940s black performers to achieve crossover popularity with a white audience. An influence on Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, James Brown and others, his music inspires the long-running musical Five Guys Named Moe, named for a 1942 Jordan record.


Sources:
Eight Days a Week (Ron Smith)
On This Day in Black Music History (Jay Warner)
Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900-2000 (Frank Hoffman)
calendar.songfacts.com
onthisday.com/music

 

The History of Sunrise Radio 

 

As Told in the Tradition of Classic AM Broadcasting

In the early days of the station, before the sun rose on its true identity, the signal carried the call letters KVRA — Keep Vinyl Records Alive. It was a small station with a big idea: to preserve the sound, the spirit, and the craftsmanship of the records that built American radio.

KVRA operated with the same pride as the powerhouse AM stations of the era. Real call letters. Real curation. Real radio.

But as the station grew, something became clear. While other online broadcasters used simple titles and playlists, KVRA carried the weight of a heritage operation — a station with a mission, a memory, and a curator who understood the value of a 45 spinning under a warm stylus.

And so, in the finest tradition of AM evolution, the station stepped into a new identity. The call letters remained part of its foundation, but the broadcast name changed to reflect its purpose.

Today, that station is known as Sunrise Radio.

A place where forgotten singles, regional teeners, R&B promos, and rare artifacts are given a home once more. A station built on the belief that some music isn’t just entertainment — it’s history.

Sunrise Radio proudly carries the motto: “You Can’t Find This Anymore.”

But every sunrise has a beginning. And for this station, that beginning was KVRA — the call letters that lit the first spark and set the tone for everything that followed.

 
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

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Spinning Those Records

Vault Vinyl  and Stories   behind the songs 

  

  • Neil Diamond’s First Three Songs: A Brief History

    1. “Blue Destiny” (1958)

    • One of Diamond’s earliest known compositions and recordings.

    • Released when he was still a teenager experimenting with pop ballad styles.

    • Shows his early melodic instincts long before he developed his signature sound.

    2. “Hear Them Bells” (1958)

    • Another early teen‑era track, recorded around the same time as “Blue Destiny.”

    • Reflects the doo‑wop and pop influences surrounding New York in the late ’50s.

    • Demonstrates Diamond’s early interest in blending rhythm and melody in a way that would later define his hits.

    3. Early 1960–61: The Neil & Jack Singles

    Before his solo breakthrough, Diamond briefly recorded as part of the duo Neil & Jack with high‑school friend Jack Packer. These were his first commercially released singles.

    • Recorded while Diamond was skipping NYU classes to pitch songs in Tin Pan Alley.

    • These early sides didn’t chart, but they were crucial in getting him noticed by publishers and labels.

Blue Destiny (Original Demo)

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