February 04 2026
1983 - Karen Carpenter
Karen Carpenter died aged 32 of a cardiac arrest at her parent's house in Downey, California; the coroner's report gave the cause of death of imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa. The Carpenters 1970 album Close to You, featured two hit singles: ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ and ‘We've Only Just Begun.’ They peaked at No.1 and No.2, on the US chart. In 1975 - in Playboy's annual opinion poll; its readers voted Karen Carpenter the Best Rock Drummer of the year.
Paying Tribute to the Great Radio On Air Heros in OKC and Tulsa
DOT Records
DOT RECORDS — THE TRUE ORIGINS (1950–1953)
Dot Records didn’t start as a national pop label. It began as a tiny Gallatin, Tennessee operation founded by:
🎙️ Randy Wood
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A radio engineer and record-store owner
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Ran the “Record Shop” in Gallatin
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Took listener requests from WLAC’s 50,000‑watt nighttime R&B broadcasts
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Noticed that many of the songs listeners wanted were not available on records
So he did what any great early‑50s entrepreneur did: He started a label to fill the gaps.
THE EARLY DOT SOUND (1950–1953)
Dot’s first years were not Pat Boone, Gale Storm, or the big pop hits. The early catalog is a mix of:
1. Southern gospel
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The LeFevres
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The Statesmen Quartet
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The Oak Ridge Quartet (pre–Oak Ridge Boys)
2. Hillbilly & country boogie
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Billy Vaughn (before he became Dot’s arranger)
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Jimmie & Johnny
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The Willis Brothers
3. Regional R&B and teen novelties
This is the part you’ll appreciate most — Dot issued local Tennessee and Kentucky R&B that bigger labels ignored.
Broadcast Bulletin (Daily Updates)
Album Showcase
Birthdays
Vault Vinyl's
Beatles and Elvis
Legacy and Lore
Visual Archives
Gold Star Oldies Radio Steaming Directories
Legends Remembered & Celebrated — Sunrise Concerts and Tributes
The History of the new Gold Star Oldies Radio and it's Mission
Birthdays Singers and Song Writers
1929 - Paul Burlison
Paul Burlison, American pioneer rockabilly guitarist and a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. Burlison worked with Johnny and Dorsey Burnette. He died on Sept 27th 2003.
1968 - The Beatles
Working at Abbey Road studios, London, The Beatles recorded 'Across The Universe'. John and Paul decided the song needed some falsetto harmonies so they invited two girl fans into the studio to sing on the song. The two were Lizzie Bravo, a 16-year-old Brazilian living near Abbey Road and 17-year-old Londoner Gayleen Pease.
Beatles and Elvis News
Music News For The Week
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
Segment Features
The History of Sunrise Radio (Gold Star Oldies)
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 the sun also set's. For this station, that beginning was KVRA — the call letters that lit the first spark and set the tone for everything that followed. The new branding has started we are now Gold Star Oldies Radio.
Spinning Those Records
Vault Vinyl and Stories behind the songs
Don and Phil Sign with Cadence Records
February 1 1957
20-year-old Don Everly and his 2-year-younger brother Phil sign a recording contract with Cadence Records. During their career, The Everly Brothers will have thirty-five Billboard Hot 100 singles
Visual Archive
