January 24 2026

Be Weather Aware, massive snow storm coming . This will include 35 states Updates will be late the next four days

Happy Birthday Neil Diamond Ten Top Number 1's

This Month Sunrise Radio Spotlights the Philly Sound Record Label Cameo/Parkway Next Month We Find Out More About DOT Records

widgetlogo

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

1936 - Jack Scott

Canadian-American singer and songwriter Jack Scott. He was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011 and was called "undeniably the greatest Canadian rock and roll singer of all time." He scored the 1956 US No.3 hit 'My True Love' and 9 other top 40 hits.

1941 - Neil Diamond

American singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the US chart including 'Cracklin' Rose', 'Song Sung Blue' and 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers' and has sold more than 130 million records worldwide. Diamond wrote 'I'm A Believer', the No.1 for The Monkees. Many acts from Elvis Presley, Lulu, Cliff Richard and Deep Purple have all covered his songs. With his 2008 album ‘Home Before Dark’ Diamond became the oldest artist to have a US No.1, the record was previously held by Bob Dylan in 2006 with ‘Modern Times’.

1941 - Ray Stevens

American country and pop singer-songwriter Ray Stevens, who had the Grammy-winning 1970 US No.1 & UK No.6 single 'Everything Is Beautiful' and scored the 1974 US & UK No.1 single 'The Streak'. He has worked as a producer, music arranger, songwriter, television host, and solo artist; and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

1947 - Warren Zevon

American singer, songwriter Warren Zevon. During the early 1970s, Zevon toured regularly with the Everly Brothers as keyboard player, band leader, and musical coordinator. During his career he recorded over 15 solo albums. He is best known for his 1978 single 'Werewolves Of London' taken from his third studio album Excitable Boy. Zevon died on September 7th 2003 aged 56.

1941 - Aaron Neville

American R&B and soul singer Aaron Neville a sol artist and a member of The Neville Brothers. He had the 1966 US No.2 single 'Tell It Like It Is', and the 1989 UK No.2 single with Linda Ronstadt 'Don't Know Much'.

On This Day With the Beatles Group or Individuals

1969 - John Lennon & Yoko Ono

New Jersey state prosecutors issue a warning to US record dealers that they would be charged with distributing pornography if they were caught selling the John Lennon / Yoko Ono LP 'Two Virgins'. The front cover of the album showed the pair frontally nude, while the back cover showed them from behind. The album still managed to reach No.124 on the US, but failed to chart at all in the UK, where only 5,000 copies were ever pressed.

Segment Features

Segment Features

Music News For The Week

.

January 23, 1959 — The "Winter Dance Party tour gets underway with a show at the Million Dollar Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before the tour is over, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash.
1969 — Elvis Presley records "Suspicious Minds" at American Sound, a small studio in Memphis. The song is a huge comeback hit for Elvis and gives him his last #1 hit in the U.S.
2018 — Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond abruptly retires from touring after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

January 24, 1962 —The Beatles sign their first and only management contract. It is with Brian Epstein at his offices in Liverpool, England, just a few weeks after he’d first seen them play live at the Cavern. Being under the age of 21, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and original drummer Pete Best had to have the legal consent of their parents to enter into a contract.

1970 — James "Shep" Sheppard (shown right, top) of the Heartbeats ("A Thousand Miles Away," 1956) and Shep and the Limelites ("Daddy's Home," 1961) is found shot to death in his car on the Long Island, New York Expressway at age 34, the victim of an apparent robbery.

January 26, 1956 — Buddy Holly's first professional recording session is held at Decca Records' Nashville studio. The songs include “Blue Days, Black Nights,” “Rock Around with Ollie Vee,” “Love Me,” “Modern Don Juan,” and the first version of “That’ll Be the Day,” but none becomes a hit.
January 27, 1956 — RCA Victor releases its first Elvis Presley single, "Heartbreak Hotel." It becomes his first #1 pop hit and is enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, at #45 in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2010 edition), and at #87 in the Recording Industry Association of America's Songs of the Century.
1958 — Little Richard, having abandoned rock 'n' roll, enrolls at Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, to study theology towards becoming a Seventh Day Adventist minister.

January 28, 1955 — Twelve-year-old Aretha Franklin gives birth to her first child, a son named Clarence.

1956 — Elvis makes his national television debut on Stage Show hosted by veteran swing bandleaders Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey on CBS-TV in New York.

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.

website counter

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)

Visual Archive

Jukebox of Hits (Sunrise Radio ) power comes from Live365 24/7