January 16 2026

This Month Sunrise Radio Spotlights the Philly Sound Record Label Cameo/Parkway

YOU CAN'T FIND THIS ANYMORE

“Memory Mountain / Sittin’ and Thinkin’” Pairing

: “Sunrise Radio… You Can’t Find This Anymore. Every now and then, two records from two different worlds end up speaking the same quiet truth. First up, Pat Boone — stepping away from the spotlight and climbing a little higher than folks expected — with a country‑gospel moment from the London vaults called ‘Memory Mountain.’ It’s a song that feels like Sunday afternoon after the storm… just you, the sky, and whatever memories decide to visit.”

“And right after that… we walk into the Sun studio in Memphis. Charlie Rich at the piano — no hurry, no crowd, just a man sorting through the past in that Sam Phillips echo chamber. This one’s called ‘Sittin’ and Thinkin’.’ Two different artists… one long climb through the heart.”

“Pat Boone… then Charlie Rich… on Sunrise Radio.”

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

On This Day With the Beatles Group or Individuals

Segment Features

Music News For The Week

January 16, 1957 — The Cavern Club opens in Liverpool, England, and becomes the cradle of British pop music, best known as the setting for early concerts by the Quarrymen, who later become the Beatles.

January 17, 1957 — Bill Haley's Don't Knock the Rock film debuts. In addition to Haley and his Comets, the movie's cast includes Little Richard; The Applejacks, a Cameo-Parkway Records instrumental group; and The Treniers, a jump blues group of the era. The Monthly Film Bulletin writes: "The story-line is virtually non-existent, serving only to link up musical numbers. These are performed by a succession of the leading exponents of rock'n'roll, some of whom border on the surrealistic in their antics, dress and appearance." (Who could they have been talking about?)

January 18, 1948 — The Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour debuts on the Dumont television network, a spinoff of Major Bowes' popular radio series. Winners who go on to show business careers include eight-year-old Gladys Knight in 1952) and the Rock and Roll Trio (1956) consisting of Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison.

January 19, 1957 — Johnny Cash makes his U.S. national TV debut when he appears on CBS-TV's Jackie Gleason Show performing "So Doggone Lonesome."

January 20, 1962 — Dick Dale and the Del-Tones' guitar instrumental "Let's Go Trippin'" becomes the first surf rock record to chart when it reaches #60 on the Billboard Hot 100.

January 21, 1957 — Unknown 24-year-old country music singer Patsy Cline gains national attention by winning CBS-TV's Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts singing "Walking After Midnight," a tune she privately disparages as "nothing but a little old pop song" she hadn't wanted to record. Decca Records releases it three weeks later and it immediately enters the country & western and pop charts, reaching #2 C&W and #12 pop, establishing her as a country artist with mainstream appeal.

January 22, 1960 — Sam Cooke signs with RCA Victor records on his 29th birthday after leaving the small independent label Keen, which released his first hit, "You Send Me" (#1 pop and R&B in 1957).

January 23, 1889 — Columbia Records, the oldest surviving name in recorded sound, is formed as the Columbia Phonograph Company in Washington, D.C., taking its name from the District of Columbia. At first it sells phonographs, but within a few years begins making cylinder recordings. Its original headquarters is now a liquor store.
1986 — The first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony includes Elvis Presley, James Brown, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

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.

Spinning Those Records

Vault Vinyl and Stories behind the songs

Before the Supremes made it big, they were the Primettes

- 1961 — A Detroit teen girl group called the Primettes signs with Motown Records after agreeing to change their name to the Supremes at the insistence of label owner Berry Gordy. He had turned them down before, but with persistence and a record on another local label behind them, they had worked their way into Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studios as background performers, eventually recording demos with Smokey Robinson until Gordy relented and offered them a contract.