Radio Ga Ga was then competing with radio as an important medium for promoting records. The video for "Radio Ga Ga" would receive a Best Art Direction nomination. Roger Taylor was quoted: Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio " (from something his toddler son once said), which doubled as a criticism of radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played. The song makes reference to two important radio events of the 20th century; Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" in the lyric "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars",
The Orson Welles Almanac Jazz Group (which Welles often called the All Star Jazz Combination or the Mercury All Star Jazz Combination) first performed on "The Orson Welles Almanac" on March 15, 1944. Its last performance was July 12, 1944, on the penultimate show in the series. The performances on Welles's show were so popular that the band became a regular feature, launched Ory's comeback, and was an important force in reviving interest in New Orleans jazz. On the morning of the fifth broadcast, April 19, 1944, Jimmie Noone suddenly died at home of a heart attack, aged 48. Welles telephoned Ory and told