Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for August 10th

Elton tops The Stones, but how? -- A sweet soul brother remembered... -- B'day for a great singer with a dubious ex-hubby...

8/10/1976 (41 years ago today) - Elton John played the first of ten sold-out shows(!) at Madison Square Garden -- Doesn't sound like much by 2017 standards, but at the time, the $1.25 million generated from the run broke the previous record set by The Rolling Stones in 1975! Ya can't get much bigger, really, though the writing's on the wall: Reggie's maxxing out and starting to tire of the whole sha-bang; career lull looms...

8/10/2008 (9 years ago today) - Truly legendary singer-songwriter Isaac Hayes passed away at his home in Memphis at the age of 65. Classic status ensured: hard to imagine radio in the early 1970's without the "Theme From Shaft" (Isaac won an Oscar for the song in 1971), plus he was the voice of "Chef" in the early '90's cartoon cult fave "South Park". Classic life stats: Isaac was married four times and had 12 children! Beyond "Shaft": 1969's "Hot Buttered Soul" and 1971's "Black Moses" are essential soul-funk work-outs, right up there with what Sly and Motown were putting out back then; we say it's time for a re-boot/re-think on Isaac's stuff, kinda overdue actually...

8/10/1943 - Happy Birthday to Veronica Yvette Bennett, better known as the one and only Ronnie Spector, 74 years old today, and lead vocalist on some of the greatest singles ever made: with The Ronettes alone, you had "Be My Baby", "Baby, I Love You", "Walking In The Rain" -- Also did classic duets with Southside Johnny ("You Mean So Much To Me", produced by Little Steven of The E Street Band) and Eddie Money (the Top 5 stellar classic "Take Me Home Tonight"). Last years "English Heart" release featured Ronnie's sassy takes on Brit-Invasion songs by The Beatles, The Yardbirds, Bee Gees and others. Well worth seeking out by the way; her marriage to psycho-genius producer Phil Spector was another story all together...

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"Who's the cat that won't cop out/When there's danger all about?...", xoxo!