Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for August 14th

A "Babe"-inspired No. 1 -- The Who's best? Probably... -- Stained napkin turns out to be worth thousands of dollars!

8/14/1965 (55 years ago today) - Sonny & Cher start three weeks at No. 1 with the you-can't-help-but-sing-along-with-it single "I Got You Babe" -- In an interview at the time, Sonny Bono claimed that if Bob Dylan could have a hit with "It Ain't Me Babe", then he too could come up with a "Babe"-titled track that would become a radio classic! Sonny actually made a lot of shrewd rock 'n' roll/show-biz decisions back in the day, and he deserves more credit for his behind-the-scenes prowess than most folks realize...

8/14/1971 (49 years ago today) - Remember now, you had never heard any of this prior to purchase, so the day you brought the album home and dropped the needle on Side One, your brain exploded!!!: The Who released "Who's Next" on this date and their fifth studio album was list priced at your neighborhood record store for $6.98 (though you could usually get it for less) -- The story of the LP's legendary cover art is pretty interesting, too. While it appears to look like the band members have just taken a whizz on the "2001: A Space Odyssey" monolith, photographer Ethan Russell recalled that the guys were unable to urinate on cue, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired effect. Still one of the truly greatest rock albums of all-time, no matter how often radio stations run it into the ground...

8/14/2001 (19 years ago today) - How about this for re-cycling?: A pizza-stained piece of paper signed by three of The Beatles sold for $48,000(!!!) at an auction in Melbourne, Australia -- John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney all autographed it during their down-under tour of 1964 (Ringo had laryngitis and was not on the road at the time; drummer Jimmy Nicol filled in on those gigs) -- A fan had managed to get the signatures while the boys were staying at a hotel in Adelaide. Most amazing is the fact that he-or-she was able to hold onto the item and keep it in relatively pristine condition all these years later (hoarder-haters out there, think twice!)

Share your bits and pieces with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Then put your little hand in mine/There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb...", xoxo!