Why The Beatles still rule -- A festival that proves you were born at the wrong time -- A guitarist b'day that we need to celebrate...

Bolin On Stage
Tommy Bolin; with Deep Purple, 1976. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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8/1/1964 (52 years ago today) - At this point in the year, they had spent seventeen weeks occupying the No. 1 spot: Here we go again, thank you very much -- The Beatles get their fifth chart-topping single of the past seven months when "A Hard Day's Night" goes to No. 1. Everything will be different from here on out -- the fact is these guys are completely and utterly unstoppable.

8/1/1969 (47 years ago today) - File under: This is what it means when you hear old folks say "They don't make 'em like that anymore"The three day Atlantic Pop Festival gets underway at the Atlantic City race track -- you're gonna see and hear B.B. King, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Chicago Transit Authority, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Tim Buckley, Jefferson Airplane, Dr. John, Janis Joplin, The Moody Blues, Iron Butterfly, Procol Harum, Three Dog Night, Santana, The Mothers Of Invention, The Chambers Brothers, The Buddy Rich Big Band, Little Richard...Good Lord, my head's about to explode! Throw in the notorious scene where Joni Mitchell runs offstage crying after her third song because the crowd wasn't paying attention, and you've got yourself a truly classic Sixties event here.

8/1/1951 - Born on this date, one of rock's most ridiculously underrated guitarists ever: you need to know Tommy Bolin -- he played with Zephyr (1969 - '71), did some jazz-fusion with Billy Cobham (in 1973), replaced Joe Walsh in The James Gang (1973 & '74), then took over Ritchie Blackmore's role in Deep Purple (1975 & '76), along with a really bona-fide cool solo career on the side (look up the "Teaser" and "Private Eyes" albums from '75 & '76). Tragically died from a drug overdose on December 3, 1976, while on tour as the opening act for Jeff Beck; he was only 25 years old. It's a shame he's not acknowledged more, really.

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"I should be sleeping like a log...", xoxo!

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