Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for December 4th

A Special All Happy Birthday!!! Edition of the Calendar today....

12/4/1944 - Born on this day, drummer and vocalist Dennis Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys and middle brother to Brian and Carl. Even though it didn't sell many copies at the time of its release, Dennis' only solo album, 1977's "Pacific Ocean Blue", has gone on to become highly regarded as a beautifully written masterpiece on par with any other Beach Boys recordings that attained classic status -- it's well worth looking into. Often cited as the only member of the band that actually knew how to surf, Dennis tragically drowned while swimming from his boat moored in Marina Del Ray, California, on December 28th, 1983, after a heavy day of drinking. He was 39 years old.

12/4/1948 - Born on this date, John Lyon, "The Grandfather" of the "New Jersey Sound" (and, according to Jon Bon Jovi, the reason he started singing): Happy Birthday to the legendary Southside Johnny, 67 years old today. With The Asbury Jukes, there are two albums that are absolute must-have's: 1977's "This Time It's For Real" and 1978's "Hearts Of Stone", both prominently featuring songs written for them by Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt -- killer stuff, you will not be disappointed.

12/4/1951 - Born on this date, under-estimated guitarist and song-writer Gary Rossington, founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, 64 years old today. Gary's actually the only original member still with the band as of this year; co-wrote the classics "What's Your Name", "Sweet Home Alabama", "Don't Ask Me No Questions", "Gimme Back My Bullets" and "One More Time". Send some good vibes out to Gary -- he's currently recuperating from a serious heart attack suffered back on October 8th. We wish him well.

Thoughts on the Calendar? Let us know here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Ain't foolin' around 'cause I done had my fun/Ain't gonna see no more damage done...", xoxo!