Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for January 20th

Annoying one-hit wonder... -- Leppers nail it!... -- A blues legend remembered...

1/20/1968 (52 years ago today) - Oh, they can say they were inspired by "Lucy In The Sky...", but they still got it wrong: John Fred & The Playboy Band start two weeks at No. 1 with the obnoxious single "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)". They thought they were being cute; luckily for mankind, it turned out to be their one and only chart appearance. Buh-bye!

1/20/1983 (37 years ago today) - Def Leppard released their third studio album "Pyromania", featuring new guitarist Phil Collen -- Produced by ex-Mr. Shania Twain Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the hot knob-twiddler for AC/DC's "Back In Black"  and "Foreigner 4", the album firmly establishes Lep as the '80's new standard for Grade-A top-tier slick-rock excellence: "Photograph", "Rock Of Ages", "Foolin'", "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Too Late For Love", no wonder it's still on the radio every day (10 million sold in the U.S. alone) --  The term "mainstream success" is blown up with this one, so we say well done boys!

1/20/1889 - Born on this day, Huddie William Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly -- Genuine folk and blues legend, famous for his strong vocals and virtuosity on the 12-string guitar -- Lead Belly's songs covered the spectrum: he did gospel; blues about women, booze, prison life and racism; folk songs about cowboys and sailors, working men and dancing, as well as introducing old standards ("Goodnight Irene", "The Rock Island Line", "The Midnight Special") to a much wider audience; Nirvana even performed his "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" for their MTV Unplugged show -- Notoriously, he was once jailed for shooting a man dead during an argument over a woman! Lead Belly was inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame early on, back in 1988. He passed away from complications of Lou Gehrig's disease on December 6, 1949 at age 60.

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"Does anybody wonder/Anybody care...", xoxo!