Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for January 22nd

Today we celebrate the birthdays of three different classic vocalists, all quite different from each other, all instantly recognizable in their own way...

1/22/1931 - Born on this day, legendary soul man Sam Cooke: Thirty Top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964 -- founded both a record label and company as an extension of his career as a singer and composer -- his pioneering contributions to soul contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, James Brown and so many, many more -- his recorded classic works include "You Send Me", "Chain Gang", "Bring It On Home To Me", "Havin' A Party", "Cupid", "Another Saturday Night", "Twistin' The Night Away" -- Sam died at age 33, December 11, 1964, the victim of a shooting in a motel under suspicious circumstances.

1/22/1953 - Happy Birthday to the always-easily-identifiable Steve Perry; the former Journey front-man turns 63 today -- No. 76 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers Of All Time -- "Journey's Greatest Hits" pretty much sums it up -- Steve has said that his favorite singer was Sam Cooke (see above), so there you go...

1/22/1960 - Born on this date, former INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence -- the INXS album "Kick" has sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone -- Michael was the archetypal rock showman, overtly sexual, macho cool, flowing locks, lithe and exuberant stage movements with a sense of danger thrown in -- on November 22, 1997, he was found dead in his hotel room; later, the Australian coroner reported Michael's death as the result of a suicide.

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"At first I thought it was infatuation/But, oh, it's lasted so long...", xoxo!