Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for January 26th

Jimmy Page's first No. 1 was NOT with Led Zeppelin! -- Ringo gets a chart-topper too, and we gotta pay tribute to the fantastic Marvellettes, so off you go...

1/26/1965 (52 years ago today) - "Downtown" by Petula Clark went to No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. A young Jimmy Page had played as a session guitarist on the track, thus giving him his first No. 1 hit in America! Hey, it counts...

1/26/1974 (43 years ago today) - This one was originally recorded by Johnny Burnette back in 1960: Ringo Starr goes to the top of the singles chart with his cover version of "You're Sixteen" which featured Paul McCartney imitating the sound of a kazoo, Harry Nilsson doing absolutely perfect 1950's-style doo-wop backing vocals, and the video of the song featured Carrie Fisher(!!!) as the love interest. It was Ringo's second No. 1 hit; "Photograph" got there first, back in November of '73.

1/26/2011 (6 years ago) - Remembering those who also served: Gladys Horton was the founder and lead singer of one of Motown's best all-female vocal groups,The Marvelettes, and she passed away on this date from complications related to a stroke; she was 66. It was Gladys who sang lead on their 1961 classic "Please Mr. Postman" (a long-time fave of The Beatles) which was also the first No. 1 single by an all-girl group for the Motown label! Though they never achieved the level of prominence that The Supremes did, The Marvelettes catalog is loaded with brilliant pop singles: "Beechwood 4-5789", "Too Many Fish In The Sea", "I'll Keep Holding On", "Don't Mess With Bill", "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game"...You won't be disappointed if you pick up The Marvelettes two-LP anthology on Motown; it's absolutely guaranteed to put you in a much happier place. Fact is, these ladies were woefully underrated...

Share your mmmm's with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Wait a minute/Wait a minute...", xoxo!