Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for January 28th

A TV first -- Another arrest for Jimbo -- Underrated piano player R.I.P.

1/28/1956 (60 years ago today) - Elvis Presley, backed up by Scotty Moore and Bill Black, makes his first national television appearance on The Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show". He performs "Heartbreak Hotel", "Shake, Rattle & Roll", "Flip Flop & Fly" and "I Got A Woman" -- Elvis nails 'em all, the audience is stunned, and he's immediately asked back to perform on the show five more times.

1/28/1969 (48 years ago today) - Jim Morrison is arrested and charged with public drunkenness after harassing a security guard at a Las Vegas adult movie theatre. We don't know the name of the film that was playing. We ask: "Why not?"

1/28/2009 (7 years ago) - You kinda-take-for-granted the contribution of the piano playing that was absolutely essential to the Lynyrd Skynyrd sound: the bands longtime keyboardist Billy Powell died at the age of 56, victim of a suspected heart attack in Florida. Powell had called the police saying he was having trouble breathing -- emergency services tried to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. The day before, Billy had missed an appointment with his doctor; the scheduled visit was for a checkup on his heart. 

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"Ooh, Mr. Breeze...", xoxo!