Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for June 23rd

Interesting to see the difference in chart action styles over three decades...

6/23/1962 (54 years ago today) - An album that anticipated genre-mash-ups was way ahead of its time: Ray Charles begins 14 weeks at No. 1 (that's right, over three-and-a-half months!) with "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music". Nobody had ever heard anything like it before -- produced by Ray himself (becoming one of the first African-American artists to exercise complete control over his own career), it marked a serious departure from his previous work, taking country, folk, and Western music standards and re-doing them in rhythm and blues, pop, and jazz arrangements. Freak-out!!! A genuine American masterpiece, everybody should have a copy...

6/23/1973 (43 years ago today) - George Harrison kicks off a five-week run at No. 1 with his fourth solo release "Living In The Material World". It was the quiet Beatles second LP chart-topper, most notable for its lyrics reflecting George's struggle for spiritual enlightenment versus his status as a global superstar. The record also contains what many critics believed to be the finest vocal and guitar performances (perhaps) of his entire career. A much heavier and more intense listening experience than you might remember...

6/23/1984 (32 years ago today) - Duran Duran hit No. 1 in the U.S. for the first time (for two weeks in a row) with "The Reflex", taken from their third album "Seven And The Ragged Tiger", which, kinda strangely, was the band's first and only Number One in their British homeland. Although "Rio", "Hungry Like The Wolf" or "Girls On Film" were much more memorable tracks, the group never topped the charts here in America until now. Not a record you go back to too often, really, plus we gotta deal with the fact that the Duran Duran experience is over 30 years old!!! What happened girls?

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

"They say that time heals a broken heart/But time has stood still since we've been apart...", xoxo!