Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for June 23rd

Today you got an album that literally changes an entire genre of music (really!); the quiet Beatle quietly scores...again(!); and a run of shows in Boston that have us wishing for a time-travel machine...

6/23/1962 (53 years ago today) - Here's why he was called "Genius": Ray Charles starts a 14-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart with the unbelievable masterwork "Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music". An amazing piece of art, no doubt: "I Can't Stop Loving You", "You Don't Know Me",  "Born To Lose", "Worried Mind" -- this album was totally mind-blowing for its time, a perfect blending and melding of soul and country that broke down any and all racial barriers in popular music, just as the Civil Rights movement is getting underway; C&W is never the same again.

6/23/1973 (42 years ago today) - Today's the first of a five-week stint at the No. 1 slot here in America for George Harrison's follow-up to his Concert For Bangladesh: "Living In The Material World" is his second U.S. chart-topping album, and it also goes Top Ten in twelve different countries! Not bad for a very deep and personal recording with George laying bare his struggles to sustain spiritual enlightenment versus his status as a superstar. So, kinda heavy, then...

6/23/1975 (40 years ago today) - Bob Marley & The Wailers play the first of 14 shows over seven nights at the very intimate Paul's Mall, a tight, smoky nightclub across from the Pru in Boston, Mass. It's the now-classic "'Natty Dread" tour where, according to legend, Bob and the band completely blow the minds of everybody that sees them; their supremely tight playing combined with those nerve-shattering rhythms along with a stage presence that defies description add up to a string of performances that quite casually destroy all competition!!! Supposedly, people in attendance are still recovering...

Thoughts on the Calendar? Lay 'em down right here on our web site and/or on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"A hungry mob/Is an angry mob...", xoxo!