Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for May 18th

Today you got a pretty impressive pre-Woodstock rock fest; a "whatever happened to...?" at No. 1; and the birthday of an American blues singer-songwriter we just have to give props to.

5/18/1968 (47 years ago today) - Before they became famous as the promoters for the Woodstock Festival, Richard O'Barry and Michael Lang put together the first Miami Pop Event on this date with an estimated 100,000 in attendance! Lookit this totally perfect 1960's line-up, talk about catching a moment-in-time: The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Steppenwolf, The Mothers Of Invention, Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry, The Blues Image, Three Dog Night, Atomic Rooster...

5/18/1984 (31 years ago today) - Big in England, but here in the States, they're pretty much a one-hit wonder: The Simple Minds are at the top of the U.S. singles chart with "Don't You Forget About Me" (later featured in the 1985 brat-pack-teen classic "The Breakfast Club"). It was a cover, though -- the song was written by Steve Schiff, guitarist for The Nina Hagen Band, and Keith Forsey, who won an Oscar for writing "Flashdance...What a Feeling!". Catchy, but kinda dated: a lot of the mid-'80's stuff was more processed than the cheese-product you find in the dairy case...

5/18/1911 - Born on this date, Big Joe Turner, one of the all-time great blues shouters from Kansas City. Legendary songwriter Doc Pomus claims "Rock and roll never would have happened without him", and he has a point: listen to Big Joe's stuff from the 1950's -- the very first/original version of "Shake, Rattle And Roll", plus "Flip, Flop And Fly", "Corrine, Corrina", "Honey Hush" -- and you got yourselves a wicked party!!! At age 74, Joe passed away in November, 1985; two years later, he was (quite deservedly) inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Worth checking out, you'll find a lot of cool songs...

Whatcha think about the Calendar? Let us know here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"I believe to the soul/You're the devil and now I know/Well, the more I work/The faster my money goes...", xoxo!