Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for May 6th

A ban on Bruce... -- A truly weird album from before-they-were-known-as T. Rex... -- A legendary American songwriter you need to be reminded about...

5/06/1972 (48 years ago today) - They (OK, he) started out as a sort of a psychedelic-acid-folk-prog-duo: The band was called Tyrannosaurus Rex and their debut album from the summer of 1968 was titled "My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair...But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows" -- By '72, Marc Bolan was a gargantuan mega-star in Britain known simply as T. Rex, riding a wicked wave of popularity on stage and in the record shops with the classic albums "Electric Warrior" (featuring "Bang a Gong") and "The Slider" -- Marc's label bosses decided it was a good time to ca$h in, so those first two Tyrannosaurus Rex LPs were re-issued as a double-set (the debut along with their second 1968 LP, the equally long-titled "Prophets, Seers And Sages: The Angels Of The Ages"). Turns out, T. Rex was so beloved in the U.K. that even such dated hippy tripe from years earlier would go to Number One on this date...

5/06/2002 (18 years ago today) - He was definitely one of the un-sung designers of the blueprint that became rock 'n' roll: Songwriter/producer Otis Blackwell passed away from a heart attack; he was 70 years old -- Why should you know about Otis Blackwell? Here are just a few of the gems he wrote: "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Breathless" (Jerry Lee Lewis); "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return To Sender" (Elvis); "Fever" (Peggy Lee); "Handy Man" (Jimmy Jones; James Taylor) and "Hey Little Girl" (Dee Clark). His songs have also been covered by Ray Charles, The Who, Dolly Parton, Otis Redding and Billy Joel; it's estimated that over the years, Otis' songs have likely sold over 185 million copies!

5/06/2005 (15 years ago today) - File under 'Are ya kidding?': Coffee shop chain Starbucks, who used to stocked CDs at its branches in the U.S., banned the sale of Bruce Springsteen's latest release "Devils And Dust" over concerns about its "adult content". Yeah, you probably don't wanna get all wired up on expresso-latte's while deciphering the Boss' lyrics, just imagine the trauma...

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"I shake all over and you know why/I'm sure it's love honey, that's no lie...", xoxo!