Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for November 1st

The original "Wonderwall"... -- Truly tragic Grand Funk story... -- Def Lep birthday...

11/1/1968 (51 years ago today) - George Harrison released his first solo album, "Wonderwall Music", on The Beatles' Apple Record label -- The songs were mostly Harrison instrumentals (it doubled as the soundtrack to a long-forgotten Jane Birkin film) featuring Eric Clapton on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums, along with an uncredited banjo contribution from The Monkees' Peter Tork --This will also not be the last time Brit mastermind Noel Gallagher "borrows" Fab Four song titles for his own stuff, and he's still getting away with it. Brilliant, actually...

11/1/2004 (15 years ago today) - The former manager and behind-the-scenes-svengali of Grand Funk Railroad, 71 year old Terry Knight, was murdered at his home in Killeen, Texas -- He was defending his daughter during a domestic disturbance when he was stabbed by her 26 year old boyfriend -- Knight helped Funk become one of the most successful outfits of the 1970's after he put aside his own career leading a Michigan band called Terry Knight & The Pack, who scored a Billboard Top 50 hit with "I (Who Have Nothing)", which later became one of singer Tom Jones' most iconic greatest hits...

11/1/1963 - Happy Birthday to Def Leppard founding member/drummer Rick Allen, 56 years old today. Tough dude for sure; he refused to give up drumming even after losing an arm in a 1984 automobile accident in England! Whiners, take notes. By the way, Rick is a very accomplished artist too (see for yourself here):

Share your strokes with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"By now you should've somehow/Realized what you got to do...", xoxo!