Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for November 5th

A death, a near-death, and an amazing accomplishment for a sort-of-a-novelty song...

11/5/1967 (51 years ago today) - Bee Gees singer Robin Gibb was a passenger on train that crashed in South East London on this date, killing 49 people and injuring 78 more. Robin was treated for shock after the accident.

11/5/1988 (30 years ago today) - "The Locomotion" became the first song to reach the U.S. Top 5 in three different versions when U.K. pop queen Kylie Minogue's take reached No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart -- Written by the legendary team of Gerry Coffin/Carole King, the song is notable for appearing in the U.S. Top 5 three times, each time in a different decade(!!!): the original by Little Eva hit No. 1 in 1962, while Grand Funk Railroad's went to the top in 1974. That's some busy chart action for a tune that was originally nothing more than a piece of throwaway fluff for the composers baby sitter to have some fun with...

11/5/2005 (13 years ago today) - Rock 'n' roll guitarist Link Wray passed away, age 76 -- Wray's been credited with inventing the 'fuzz guitar sound' after punching a hole in his amp's speaker, which created a cool distortion that was quite unlike anything else at that time -- Link's real claim to rock immortality came with the infamous single "Rumble", banned by many radio stations upon its release in 1958 on the grounds that it glorified juvenile delinquency, a rather remarkable achievement for a song with no lyrics!!!

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

"I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now...", xoxo!