Nobody Cared About The Beatles? Plus, Jimi’s First Audio Assault

The Beatles are ignored in the U.S.?!?! -- A debut album that forever changed the way we heard guitar -- A bona-fide blues legend birthday -- Here's your Wednesday Coffee Break Calendar...

9/16/1963 (57 years ago today) - File under "Guess we just weren't ready": Here in the U.S., the tiny Swan record label released the single "She Loves You" by a new band from Britain called The Beatles. Although it was No. 1 in England, the song draws absolutely no interest from anyone here in America. Less than a year from now, there will be quite a turnaround...

9/16/1967 (53 years ago today) - The Jimi Hendrix Experience debut album enters the Billboard Hot 200 -- "Are You Experienced?" remains on the album chart for 106 weeks (77 of those in the Top 40!). Guitarists minds are well sufficiently blown: Rolling Stone ranked it No. 15 on their 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, and in 2005 it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. It is rather...perfect.

9/16/1925 - Born on this date, the truly legendary Riley B. King, who quite early in his career earned the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", which was soon shortened to "Blues Boy", and finally to just B. B. King -- A major influence on the blues (especially in Britain where Eric Clapton in particular was certifiably gob-smacked); Rolling Stone placed him behind only Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman on their 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time! B.B. suffered from Type 2 diabetes and a series of small strokes which led to his passing away in his sleep on May 14th, 2015. An actual American Icon, kids...

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

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...", xoxo!