Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for August 21st

When they say "landmark recording", this is what they really mean -- Hey, a weird "coincidence" on the singles chart -- The birthday of a British punk-icon...

8/21/1961 (58 years ago today) - Patsy Cline recorded the classic Willie Nelson song "Crazy", while on crutches!!! Two months earlier, she was involved in a head-on collision which sent her hurtling through the car windshield -- Unsurprisingly, during the first couple of takes, Patsy had a little difficulty hitting the higher notes because of her broken ribs! Yeah, and these kids today with their auto-tuning s----t, c'mon now...

8/21/1968 (51 years ago today) - Tommy James & The Shondells hit No. 1 on the British singles chart for a second time with "Mony Mony" -- Insert peculiar twist here: Years later, in 1987, Billy Idol's version of "Mony Mony" would replace a different Tommy James classic on Billboard's Hot 100, when 16-year old Tiffany's cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" was in the No. 1 spot. Okay, stranger stuff has happened, but still...

8/21/1952 - John Graham Mellor was born on this date: singer-songwriter-guitarist (and part-time actor) Joe Strummer that is, and The Clash couldn't have existed without him as the Lennon to Mick Jones' McCartney {well, sort of, you get the idea} -- Joe's spontaneous ad-libs on Clash records are both legendary and highly amusing ("Vacuum cleaner sucks up budgie!") and the band was easily voted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in January 2003 -- One of the premier influences on the Brit punk movement no doubt, and in his memory, family and friends established The Joe Strummer Foundation which helps promote new artists. Plus there's the stone-cold truth that your entire music collection is a null-and-void joke if you don't own a copy of "London Calling", that's just the way it is (though we're big fans of "Sandanista!", too). Joe unexpectedly passed away December 22, 2002; he was just 50 years old.

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

"The ice age is coming/The sun is zooming in...", xoxo!