Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for August 31st

How much to see Elvis in 1957? -- What Stones classic was "banned" in 1969? -- What happened to George Harrison in 1976 left him ticked off for many, many years...

8/31/1957 (41 years ago today) - Somewhat weirdly, it also turns out to be the last time Elvis performs outside the United States: The Empire Stadium in Vancouver, Canada, is only the third (and final!) Elvis concert appearance that's not on actual U.S. soil -- 26,000 fans attend the show with tickets priced at $1.50, $2.50 and $3.50.

8/31/1969 (49 years ago today) - The Rolling Stones release the "Street Fighting Man" single, what many critics called their most most political statement yet. Mick wrote most of the song after attending a March 1968 anti-war rally at the U.S. embassy in London, the highlight of which was 25,000 protesters being "kept in line" by armed mounted police -- A Stones rarity, actually: it's one of the very few singles of theirs that didn't make The Top 40 {it only went as high as No. 48} because many radio programmers refused to play it due to the subject matter and "subversive lyrics". It's always been comforting to relish the thought that art can scare authority...

8/31/1976 (42 years ago today) - It's why he wrote "This Song": George Harrison is found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" of the Ronnie Mack classic "He's So Fine" -- Apparently, George's "My Sweet Lord" was just a little too-close-sound-alike-wise for Mack's estate; they'll end up receiving royalties from the song which actually was the first Number One single for a Beatle after the band broke up! The Chiffons, who were responsible for the definitive monster classic hit version of "He's So Fine" (it topped the charts for four weeks in the spring of 1963, well before Beatlemania), later on recorded their own version of "My Sweet Lord"(!!!). The circumstances and mumbo-jumbo-legal-BS surrounding this entire episode left the quiet Beatle righteously pissed off for years to come...

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"Do-lang, do-lang, do-lang...", xoxo!