Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for February 1st

Three ultra-classics which offer definitive proof that the 1960's may never be matched for musical brilliance. It's just the way it is...

2/1/1964 (54 years ago today) - It was one giant leap for mankind alright, only before Neil Armstrong: Welcome to the first of seven weeks in a row at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart for "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles -- It was also the first U.S. No. 1 by a British act since The Tornadoes' instrumental "Telstar" in 1962, only this time the effects were going to be much more profound and far-reaching than anyone could have possibly dreamed. Everything's different from here on out...

2/1/1965 (53 years ago today) - James Brown records "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" at the Arthur Smith Studios in (and this is where you insert the real meaning of "ironic") Charlotte, North Carolina -- It reaches No. 8 on Billboard's Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B Chart on its way to picking up a Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, and at 1:55, the tightest and funkiest under-two-minutes-record ever!!! 

2/1/1969 (49 years ago today) - Tommy James & The Shondells start two weeks at No. 1 with their second chart-topping single "Crimson And Clover" -- Though not taken seriously by the arty-hippy audiences of the day, time has been (real) good to the Tommy James catalog of singles which still sound really fresh and vibrant; a look at his stats is impressive by any era's standards -- In addition to a pair of No. 1's ("Hanky Panky" was the other), TJ scored twelve Top 40 hits (five in the Top Ten, including the classics "Mony Mony", "I Think We're Alone Now", "Sweet Cherry Wine" and "Crystal Blue Persuasion"), and all in just three years(!), between 1966 and '69. Time for a re-think...

Share your pop-pop's with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Yeah, you got that somethin'...", xoxo!