Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for January 11th

Classic single is banned... -- Biggest fest ever? -- Remembering The Big Man...

1/11/17 (53 years ago today) - ...and nobody really knew what the singer was singing: "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen was No. 1 on the Cash Box singles chart. Because of its indecipherable lyrics, rumors abounded that the track either featured alotta naughty words, or it was "about something" unfit for radio airplay -- Many stations opted to simply ban the record from their playlists, just to be on the safe side. This actually led the the F.B.I. to launch an investigation into the song, ultimately coming to the conclusion that they couldn't really find anything wrong. Excellent publicity!!!

1/11/1985 (32 years ago today) - A 10-day rock festival held in Rio de Janeiro gets underway, with over 1.5 million fans showing up to catch sets by Queen, AC/DC, Rod Stewart, Whitesnake, James Taylor, Scorpions, The B-52's, Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden and Yes, along with many local favorite performers. Claims are later made that this first "Rock In Rio" fest was the biggest of its kind ever staged, and it was a success, taking place (not coincidentally) during the first democratic presidential elections being held there in over 20 years. Rock 'n' roll comes to the rescue...again!!!

1/11/1942 - Born on this day, original E Street band member Clarence Clemons, who at the age of nine received a saxophone for a Christmas present, instead of the train set that he asked for. Becoming a professional football player was the direction Clarence was heading, but once he heard legendary sax players Junior Walker and King Curtis...well, that was that! Hard now to imagine Springsteen classics like "Jungleland", "Spirit In The Night" and "Prove It All Night" without the sound of Clarence's tenor. A.k.a. "The Big Man", having played literally alongside Bruce for over 40 years, Clarence died on June 18th, 2011, from complications from a stroke. He was 69.

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"But if dreams came true/Oh, wouldn't that be nice...", xoxo!