Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for June 20th
A nifty-and-moderately-weird TV anniversary... -- Payback time for a guy that just kept getting creepier as the years passed... -- Guitarists' guitarist b'day!!!
6/20/1973 (44 years ago today) - It's the 20th Anniversary of Dick Clark's "American Bandstand", a rather prestigious achievement actually for a show looking to satisfy an obviously finicky teenage demographic -- The line-up for the celebration featured Neil Diamond, Little Richard, Three Dog Night, Paul Revere & The Raiders and...Cheech & Chong!!! Gotta love it. Don't forget, Chuck Berry name-checked the show in "Sweet Little Sixteen": "'Cause they'll be rocking on Bandstand in Philadelphia, PA", so that's about as cool a tip of the cap you'll ever get...
6/20/2000 (17 years ago today) - The Ronettes were awarded $2.6 million in back earnings from producer Phil Spector -- New York judge Paula Omansky ruled that the legendary weirdo had cheated them out of royalties for such classics as "Baby, I Love You", "(Walking) In The Rain" and "Be My Baby" -- Two years later, another judge reverses the decision, but karma comes-a-knockin' one year from now, resulting in Phil being found guilty of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson at his home mansion -- The 5-feet-tall wig-wearin' bug-eyed former-genius is currently serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life and will be 88 years old by the time he is eligible for his first parole hearing.
6/20/1924 - Born on this day, guitarist extraordinaire, the one and only and truly incomparable Chet Atkins -- Known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", Chet's distinctive picking style of playing and instinctive feel for real musicianship earned him many admirers both in and outside the country scene, all around the world, with George Harrison and Mark Knopfler citing him as a major influence on their styles -- Chet spent most of his career at RCA Records and produced albums for Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Hank Snow, Perry Como, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Waylon Jennings, the list goes on and on -- Mr. Atkins continued to perform live well into the 1990's until he was diagnosed with cancer; he died at his home in Nashville, June 30, 2001, ten days after his 77th birthday. A bona-fide legend for sure.
Share your pickin'-an'-a-grinnin' with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.
"We'll make 'em turn their heads every place we go...", xoxo!