Tommy’s Coffee Break Calendar for March 23rd

Elvis starts his last hike... -- Ex-C.C.R.-man is tops... -- One of rock's most-taken-for-granted artists celebrates a birthday...

3/23/1977 (40 years ago today) - Elvis Presley does a show at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona; it is the first of a scheduled 49 date tour, but by the end of the month he is hospitalized in Memphis (for severe intestinal flu), and many gigs have to be re-scheduled. The tour resumes in Greensboro, N.C. on April 21 and continues into June. These will turn out to be Elvis' final live performances...ever.

3/23/1985 (32 years ago today) - It was his first album in nine years(!): John Fogerty goes to No. 1 with his third studio LP "Centerfield" -- John not only wrote all the songs...he also played all the instruments on the album himself, which goes on to be a massive success: three hit singles ("The Old Man Down The Road", "Rock And Roll Girls", and the title track), plus the LP makes it into the Top 5 in Australia, Canada, Norway and Sweden. The long-awaited bona-fide comeback is underway...

3/23/1949 - Happy Birthday to singer-songwriter-producer Ric Ocasek, 68 years old today. The Cars leader is (no doubt) the real deal, a genuine mastermind -- think about all those classic Cars songs that get played every day on radios all around the world, some of rock's catchiest/cleverest stuff -- you gotta wonder why Ric's not held in higher regard. We think it's kinda weird, like...artistically, how good do you have to be, really?

Share your "Well, what about its?" with the Calendar here on our web site and on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"There's no escape/Without a scrape...", xoxo!