More proof The Beatles are hard to beat (it's so true!) -- TV show theme hits No. 1 (but which one...?) -- Props for a teen-throb poster-boy who was actually a talented musician (it happens, honest!)

John Sebastian
John Sebastian, Isle of Wight Festival, Aug. 1970. (Evening Standard/Getty Images)
loading...

5/8/1964 (53 years ago today) - By this point in time, The Beatles will have held the Number One position on the U.S. singles chart for an unbelievable fourteen weeks in a row(!), with {an equally unbelievable} three successive No. 1's -- Here's the tally: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was at the top for seven weeks, followed by "She Loves You" (two weeks), and "Can't Buy Me Love" (five weeks). They were rather good, you know...

5/8/1976 (41 years ago today) - Ex-Lovin' Spoonful main man John Sebastian was at No. 1 on the singles chart with "Welcome Back", the classic TV show theme to "Welcome Back, Kotter" starring stand-up comic Gabe Kaplan as a "compassionate teacher who returned to his inner city high school to help a new generation of trouble making kids", led by a then-unknown John Travolta as "sweat-hog" Vinnie Barbarino. Old days indeed...

5/8/1940 - Born on this day, Rick Nelson, totally underrated  as a true country-rock pioneer -- Best known as "Ricky" Nelson, one of the late Fifties/early Sixties teen-pop-dream-boys, famous for his good looks and charm -- He became a huge TV star thanks to his family's sit-com "The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet", alongside an impressive run of 19 Top 40 hits between 1957--'59 alone, most notably the 1958 No. 1 classic "Poor Little Fool", which (actually) still sounds amazing -- As he grew older, Rick gave up acting and seriously immersed himself in nuthin'-but-music, recording a string of critically acclaimed C&W/R&R fusion albums that solidified his long-taken-for-granted talent (1972's "Garden Party" and '74's "Windfall" are truly worth seeking out) -- Tragically, his journey to attain that much desired cred-factor never really happened till after he perished in a plane crash on December 31,1985; he was only 45 --  If there's a list of artists that need to be looked at and listened to with new ears, Rick Nelson's near the top for sure...

Share your reminiscing with the Calendar here on our web site and the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Ya can't please everyone, so/Ya got to please yourself...", xoxo!

More From 102.9 WBLM