Tommy’s Coffee Break for November 16th

Coolness on the charts with Jimi and John, and then there's what just might be the worst rock song ever recorded; it's by....errr, we feel sick just thinkin' 'bout it!

11/16/1968 (47 years ago today) - It's one of the few double-studio sets that achieves total perfection: The Jimi Hendrix Experience go to No. 1 on the U.S. chart with the 2-LP set "Electric Ladyland". Four sides of absolute bliss -- there's psychedelia ("1983...A Merman I Should Turn To Be"), all-star jamming ("Still Raining, Still Dreaming"), kick-ass blues ("Come On Part 1"), the best-ever-in-the-universe version of a Dylan classic ("All Along The Watchtower"). And, yes, everything in between is equally awesome; "Electric Ladyland" is without a shadow of a doubt one of mankind's greatest musical accomplishments! Sometimes it feels like everything else sucks when compared to this record, that's the truth...

11/16/1974 (41 years ago today) - "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" by John Lennon hits No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart. Elton John was all over the recording session for this one and he made a deal with John: if the song reaches No. 1, Lennon would have to appear live onstage with Elton. Yeah, right. Well it did...and Lennon kept his promise on Nov. 28th, appearing at Madison Square Garden to perform with Elton and his band! They played three songs together; in addition to the current chart-topper, they also did "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and, somewhat weirdly, "I Saw Her Standing There"! The real highlight for John Lennon was waiting backstage -- it was where he got back together with Yoko Ono after his "Lost Weekend" time apart out in California.

11/16/1985 (30 years ago today) - It's frightening is what it is: Starship start a two-week stint at No. 1 with the single "We Built This City". Often referred to as "a real reflection of what practically killed rock music in the Eighties" (Blender magazine), it finished near the top of VH-1's Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever, and absolutely blew away the "competition" in a Rolling Stone magazine Readers Poll as "The Worst Song Of The 1980's". The most embarrassing record Grace Slick was to be associated with; she retired from the music business not long afterward.

Thoughts and comments on the Calendar can left here on our web site if you have a mind to do so, or y'all can hammer away on the WBLM Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #TommysCoffeeBreak.

"Knee deep in the hoopla/Sinking in your fight...", xoxo!