Rock History July 27
1968, Bee Gee Robin Gibb collapsed, as the group were about to set out on their first US tour. The singer was suffering from nervous exhaustion.
1968, The Steve Miller Band appeared at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan.
1968, Cass Elliot released her first solo single following the break up of The Mamas and Papas. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” had been around since 1931 and had been recorded by Frank Sinatra and Frankie Laine, among others. many others. Cass’ version would be the most successful when it peaked at number 12 on the charts.
1968, Jackie Wilson performed at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia.
1969, Led Zeppelin and the Doors play the Seattle Pop Festival at Gold Creek Park in Woodinville, Washington. Robert Plant remembers the following about Jim Morrison. “He hung on the side of the stage and nearly toppled into the audience and did all those things that I suppose were originally sexual things, but as he got fatter and dirtier and more screwed up they became more bizarre. So it was really sickening to watch.”
1972, Hawkwind played at the Pier Pavillon, Hastings, England.
1973, Led Zeppelin played the first of three nights at New York”s Madison Square Garden. Top ticket price was $7.50 (£5.00.)
1974, John Denver started a two week run at number one on the US singles chart with “Annie’s Song,” the singer’s second chart topper. The song was a tribute to his wife and was written in ten minutes while he was on a ski lift.
1974, Wings started a seven-week run at number one on the UK album chart with Band On The Run, featuring the title-track, “Jet” and the American hit “Helen Wheels.” The album sold over 6 million copies world-wide.
1974, Aerosmith performed at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin.
1974, Eric Clapton appeared at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, Davenport, Iowa.
1974, The Grateful Dead played the Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia.
1975, The Rolling Stones perform at Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan.
1976, After a four-year legal fight, John Lennon was awarded his Green card, allowing him permanent residence in the US.
1976, Bruce Springsteen sued his manager Mike Appel for fraud and breach of trust. The case dragged on for over a year, halting Springsteen’s career. An out of court settlement was reached the following year.
1976, Tina Turner filed for divorce from her husband Ike, ending their violent 16-year marriage and successful musical partnership.
1977, AC/DC appeared at Amarillo World Headquaters, Austin., Texas.
1978, Kansas played at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, in Clarkston, Michigan, just outside of Detroit.
1978, Joy Division performed at the Roots Club, Leeds, England.
1979, Blondie appeared at the Orpheum Theater, Memphis, Tennessee.
1980, Van Halen headlined at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York.
1981, Ozzy Osbourne played at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario.
1985, Paul Young went to number one on the US singles chart with his version of the Daryl Hall song “Every Time You Go Away.”
1986, Queen became the first western act since Louis Armstrong in 1964 to perform in Eastern Europe when they played at Nepstadion in Budapest, Hungary. The gig was filmed and released as “Queen Magic in Budapest.”
1991, Jesus Jones went to number two on the US chart with “Right Here, Right Now. The failed to upend Bryan Adams’ “(Everything I Do), I Do It for You” from a seven week stay at the top position.
1996, The Spice Girls scored their first UK number one single with “Wannabe,” spending seven weeks at number one. The song won Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and Best Single at the 1997 Brit Awards.
2001, Leon Wilkeson, bass player with Lynyrd Skynyrd, was found dead in a hotel room in Florida aged 49. Wilkeson had apparently been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease. His death was attributed to natural causes. He was also a member of the Rossington-Collins Band.
2012, The Beatles returned to the Top 40 of the Billboard albums chart with the iTunes-exclusive compilation Tomorrow Never Knows. The set included 14 classic songs by the band and marked the first time The Beatles released an album exclusively to iTunes that had never been previously issued.
Born on July 27: Nick Reynolds, The Kingston Trio (1933); Al Ramsey, Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1943); Bobby Gentry (1944); Maurenn McGovern (1949); Michael Vaughn, guitar, Paper Lace (1950); Conway Savage, bass, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1960); Rex Brown, bass, Pantera (1964); Juliana Hatfield, singer, songwriter (1967)
Link to Today in Rock History main page
Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, Hawkwind, John Denver, Kansas, Led Zeppelin, The Bee Gees, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, The Mamas and the Papas, The Rolling Stones, Wings.
