Rock 'n' Roll History for
October 27


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1956 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Clarence 'Frogman' Henry's "Ain't Got No Home" is released by Argo Records. The song will crack the Billboard Top 40 in early 1957 and reach #20 during its three week stay. Because he sings like a frog on the record, further releases would be credited to Clarence "Frogman" Henry.

October 27
A front page article in Billboard magazine says that the US Army will give Elvis Presley a GI haircut, much to the dismay of his fans.

October 27
Elvis Presley attains his third straight number one hit on The Cashbox Best Sellers Chart when "Love Me Tender" reaches the top. The King had led the list since the middle of August with "Hound Dog", which was replaced by "Don't Be Cruel" a month later.

1957 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
After a show in Los Angeles, the police tell Elvis that he is not allowed to wiggle his hips onstage. Elvis responds by defiantly wiggling only his little finger while singing. The next night, they film his entire concert, but no charges are laid.

October 27
Buddy Holly And The Crickets' "Oh Boy!" is released by Brunswick Records. It will peak at #10 in the US and #3 in the UK. Holly was backed by the vocal group, The Picks

1960 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Tina Turner gives birth to her second child, Ronald Renelle Turner, while touring in Los Angeles. Husband Ike is not present at the birth.

October 27
Ben E. King was at Atlantic Records, laying down his first solo efforts since leaving The Drifters. During the session, King recorded "Spanish Harlem" which would reach #10 in the US and "Stand By Me" which would go to #4 Stateside and #1 in the UK.


1962 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
The Rolling Stones, consisting of Keith Richard, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, pianist Ian Stewart and drummer Tony Chapman, record their first demo tape at Curly Clayton Studios in Highbury, London. Although Charlie Watts is being courted, he chooses to remain at his Regent Street advertising job.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
The Supremes release "Come See About Me", which would become the third of their five consecutive US number one hits. In the UK, it would reach #27.

October 27
31-year-old Salvatore Philip Bono marries 18-year-old Cherilyn Sarkisian. For a time they performed together as Caesar And Cleo before changing the name of their act to Sonny and Cher. Their union lasted twelve years.

1973 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Although they enjoyed a long string of hit records, Gladys Knight And The Pips had their only US number one song when "Midnight Train to Georgia" hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The record won the 1974 Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus and has become Knight's signature song.

1975 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
In a rare feat for a Rock musician, Bruce Springsteen appears on the cover of both Time and Newsweek magazines.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Crystal Gayle records "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" at Jack's Tracks in Nashville. It will reach #2 on the Billboard Pop chart and #1 on the Country chart, becoming a worldwide hit. In a 2004 Country Music Television interview, Gayle said that songwriter Richard Leigh told her he got the inspiration for the song from his dog, who had one brown eye and one blue eye.


1979 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Elton John collapsed on stage at Hollywood's Universal Amphitheatre suffering from exhaustion.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Mark David Chapman buys a five-shot .38 special for $169 at a gun store in Honolulu, Hawaii. A little over six weeks later, he would use it to kill John Lennon.

1982 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Prince releases his fifth studio album, "1999", which would climb to #7 in the US and #28 in the UK. Included are the title track, "Little Red Corvette", "Delirious", "International Lover" and "Let's Pretend We're Married". The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.

1984 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
At a Grateful Dead concert in Berkeley, California, the band allocated a specific area for fans to make bootleg recordings of the show.

1992 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Bo Diddley filed a lawsuit against the estate and widow of his late manager Martin Otelsberg, claiming he had taken $75,000 through unauthorized personal expenses. In July, 1994, Diddley was reported to have been awarded $400,000 by a federal judge.

1995 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Singer Gloria Estefan becomes the first Pop star to perform for Pope John Paul II as part of the celebration of his 50th anniversary in the priesthood.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Johnny Cash announces that he has Parkinson's disease, however, he has been misdiagnosed. Later, doctors mistakenly say he has Shy-Drager Syndrome, but it turned out he has neither.


2008 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Forbes.com reported that Elvis Presley was the top earning dead celebrity over the past twelve months, earning over $52 million. Income was boosted by visitors to his Graceland estate who commemorated the 30th anniversary of his death and new ventures like the Elvis Sirius Satellite Radio show.

2011 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
James Brown's former manager, 72-year-old David Cannon, was sentenced to three years of home confinement on charges he took 15% of Brown's earnings instead of the 5% he was entitled to during the singer's final years.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Chuck Berry told a gathering at Cleveland's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that he wanted to make a comeback by releasing six new songs that he wrote sixteen years ago. "They might be old, but they are the same type of music that I have been playing," said Berry. "And as soon as I can get someone to guide me - and I do know a little about the business - I want to push them out."

2013 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
Lou Reed, an influential songwriter and guitarist who paved the way for Glam, Punk and Alternative Rock, died of liver disease at the age of 71. Reed led the Velvet Underground in the late '60s and enjoyed an outstanding solo career over the next 50 years.

October 27
Kenny Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame. Summing up his acceptance speech, Rogers said, "Music comes and goes. Records come and go. But, the Hall of Fame is forever, baby."

October 27
Fleetwood Mac cancels the remaining dates of their world tour after co-founder John McVie is diagnosed with cancer.

2016 - ClassicBands.com

October 27
American news media began reporting that the heirs of Mississippi Blues musician, Bo Carter, had launched a five million dollar lawsuit against Warner Music Group Corp and Eric Clapton for wrongfully crediting Huddie Ledbetter for writing a song called "Alberta". The suit alleges that Clapton's recording was actually a cover of Carter's "Corrine, Corrina", which was first licensed in 1929.



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