On This Day, April 27 in Music History
EVENTS ON APRIL 27 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day April 27 in 1963 – 15-year-old Little Peggy March hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with her rendition of ‘I Will Follow Him’ for the first of three consecutive weeks.
1964 – The Beatles released ‘Love Me Do’ and the B-side single ‘P.S. I Love You’ in the United States. ‘Love Me Do’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart later that year and the B-side reached No.10.
1967 – With ‘Puppet On A String’, Sandie Shaw started a three-week stint at No.1 in the UK. She won the Eurovision Song Contest earlier that year with the song representing the UK.
1974 – Rock band Chicago topped the US Billboard 200 chart on this day April 27 in music history with their sixth studio album ‘Chicago VII’.
1976 – David Bowie was detained at the Polish – Russian border because he was carrying Nazi memorabilia in his travelling bags. He was released after explaining that it was only for research purposes for a film project he was working on. Read more about this event and Bowie’s fascist alter ego – The Thin White Duke.
1984 – American blues singer Arzell J. Hill also known professionally as Z.Z. Hill died at the age of 48 from a heart attack. Best remembered for songs such as ‘Don’t Make Me Pay for His Mistakes’ and I Need Someone To Love Me’
1985 – The charity album ‘We Are the World’ by various artists hit No.1 on the US Billboard 200 for the first of three weeks.
1991 – The number one single in the US on this day April 27 was ‘Baby Baby’ by Amy Grant. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks straight.
1992 – French organist and composer Olivier Messiaen died at the age of 83. He is considered one of the major composers of the 20th century.
1999 – English rock band The Verve announced that they were breaking up for the second time. They reunited in 2007 just to split up for the third time in 2009.
1999 – American trumpeter and bandleader Alois ‘Al’ Hirt died at the age of 76 from liver failure. He is considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century.
2000 – American disco singer and actress Vicki Sue Robinson died on this day April 27 from cancer, aged 45. Best known for her 1976 hit single ‘Turn the Beat Around’.
2002 – English rock band Oasis scored their sixth number one single in the United Kingdom with ‘The Hindu Times’.
2002 – American guitarist and producer Hillous Butrum died at the age of 74. Best remembered as a member of the Drifting Cowboys – Hank Williams’ backing band.
2003 – The Stooges and Iggy Pop reunited for the first time since 1974 at the Coachella music festival.
2006 – Soviet-Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich died at the age of 80. He is considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century.
2013 – Pink and Nate Ruess topped the US Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Just Give Me a Reason on this day April 27 in music history. The song was also a big international hit and it became a chart-topper in seventeen other countries.
P!nk ft. Nate Ruess – Just Give Me a Reason
2013 – Drum & bass band Rudimental featuring singer Ella Eyre went to number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘Waiting All Night’.
2013 – With their self-titled fourth studio album, pop rock band Paramore topped the US Billboard 200 chart.
2013 – Canadian singer Michael Bublé hit number one in the UK with his eighth studio album ‘To Be Loved’ for the first of two weeks straight.
2019 – South Korean boy band BTS took the top spot on the US Billboard 200 chart with their sixth extended play (EP) ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’.
BORN ON APRIL 27 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1917 – American jazz drummer and composer Denzil DaCosta Best was born in New York City.
1927 – Drummer and percussionist Conrad Kirnon also known professionally as Connie Kay was born in Tuckahoe New York.
1931 – Country music singer Maxine Brown was born in Campti, Louisiana. She rose to fame as a member of the sibling vocal trio The Browns.
1937 – American singer Charlie Thomas was born in Lynchburg, Virginia. Best known as a member of the doo-wop vocal group The Drifters with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
1938 – Drummer Spencer Dryden was born in New York CIty. Best known for playing with bands such as Jefferson Airplane, The Dinosaurs and New Riders of the Purple Sage.
1942 – American drummer and percussionist James “Jim” Keltner was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Best known for his work as a session musician with music acts such as the Traveling Wilburys, Bee Gees, Pink Floyd, Roy Orbison, J.J. Cale, George Harrison, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and many others.
1944 – Singer Cuba Gooding Sr. was born in New York City. Best known as the lead vocalist of the soul group The Main Ingredient. He’s also the father of actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
1946 – Singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer Gordon Haskell was born in Verwood, England.
1947 – Soul and R&B singer and songwriter Ann Peebles was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Best known for the songs ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’ and ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’.
1947 – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and piano player Peter Ham was born in Swansea, Wales. He came to prominence as the co-founder and frontman of the rock band Badfinger.
1948 – Multi-instrumentalist and founding member of the new wave band the B-52’s, Catherine “Kate” Pierson was born in Weehawken, New Jersey.
1951 – Founding member and lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss, Paul ‘Ace’ Frehley also known as The Spaceman was born in The Bronx, New York City.
1956 – Singer, guitarist, and one half of the music duo House of Freak, Bryan Harvey was born in Richmond, Virginia.
1959 – Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Sheena Easton was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Best known for the international hit song ‘9 to 5 (Morning Train)’.
1959 – Prolific American jazz multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson was born in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.
1979 – American bass guitarist William Boyd was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Best known as a member of the rock band Evanescence from 2003 until 2006.
1984 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Stump was born in Evanston, Illinois. He came to prominence as the co-founder and frontman of the pop rock band Fall Out Boy.
1988 – American singer, rapper, and flautist Melissa Viviane Jefferson better known by her stage name Lizzo was born in Detroit, Michigan.