June 27th

Musical birthdays today include songwriter and Beach Boys sideman Bruce Johnston (77), Radiators guitarist Camile Baudoin (71), Lisa Germano (61), ex-Shapes bassist Brian Helicopter [né Gareth Holder] (61), country singer Lorrie Morgan (60), singer-songwriter & ex-Menudo vocalist Draco Rosa (50),  Sixpence None the Richer lead singer Leigh Nash (43), ex-Your Enemies Friends keyboardist Jennifer Goodridge (39), and Drake Bell (33).  

Shoutout to the Great Beyond for country singer Elton Britt, born on this day in 1913... for jazz pianist Elmo Hope, born in 1923... for country singer Rosalie Allen, born in 1924... for songwriter Doc Pomus [best remembered for 'Save the Last Dance for Me' and 'Viva Las Vegas'], born in 1925... for former Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington, who would have been 74... for Gun Club frontman Jeffrey Lee Pierce, who would have been 61... for composer George Templeton Strong, who died on this date in 1948... for Seven Year Bitch co-founder & lead guitarist Stefanie Sargent, who died of a drug overdose today in 1992 at the age of 24... for John Entwistle, who left us today in 2002 as the result of a cocaine OD... and for Yes bassist Chris Squire, who left us four years ago today. 

Also on June 27th: Peter & Gordon are at № 1 on both sides of the Atlantic with the Lennon & McCartney song 'World without Love' (1964)... Mick Jagger is found guilty of illegal possession of drugs found in his jacket at a party given by Keith Richards. He is remanded overnight at Lewes jail and given prisoner number 7856. The Stones frontman requests books on Tibet and modern art and two packs of Benson & Hedges cigarettes... The Doors play Brooklyn's legendary Paramount Theater (1967)... Elvis appears on an NBC TV show billed as his 'comeback special'. The program features the King performing on a small, square stage, surrounded by a mostly female audience. Presley is outfitted in black leather and performs many of his early hits... At Abbey Road, The Beatles record 'Everybody's Got Something to Hide except Me and My Monkey' (1968)... The 3-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music opens in southwest England. Scheduled to appear are Santana, The Flock, Led Zeppelin, Hot Tuna, Country Joe McDonald, Colosseum, Jefferson Airplane, The Byrds, Dr. John, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, Canned Heat, It's a Beautiful Day, Steppenwolf, Johnny Winter, John Mayall with Peter Green, Pink Floyd, [who premiere their new suite, 'Atom Heart Mother', which is introduced as ' the Amazing Pudding'], Pentangle, Fairport Convention, and Keef Hartley... At Truro City Hall in Cornwall, the newly formed Queen, featuring Freddie Mercury [still known at this point as Freddie Bulsara] on vocals, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Mike Grose on bass play their first gig. They are billed as Smile, Brian and Roger's previous band, for whom the booking had been made originally. Original material at this time includes an early version of 'Stone Cold Crazy' (1970)... In Germany on what will prove to be their last tour ever, Led Zeppelin play the Messehalle in Nuremberg. Just three songs into their set, John Bonham collapses on stage, causing the rest of the concert to be cancelled (1980)... Michael Jackson has his first solo № 1 single in Britain with 'One Day in Your Life', originally recorded for his 1975 solo album Michael (1981)... Billy Ray Cyrus goes to the top of the Billboard country chart with 'Achy Breaky Heart'. The song also becomes a crossover hit, peaking at № 4 on the Hot 100 (1992)... Aerosmith become one of the first bands to allow fans to download a free new track from the Internet (1994)... At a free concert in Harlem, NY given by the Fugees and the Wu Tang Clan, a man opens fire with a revolver. No one is hit, but 22 are injured in the panic that ensues (1996)... Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot and Bryan Adams each officially receive a granite star on Canada's Walk of Fame, on King Street in Toronto. They are the first three pop artists to be honoured in the newly recognized group of Canadian stars (1998)... The Beastie Boys have their fourth US № 1 album with To the Five Boroughs (2004)... The Surgeon General of Russia says that The Beatles are to blame for the country's drug problem. Dr. Yevgeny Bryun, the nation's chief medical officer, tells a press conference in Moscow that the country's youth were first introduced to the idea of drug-taking when The Beatles traveled to India to "expand their minds". Bryun adds: "It was after this news entered public consciousness that people in Russia realised you could make money from the sale of drugs. When business then realised it was possible to make money from this association of goods with pleasure, that was when the growth in the demand for drugs started" (2012).