Rock 'n' Roll History for
February 27


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1959 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
23-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis and his third wife (and first cousin once removed) Myra have a son, Steve Allen Lewis, who is named after the TV host. The boy would drown in a swimming pool accident three years later.

1961 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Five months after topping the US charts with "The Twist", Chubby Checker does it again with "Pony Time". The song reached #27 in the UK.

1964 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
For the first time ever, all ten spots on the UK Top Ten were UK acts, led by 21-year-old Cilla Black's version of "Anyone Who Had A Heart". Her song would prove to be the fourth best-selling single of 1964 in the UK, with sales of nearly 950,000 copies.

1965 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The first of a 21 date tour that featured Del Shannon, Wayne Fontana And The Mindbenders and Herman's Hermits, kicks off at Sheffield's City Hall, England.

1966 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The Supremes appear on the TV show What's My Line, where the blindfolded panel guesses who they are after just eight questions.

1967 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Pink Floyd record their first single, "Arnold Layne", which will top the UK charts but won't crack the Hot 100 in the US.

1970 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Jefferson Airplane is fined $1,000 for onstage profanity in Oklahoma City.

1971 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The Janis Joplin album "Pearl" overtakes "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the top of the Billboard Hot 200 album chart. It will retain that position for nine weeks, until "Superstar" takes the spot back again.

1977 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Keith Richards is arrested in Toronto after police raid his hotel room and seize 22 grams of heroin, 5 grams of cocaine and narcotics paraphernalia. His bail was set at $25,000. He eventually received a suspended sentence after a court concluded that Richards did not bring the drugs into the country, but rather purchased them while in Canada.

1980 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes" wins a Grammy Award for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year, while Billy Joel's "52nd Street" wins both Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

1988 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
George Michael reaches number one in the US for the second time in his solo career with "Father Figure". He would go on to have a total of six after scoring three chart toppers with Andrew Ridgeley in Wham!

1991 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
James Brown was released on parole after serving more than two years of a six year jail sentence. He had been found guilty of carrying a gun, drug possession and leading police on a car chase through two US states.

1993 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Marlena Davis of The Orlons lost her battle with lung cancer at the age of 48. The group's hit making window was a brief sixteen months in 1962 and 1963, but it produced five Billboard Top 40 hits, including "The Wah Watusi" (#2), "Don't Hang Up", (#4) and "South Street" (#3).

February 27
Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" replaces Boyz II Men's 1992 hit "End Of The Road" as the longest running Billboard chart topper when it stays #1 for its 14th consecutive week. That record was eclipsed in 1995 - 1996 by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day", which enjoyed a run of 16 weeks.

1997 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
During the taping of her TV talk show, James Brown asks the hostess, Rolanda White, to marry him. She declined.

2000 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The first of a two-part, TV mini series, The Beach Boys: An American Family, airs on ABC. The program is a dramatization of the early years of the band, from their formation in the early 1960s to their peak of popularity later in the decade. When asked about the film, Brian Wilson stated, "I didn't like it, I thought it was in poor taste. And it stunk. I thought it stunk! I didn't like the second part. It wasn't really true to the way things were."

2004 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Michael Jackson was spotted in a Wal-Mart store in Snowmass, Colorado, wearing a ski mask as a disguise. After refusing to remove the mask for store employees, Jackson left the building, but was stopped by police shortly after. Jackson then complied with a request to remove the mask and officials said that there were no further problems.

2010 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Tom "T-Bone" Wolk died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 58. He played bass for nearly 30 years with Daryl Hall And John Oates and also recorded with Elvis Costello and Billy Joel.

2012 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The Sex Pistols signed a record deal with Universal that would lead the way to releasing an expanded and repackaged edition of the band's "Never Mind The Bollocks" and "Here's The Sex Pistols", later in the year.

2013 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
70-year-old Richard Street, who sang with The Tempataions for 25 years starting in the early '70s, passed away of a pulmonary embolism.

2015 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Gary Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was sentenced by a British judge to 16 years in prison for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under 13. Glitter reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 with "Rock And Roll Part 2".

2016 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
The Turtles announced via their Twitter account that front man Mark Volman had been given a clean bill of health after undergoing treatment for throat cancer last Fall. The band planned to go ahead with their annual Happy Together tour scheduled for the following Summer.

February 27
Elton John gave a free, surprise concert outside of the old Tower Records building in Los Angeles. John performed an hour-long set of his hits to thank the city of West Hollywood for its support of his AIDS Foundation and his Academy Awards Viewing Party.

2019 - ClassicBands.com

February 27
Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was put back on the market at the dramatically reduced price of $31 million. The original asking price for the 2,700-acre property in Santa Barbara County, California was $100 million in 2015 and later dropped to $67 million. Jackson's estate changed the name of the complex to the Sycamore Valley Ranch, which is said to include a 12,000-square foot house, guest houses, a lagoon-like swimming pool, and a basketball court. The property would sell for $22 million in December, 2020.



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