July 27

Births

1933: Nick Reynolds (Guitar & Vocals for The Kingston Trio)

1944: Bobby Gentry (Roberta Lee Streeter) (Singer / Songwriter)

1955: Bobby Rondinelli (Drummer for Rainbow, Quiet Riot, Black Sabbath & Blue Oyster Cult)

1962: Karl Mueller (Bass for Soul Asylum)

1964: Rex Brown (Bass for Pantera & Down)

1967: Juliana Hatfield (Singer / Songwriter for The Blake Babies & Solo)

1973: Abe Cunningham (Drummer for The Deftones)

1974: Pete Yorn (Singer / Songwriter)

1975: Fred Mascherino (Lead Vocals & Guitar for Taking Back Sunday)

1990: Cheyenne Kimball (Singer & Guitar for Gloriana)

Events

1958: A study by Esso oil (formerly Standard Oil, eventually Exxon) finds that drivers speed more and therefore waste more gas when listening to the new fad of rock and roll music.

1968: A riot erupts at Chicago's Grant Park after Sly and the Family Stone fail to appear for a free concert.

1968:  ‘Mama’ 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, Frankie Laine and many others. Cass' version would be the most successful when it peaked at No. 12 on the US chart.

1969: Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees collapses from "nervous exhaustion" just as the group is about to embark on its first US tour, but it's actually a ruse designed to hasten his exit from the group.

1974: John Denver started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Annie's Song', the singers second US No.1. The song was a tribute to his wife and was written in 10 minutes while he was on a ski lift.

1974: Lynyrd Skynyrd released the single "Sweet Home Alabama".

1976: John Lennon ends his four-year fight to stay in the US as a special government hearing granted him a green card (Number A-17-597-321).

1976: Bruce Springsteen's meteoric career rise is stalled when he sues manager Mike Appel for fraud and breach of contract, keeping him from performing or recording for over a year.

1976: After years of alleged physical and verbal abuse, and having left over the Fourth of July with nothing but pocket change and a gas station credit card, Tina Turner files for divorce from her husband of sixteen years, Ike.

1979: A firebomb destroys Alice Cooper's Indian art store in Scottsdale, AZ, causing $200,000 in damage to, among other things, some of Cooper's gold records. The singer jokes that perhaps a "disco music freak" torched the place, as Alice had been quite vocal about not liking the new musical trend.

1981: Fleetwood Mac Singer Stevie Nicks’ first solo album, "Bella Donna," was released.

1983: Madonna's self-titled debut album was released.

1983: Metallica began their first tour entitled "Kill 'em all for one." The tour ended on September 3, 1983.

1985: The Eurythmics were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)', the duo's only UK No.1 single. The song featured a harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder.

1991: Jani Lane (Singer for Warrant) marries model Bobbie Brown.

1992: Michael Jackson sues the London tabloid Daily Mirror over claims that too many plastic surgeries had left him permanently disfigured.

1994: Bob Seger serves jury duty in Michigan and, as the foreman in a criminal trial, finds the defendant guilty.

1996: The Spice Girls scored their first No.1 UK single with 'Wannabe'. Seven weeks at No.1 the song won Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and Best Single at the 1997 Brit Awards. The Girl Power song became the best-selling single by a female group selling over six million copies worldwide.

2001: Leon Wilkeson (Bass for Lynyrd Skynyrd) apparently had been suffering from chronic liver and lung disease and his cause of death on this day was deemed 'from natural causes.' He was 49 years old.

2002: Mariah Carey checked herself into an undisclosed hospital suffering from "extreme exhaustion." The singer cancelled all public appearances, including her headlining appearance at MTV's 20th birthday party. Her record company denied tabloid reports that Carey tried to commit suicide, saying she did have cuts on her body, but the injuries were unintentional after breaking some dishes and glasses.

2002: John Entwistle (Bassist for The Who) died in hotel room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on 27 June 2002 one day before the scheduled first show of The Who's 2002 US tour. He had gone to bed that night with a stripper/groupie, Alycen Rowse, who woke at 10 am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Clark County medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by cocaine.

2006: The company behind file-sharing service Kazaa agrees to pay record labels over $115 million in damages for piracy.

2007: Paul Stanley (KISS) had to leave a concert due to his pulse being twice the normal level. The band performed as a trio with Gene Simmons singing all songs.