October 27

Births

1933: Floyd Cramer (Country Pianist)

1942: Lee Greenwood (Country Singer)

1949: Garry Tallent (Bass for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)

1951: K.K. Downing (Guitar for Judas Priest)

1958: Simon Le Bon (Vocals for Duran Duran)

1967: Scott Weiland (Vocals for Stone Temple Pilots & Solo)

1984: Kelly Osbourne (Singer)

Events

1957: Police in Oakland, CA inform Elvis Presley that he is not allowed to swivel his hips onstage in tonight's performance at the Oakland Auditorium; Elvis responds by sarcastically wiggling only his little finger while singing. The cops film the show anyway, just in case.

1960: Tina Turner gives birth to Ronald Renelle Turner, her second child, while touring in Los Angeles. Husband Ike is not present at the birth.

1960: Singer Ben E King records his first solo songs "Spanish Harlem" and "Stand By Me" after leaving The Drifters.

1964: Singers Sonny (31 years old) and Cher (18 years old)  wed, Cher wore bell-bottoms.  Their marriage lasted 12 years.

1969: Blues artist Muddy Waters is seriously injured in a car crash in Champagne, Illinois. Three people were killed in the accident.

1970: Black Sabbath played their first ever-live show in the US when they kicked of a 16-date tour at Glassboro State College In NJ.

1975: Bruce Springsteen, riding on hype for his latest album, Born To Run, finds himself the first rocker to make the covers of both Time and Newsweek in the same week.

1979: Elton John collapses during his show at Hollywood's Universal Amphitheatre and is hospitalized for "exhaustion."

1980: John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman purchases the .38 revolver (a five-shot Charter Arms "Off Duty" special for $169) with which he will eventually kill his idol.

1980: Former T Rex guitarist Steve Took choked to death on a cherry stone, after some magic mushrooms he had eaten, numbed all sensation in his throat, he was aged 31.

1989: U2 bass player Adam Clayton was convicted of a drunk driving offence by a Dublin court after being found driving twice over the legal limit. He was fined $1,000 and banned from driving for 1 year.

1990: Michael Waite from reggae group Musical Youth was jailed for four years for his part in a robbery.

1991: Country singer Lorrie Morgan marries Clint Black's bus driver, Brad Thompson, outside of Nashville. Black serves as best man.

1992: Bo Diddley sues the estate of his former manager, the now-deceased Martin Otelsberg, for $75,000 in misappropriated funds.

1995: Gloria Estefan becomes the only pop artist to receive a call from the Pope to perform.

2003: Scott Weiland singer with The Stone Temple Pilots was arrested on his birthday in Hollywood, California, after being involved in a traffic collision. He was charged with driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, but these charges were later dismissed after the singer successfully completed rehab and underwent subsequent drug tests.

2005: The distributor of rapper 50 Cent's new film said it would remove posters advertising the film after complaints they glorify gun violence. Posters for 'Get Rich or Die Tryin' showed 50 Cent holding a gun in his left hand and a microphone the other. Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich wrote to Paramount Pictures urging them to take down the posters. The company said it had taken down one poster near a Los Angeles nursery school, and planned to remove more.

2009: Eric Clapton pulled out of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in New York City after he underwent an operation to remove gallstones. His place at the Madison Square Garden gig was taken by Jeff Beck.

October 26

Births

1911: Mahalia Jackson (Gospel Singer)

1946: Keith Hopwood (Guitar for Herman's Hermits)

1951: Bootsy Collins (Bass for P-Funk)

1953: Keith Strickland (Guitar & Drums for The B-52's)

1962: Busy Bee Starski (Rapper)

1963: Natalie Merchant (Vocals for 10,000 Maniacs & Solo)

1967: Keith Urban (Country Artist)

1981: Girl Talk (Gregg Michael Gillis) (Mash Up Artist)

Events

1935: The NBC Radio show Lux Radio Theatre presents its newest find -- a 12-year-old girl singer named Judy Garland.

1958: Berlin, Germany's first rock and roll concert ever is staged, a performance by Bill Haley and his Comets that ends in chaos when the East Berliners in the crowd of 7,000 begin to fight with the West Berliners. Twenty policeman are injured; one loses his sight permanently.

1961: Bob Dylan signs with Columbia Records, his first recording contract.

1962: 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. They recorded three songs, Jimmy Reed's 'Close Together', Bo Diddlley's 'You Cant Judge A Book By The Cover' and Muddy Waters' 'Soon Forgotten.'

1962: The first Motown "revue" tour begins in Washington DC, featuring Mary Wells, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, the Contours, Stevie Wonder, and the Marvelettes.

1965: The Beatles receive Members of the British Empire (MBE) medals from Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony staged at Buckingham Palace. It is the first such honor ever given to a rock band, causing many former recipients, many distinguished military personnel, to return their medals in disgust. According to John, the group is so nervous beforehand that it gets high on marijuana in a palace bathroom; during the ceremony, when Her Majesty asks the group how long it's been together, Ringo replies "forty years." Later, a press conference is held at the Saville Theatre.

1970: Mrs. Alta Mae Anderson, mother of Meredith Hunter, the Rolling Stones concertgoer murdered by Hell's Angels at their Altamont show, sues the band for hiring the infamous biker club as security.

1970: A wake was held at the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, California to celebrate the life of Janis Joplin. The singer who died of an accidental drugs overdose had left $2,500 in her will to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends; Brownies laced with hashish were unknowingly passed around amongst the guests.

1978: The Police played their first U.S. show in Boston at the Rat Club.

1980: Paul Kantner of Jefferson Starship suffers what is thought to be a stroke while recording the band's latest album but is later revealed to be a brain embolism. He recovers after two weeks' hospitalization.

1984: 19-year-old John D. McCollum killed himself with a .22 caliber handgun after spending the day listening to Ozzy Osbourne records. One year later, McCollum's parents took court action against Ozzy and CBS Records, alleging that the song "Suicide Solution" from the album Blizzard of Ozz contributed to their son's death. The case was eventually thrown out of court.

1991: Ozzy Osbourne broke his foot after an accident on stage at a gig in Chicago, causing him to cancel the remaining dates of a US tour.

1992: Julie Fogerty, wife of husband John Fogerty of CCR, gives birth to the couple's first son (and Fogerty's fourth total), Tyler Jackson.

1992: Pearl Jam sets a new record for first week sales when the LP "Vs." sold 950,000 copies.

1998: US Federal courts refuse to issue an injunction against makers of mp3 players, one which the RIAA has been pushing for in light of rampant piracy.

1998: Fats Domino is awarded the National Medal of Arts from US President Bill Clinton.

2000: Garth Brooks announces his plans to retire during a party to celebrate his certification for sales of 100 million albums at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. Brooks says he'll record one more album before he quits.

2002: Jessica Simpson married former 98° member Nick Lachey. The couple were featured on MTV ‘Newlyweds’ TV show. The couple separated after three years of marriage.

2006: Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor quit the band during the US leg of their world tour. A statement on behalf of the group described the relationship with Andy Taylor as unworkable and one that could not be resolved.

2007: Rapper T.I. was released on $3m bail in Atlanta after he was charged with unlawfully possessing firearms, unregistered machine guns and silencers. US Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman said the singer would remain under house arrest in Henry County, Georgia, being monitored 24 hours a day by a private firm paid for by himself. The rapper was also electronically tagged.

2007: 1,730 guitarists played the immortal Bob Dylan classic, 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' in a bid to break a record in the state of Meghalaya, North East India. The guitarists hoped their achievement would earn them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The current Guinness World Record was held by a guitar-ensemble from Kansas City in the US when 1,683 guitarists, played Deep Purple's 'Smoke On The Water'.

2011: Aerosmith were forced to delay a concert in South America after Steven Tyler fell in his hotel bathroom. The singer suffered cuts to his face and lost two of his teeth ahead of a concert in Asuncion, Paraguay.

2011: A coroner's inquest on the death of Amy Winehouse reached a verdict of misadventure. The report explained that Winehouse's blood alcohol content was 416 mg per decilitre at the time of her death, more than five times the legal drink-drive limit. According to the coroner ‘The unintended consequences of such potentially fatal levels was her sudden death’.

October 25

Births

1825: Johann Strauss II (Composer)

1912: Minnie Pearl (Comedian)

1941: Helen Reddy (Singer)

1944: Jon Anderson (Lead Vocals & Keyboards for Yes)

1947: Glenn Tipton (Guitar for Judas Priest)

1951: Richard Lloyd (Guitar & Vocals for Television)

1955: Matthias Jabs (Guitar for The Scorpions)

1957: Robbie McIntosh (Guitar for The Pretenders)

1959: Christina Amphlett (Singer for Divinyls)

1961: Chad Smith (Drummer for The Red Hot Chili Peppers)

1968: Speech (Todd Thomas) (Rapper for Arrested Development)

1970: Ed Robertson (Guitar for Barenaked Ladies)

1981: Austin Winkler (Singer for Hinder)

1984: Katy Perry (Singer / Songwriter)

1985: Ciara (Ciara Princess Harris) (R&B Singer)

Events

1960: A 17-year-old art student named Keith Richards runs into his old schoolmate, an economics student named Mick Jagger, at a train station in London. Richards notices the R&B albums under Jagger's arm, and before long the two form their first group -- Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys.

1962: The Beatles give their first-ever radio interview, on Radio Clatterbridge, a closed-circuit radio station serving Cleaver and Clatterbridge Hospitals in Wirral, near Liverpool. Paul is quoted as saying "John is, in fact, the leader of the group."

1964: The Rolling Stones make their US television debut when they appear on CBS's Ed Sullivan Show. After screaming fans practically tear the studio seats apart, Sullivan declares to reporters: "I promise you they'll never be back on our show. It took me 17 years to build this up, I'm not going to have it destroyed in a matter of weeks. We won't book any more rock 'n' roll groups. Frankly, I didn't see the group until the day before the broadcast. I was shocked when I saw them." The group returns to the program five times.

1968: The New Yardbirds, soon to be known as Led Zeppelin, make their live concert debut at England's Surrey University, described on the poster as the "first big dance of the term."

1968: The double album 'Electric Ladyland' by the Jimi Hendrix Experience was released. It was also made available as two albums with changed artwork after complaints about the naked women who were pictured on the sleeve. The female models were each paid $9 for the photo shoot and another $9 if they posed completely naked.

1970: Speaking at a US radio conference, President Nixon asked programmers to ban all songs containing drug references.

1974: Al Green was taking a shower at his Memphis home when his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grit over him. She then shot herself dead. Green suffered second degree burns.

1980: New Order played their debut gig at The Squat in Manchester, England.

1986: Bon Jovi went to No.1 on the US album chart with 'Slippery When Wet'. Featuring two US No.1 singles, 'You Give Love A Bad Name' and 'Livin' On A Prayer'. The album went on to sell over 8 million copies world wide.

1986: Dire Straits guitarist, singer Mark Knopfler broke his collarbone after crashing in a celebrity car race before the Australian Grand Prix.

1991: Bill Graham, concert promoter, was killed in a helicopter crash.

1995: Cliff Richard is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, the very first native rock star to receive the honor.

1997: Johnny Cash reaches over to pick up a dropped guitar pick at today's concert in Flint, MI and falls over on stage; apologizing, he reveals to the audience that he is in the early stages of Parkinson's Disease. The crowd, thinking Cash is joking, laughs at the comment.

2002: An arsonist destroys Aretha Franklin's mansion in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. The criminal is never caught; fortunately, no one is living there at the time.

2004: UK DJ and producer John Peel died of a heart attack at age 65.  He was BBC’s longest-serving radio DJ and the first DJ to introduce The Ramones, Roxy Music, The Smiths, The Fall, Rod Stewart, Blur, the Sex Pistols, T. Rex and others to the masses.

2007: Three workers building the set for an Akon outdoor show at Emory University in Atlanta were taken to hospital after a canopy fell on top of them. The concert was later cancelled.

October 24

Births

1911: Sonny Terry (Blues Musician)

1930: The Big Bopper  (J.P. Richardson) (Singer)

1936: Bill Wyman (Bass for The Rolling Stones)

1944: Ted Templeman (Producer)

1962: Debbie Googe (Bass for My Bloody Valentine)

1980: Monica (Monica Denise Brown ) (R&B Singer)

1986: Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) (Rapper)

Events

1959: On his 23rd birthday, and still a year away from even buying his first bass guitar, the Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman marries his first wife, 18-year-old bank clerk Diane Corey.

1962: US Soul singer James Brown recorded his legendary 'Live At The Apollo' album. The album was listed at No.24 in Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

1967: Pink Floyd are forced to cancel an important upcoming US tour, their first, after leader Syd Barrett refuses to lip-sync to "Arnold Layne" on ABC-TV's popular American Bandstand show.

1970: Santana scored their first US No.1 album with 'Abraxas'.

1970: Picking up on an earlier speech by his Vice-President, US President Richard Nixon delivers a White House address to the National Association of Broadcasters, urging radio stations to ban any and all songs with drug-related lyrics.

1973: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards is fined $500 for possession of heroin, qualudes, and illegal firearms at his home in London.

1973: John Lennon sues the US Government for wiretapping his phone during its investigation of "radical" antiwar elements in society.

1978: The film version of The Wiz, an African-American remake of The Wizard Of Oz starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, premieres in New York City.

1978: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards pleads guilty to heroin possession in Toronto, Canada and is given a one-year suspended sentence. The Stones are also ordered to play a gig for charity.

1980: The Guinness Book of World Records presents Paul McCartney with a special rhodium album for being the best-selling songwriter in the history of recorded music, having written 43 platinum songs and sold over 100 million records.

1989: One of the most bizarre music copyright cases ever begins in Los Angeles as former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty is sued by his former label head, Saul Zaentz, for allegedly plagiarizing himself! Fogerty was accused of re-writing his CCR song "Run Through The Jungle" for his 1985 comeback hit "The Old Man Down The Road." Fogerty would eventually win the suit after taking the stand with his guitar and demonstrating his songwriting process.

1989: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces its 4th annual inductees: The Who, Simon and Garfunkel, The Kinks, The Platters, Hank Ballard, Bobby Darin, The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, the Holland-Dozier-Holland songwriting team, Carole King, and Gerry Goffin.

1993: Duran Duran cancelled the remainder of their tour after Simon LeBon tore a vocal chord.

1995: The Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, declares today "Tony Bennett Day" in honor of the native singer. Later that night, Bennett celebrates with a gig at Radio City Music Hall.

1998: Former Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown was jailed for 4 months after being found guilty of disorderly behavior during a flight from Paris to Manchester. Brown had threatened to chop the hands off an air stewardess during a heated exchange.

2000: Linkin Park released their debut album "Hybrid Theory."

2000: Neal McCoy and his wife, Melinda, renew their wedding vows on their 20th anniversary at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas with an Elvis Presley impersonator officiating.

2006: Forbes.com revealed that Kurt Cobain had overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity. Cobain's work earned $50m in the 12 months to October 2006, compared with Presley's $42m. Former Beatle John Lennon earned $35m.

2006: Rapper Foxy Brown was sentenced to three years probation for assaulting two New York nail salon workers in 2004. Brown had kicked and punched employees during a dispute over payment for a pedicure and manicure in August 2004. She had been threatened with jail after failing to turn up to court.

2006: Big Machine releases Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album.