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Hear Today In Rock and Roll History
April 27th - Today In Rock and Roll History
Daily Rock and Roll History, Birthday and short music clips.
A year long, day by day look back at this date in Rock History in 3-5 minute segments. Now airing WRGG in Greencastle, PA, weekday mornings on KSRQ in Three River Falls, Minnesota, KIYU in Galena, Alaska, KPUP in Patagonia, Arizona, WIZU in Newark, Delaware, KSLU at St. Louis University.
Rock and Roll Birthdays
April 27th
- April 27th Birthday, Disc Jockey and voice actor Casey Kasem, born Kemal Amin Kasem in Detroit, Michigan in 1932. Among his many credits, Kasem hosted radio show American Top 40 and voiced the Shaggy character in the original Skooby Doocartoon series. He died on June 15th, 2014, aged 82.
- April 27th Birthday, April Wine and Mashmakhan drummer Jerry Mercer, born in Newfoundland in 1939.
- April 27th Birthday, Tom Baird, keyboard and piano player, songwriter, arranger and producer for the Rare Earth, Tamla and Motown Records labels, born in 1943 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Baird died in a drowning accident off the California coast in November 1975.
- April 27th Birthday, King Crimson singer and solo artist Gordon Haskell, born in Verwood, Dorset, England in 1946. He died on October 15th, 2020, aged 74.
- April 27th Birthday, Badfinger singer, songwriter, guitarist Pete Ham, born in Swansea, Wales in 1947. Ham died on April 24th, 1979 by suicide.
- April 27th Birthday, Session drummer Jim Keltner, born in 1947 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Keltner played on hundreds of hit records, including tracks by ex-members of The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Joe Cocker, Brian Wilson, Roy Orbison and many others.
- April 27th Birthday, B52’s vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kate Pierson, born in Weehawken, New Jersey in 1948.
- April 27th Birthday, Kiss guitarist Paul “Ace” Frehley, born in The Bronx, New York in 1951.
- April 27th Birthday, The Romantics bassist Wally Palmar, born Volodymyr Palamarchuk in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1954.
- April 27th Birthday, Scottish singer Sheena Easton, born Sheena Shirley Orr in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1959.
Today In Rock and Roll History
April 27th
- April 27th, 1963 The Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)” enters the singles charts on Philles Records. The song was co-written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. The track was produced by Phil Spector, who used a multi-track recording system to build the song layer upon layer to achieve a result that would become known as a “wall of sound.” Backing musicians include Glen Campbell on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums and Leon Russell on piano. “Da Doo Ron Ron” peaked at No. 3 on June 6th.
- April 27th, 1964 In His Own Write, John Lennon’s first book of prose, poetry and drawings is published.
- April 27th, 1964 “Love Me Do” backed with “PS I Love You” by The Beatles is released in America on Tollie Records. “PS I Love You” entered the charts in the US in May and peaked at No. 10 on June 6th.
- April 27th, 1965 Manfred Mann record “My Little Red Book (All I Do Is Ask About You)” at EMI Studios in London with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the movie What’s New Pussycat? The sessions were difficult. Two versions of the song were recorded with producer John Burgess. The first was used in the movie itself. The second was issued as a single by Ascot Records with Bacharach himself playing piano. Ascot Records released the song as a single, but it didn’t chart. The Los Angeles band Love had the bigger hit with the song a year later.
- April 27th, 1966 A Gold Record award is given to The Rolling Stones for the collection “Big Hits – High Tides And Green Grass.”
- April 27th, 1967 Volt Records release the live recording of “Shake” by Otis Redding on 45. “Shake” was written and originally recorded by Sam Cooke. Cooke’s version reached No. 7 in the US. Cooke was a huge influence on Otis Redding. Along with “Shake,” Redding also recorded covers of Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Nothing Can Change This Love,” “Wonderful World,” and “You Send Me.” Redding’s version of “Shake” was elected to the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The record entered the charts in May and peaked at No. 47 on June 17th.
- April 27th, 1967 Traffic’s debut LP “Mr. Fantasy” enters the album charts. The recording included group members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. Mason left the band shortly after the album was released. The LP was recorded at Olympic Studios with American record producer Jimmy Miller and recording engineer Phill Brown from April through November 1967.
- April 27th, 1968 Epic Records release “Dance To The Music,” the second album by Sly & The Family Stone. Asked by Columbia label president Clive Davis to deliver a more pop oriented record, the LP became the blueprint of much of the R&B music that followed that year that fit the description “Psychedelic Soul,” although the band themselves were never really particularly fond of the record. The album peaked at No. 142 on June 1st.
- April 27th, 1968 Parrot Records release “Bring A Little Lovin’ by Los Bravos on 45. The song was co-written for the band by The Easybeats’ Harry Vanda and George Young. The Easybeats released their own version of the song on an LP later in the year. The Los Bravos record entered the singles charts in May, peaked at No. 51 on June 22nd and was the group’s last chart single in the US.
- April 27th, 1968 Atco Records release “Anyone For Tennis” by Cream on 45. The song served as the theme song for the 1968 film The Savage Seven. Co-written by Eric Clapton with lyricist Martin Sharp, the track was produced by Felix Pappalardi. Cream mimed the song during their promotional appearance on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in May 1968. “Anyone For Tennis” was recorded during the sessions for Cream’s third album “Wheels Of Fire.” The record entered the charts in May and went to No. 64 on June 1st.
- April 27th, 1968 Acta Records release “Ready, Willing And Able” by The American Breed. Written by Bob Stone and produced by Bill Traut, the record entered the record charts on May 25th, peaking at No. 84 on June 8th.
- April 27th, 1968 “May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)” by 1910 Fruitgum Co. enters the singles charts. Written by Elliot Chiprut, who co-produced the record with Jerry Kasenetz and Jeffry Katz, “May I Take A Giant Step (Into Your Heart)” peaked at No. 63 on June 1st.
- April 27th, 1968 Warner Brothers Records release “Classical Gas” by Mason Williams on 45. Originally named “Classical Gasoline,” the title was inadvertently shortened by a music copyist. Williams was the head writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour at the time of the single’s release and was premiered on the show, performing it several times over several episodes. The record entered the US charts in June and peaked at No. 2 on August 3rd.
- April 27th, 1969 As his recording career begins to take off, Joe Cocker makes his American TV debut on The Ed Sullivan Show before embarking on a US tour which would take him to Woodstock that summer.
- April 27th, 1971 Columbia Records release “Been Too Long On The Road” by Mark Lindsay on 45. Written by David Gates and produced by John D’Andrea, the record entered the singles charts for one week and peaked at No. 98 on June 12th.
- April 27th, 1971 Warner Brothers Records release “Caught In A Dream” by Alice Cooper on 45. Written by Cooper guitarist Michael Bruce, the track was co-produced by Bob Ezrin and Jack Richardson. The record peaked at No. 94 on June 26th.
- April 27th, 1974 Rick Derringer’s “Teenage Love Affair” enters the singles charts. Written by Derringer and co-produced by he and Bill Szymczyk, the record peaked at No. 80 on May 18th
- April 27th, 1974 ABC Records release “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” by Steely Dan on 45. Co-written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and produced by Gary Katz, it was the most successful single of the group’s career. The guitar solo was played by Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, who would later join The Doobie Brothers. “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” peaked at No. 4 on August 3rd.
- April 27th, 1979 Virgin Records in Britain release “Life Begins At The Hop” by XTC on 45. The song was written by bassist Colin Moulding. The track was produced by Steve Lillywhite, the group’s first to be released with new guitarist Dave Gregory. The single peaked at No. 54 in England.
- April 27th, 1979 Jet Records release “Shine A Little Love” by The Electric Light Orchestra on 45. Written and produced by Jeff Lynne for the group’s “Discovery” LP, the record entered the singles charts in May and peaked at No. 8 on July 21st.
- April 27th, 1981 Ringo Starr marries Barbara Bach in London. Paul and Linda McCartney, George and Olivia Harrison and Harry Nilsson are all in attendance.
- April 27th, 1985 “Lucky In Love,” the second solo single by Mick Jagger, enters the singles charts. The 45 version is a radical remix of the “She’s The Boss” album track. Jagger co-wrote the song with Carlos Alomar and co-produced the track with Bill Laswell. The record peaked at No. 38 on June 1st.
- April 27th, 1990 David Bowie begins the US leg of his “Sound And Vision” tour with guitarist Adrian Belew in the band.
- April 27th, 1992 Virgin Records release “Nonesuch,” the twelfth studio album by XTC. Produced by Gus Dudgeon, recorded at recorded at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Oxfordshire, between July and October 1991, the LP peaked at No. 97 on May 16th.
Miscellaneous April
- April 1958 RCA Records release “Cha Cha Charming” backed with “Silly Isn’t It” by Ellie Gaye on 45. The record was the recording debut by future Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame singer and songwriter Ellie Greenwich. The pseudonym was in reference to original “My Boy Lollipop” singer Barbara Gaye.
- April 1964 Chess records release the “Folk Singer” album, the fourth by Muddy Waters. The album features Waters on acoustic guitar, Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar.
- April 1967 Fairmount Records release “Soul Food (That’s What I Like)” backed with “Goodbye, Bessie Mae” by Lonnie Youngblood on 45. Produced by Youngblood, Jimi Hendrix plays guitar on both sides of the record.
- April 1969 Liberty Records in Britain release “Folkjoke Opus,” the third album by Roy Harper. Produced by Shel Talmy, the LP sessions included Nicky Hopkins on piano and Clem Cattini on drums. Ron Geesin scored the arrangements on the record.
- April 1970 CBS Records in Britain release “Zero She Flies,” the third album by Al Stewart. The LP was produced by Roy Guest at Sound Technics Studios in London. Gerry Conway and Trevor Lucas from Fairport Convention played sessions on the record.
- April 1971 Harvest Records release “Stormcock,” the fifth studio album by Roy Harper. Produced by Peter Jenner at EMI Studios in London, David Bedford played keyboards and did the arrangements and Jimmy Page played guitar on “The Same Old Rock,” credited as S. Favius Mercurius.
- April 1973 Chrysalis Record in England release “Parcel Of Rogues,” the fifth studio album by Steeleye Span. The LP was co-produced by Steeleye Span and Jerry Boys at Sound Techniques Studios in Chelsea, London. The band toured the album in the US opening for Jethro Tull.
- April 1974 At Hit Factory Studios in New York City, Paul and Linda McCartney sing backing vocals on “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music Is Now” and “Let It All Fall Down” for James Taylor’s next album “Walking Man” with David Spinozza producing.
- April 1975 Asylum Records release “Fountain Of Sorrow” by Jackson Browne on 45. Written by Browne, it was the second single issued from his “Late For The Sky” LP. The 45 version was two minutes shorter than the nearly seven-minute-long album version.
- April 1975 Bob Seger releases “Beautiful Loser,” his first single for Capitol Records. The studio session was recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios in Sheffield, Alabama and featured the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section playing on and producing the track. The song served as the title track of Seger’s eighth album. The 45 peaked at No. 103 on the Pop Singles charts.
- Late April 1975 Paul McCartney returns to Apple Studios in London for an unreleased recording session. Paul, brother Mike, Viv Stanshall from the Bonzo Dog Band, John Gustafson and Zoot Money tape two Mike McCartney songs “Blowin’ In The Bay” and “Let’s Turn The Radio On.”
- April 1976 RCA Victor Records release “Sail Away,” the lead single from Nilsson’s forthcoming LP “- - - That’s The Way It Is.” Written by Randy Newman, the track was produced by Trevor Lawrence.
- April 1978 Virgin Records release “This Is Pop” backed with “Heatwave,” the third single by XTC. “This Is Pop” was written by Andy Partridge, and “Heatwave” was written by Colin Moulding. Both songs were produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange. The A-side was an album track that the band re-recorded for the single release.
- April 1979 Asylum Records release “Alison,” Linda Ronstadt’s cover version of the Elvis Costello song on 45, produced by Peter Asher.
- April 1980 Harvest Records release “The Unknown Soldier,” the tenth studio album by Roy Harper. Co-produced by Harper and Peter Jenner at Abbey Road Studios in London, David Gilmour, Andy Roberts, Andy Newmark, Kate Bush, B.J. Cole, Pete Wingfield and others play on the record. David Bedford did the orchestral arrangements.
This Week In Rock and Roll History
This Week In Rock and Roll History week of April 27th
This Week In Rock and Roll History is a weekly one hour look back at the songs, the artists, and the stories behind the music of the rock and roll era.
The Cool Song Of The Week
Cool Song Of The Week April 27th Rosa Lee Brooks
Cool songs from the Rock and Roll Era, Closet Classics and more.
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