... and more December 27 birthdays –
Oscar Levant (1906) – pianist/composer (“Blame It On My Youth”).
Walter Norris (1931) – Jazz pianist/composer.
John “Buddy” Bailey (1931) – The Clovers.
Winfield “Scotty” Moore (1931) – original guitarist for Elvis Presley.
Pete Sinfield (1943) – lyricist for King Crimson and Greg Lake.
Ronnie Caldwell (1948) – keyboardist for The Bar-Kays.
Larry Byrom (1948) – guitarist for Steppenwolf.
Terry Bozzio (1950) – drummer for Frank Zappa and Missing Persons.
Karla Bonoff (1951) – singer/songwriter.
David Knopfler (1952) – rhythm guitarist for Dire Straits.
Jerry Gaskill (1957) – drummer for King’s X.
Martin Glover (1960) – bassist for Killing Joke.
December 27 R.I.P. –
Chris Bell (1978) – car crash. Age 27. Big Star.
Bob Luman (1978) – pneumonia. Age 41. Country singer ("Lonely Women
Make Good Lovers").
Dick St. John (2003) – injuries from falling off a ladder. Age 59.
Dick & Dee Dee.
Vestal Goodman (2003) – influenza. Age 74. Southern gospel singer, The
Happy Goodman Family.
Hank Garland (2004) – staph infection. Age 74. Nashville session
guitarist.
Delaney Bramlett (2008) – complications from gall bladder surgery. Age
69. Delaney and Bonnie.
December 27 album releases –
Bob Dylan – John Wesley Harding (1967)
Leonard Cohen – The Songs Of Leonard Cohen (1967)
The Jackson 5 – Greatest Hits (1971)
Utopia – Adventures In Utopia (1979)
Mike + The Mechanics – Favourites/The Very Best Of (2000)
December 27 events –
1927 – The original Broadway production of Jerome Kern’s and Oscar
Hammerstein’s musical, Show Boat, opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New
York City.
1939 – The Glenn Miller Show debuts on the CBS radio network.
1940 – Singer/actress Ruby Keeler divorces vaudeville entertainer Al
Jolson after 12 years of marriage.
1957 – Thanks to manager Colonel Tom Parker’s machinations, Elvis
Presley is granted a 60-day deferment from joining the U.S. Army to
complete the filming of his fourth movie, King Creole.
1957 – Will Glahe and The Techniques appear on American Bandstand.
1958 – Buddy Holly appears in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, for the
first time since becoming famous, performing at a fruit and vegetable
store and being broadcast live over KLLL radio. Later in the day,
Holly goes to the radio station and records “You’re The One,” after
being challenged by the station’s owner to see if Holly could write a
song in a half hour.
1958 – John Lennon meets Cynthia Powell in class at the Liverpool
College of Art.
1960 – Ray Charles records “One Mint Julep.”
1960 – Billed as “Direct from Hamburg,” The Beatles appear at the
Litherland Town Hall in Liverpool in a “welcome home” show after
returning from Germany. From the opening notes of their first song,
“Long Tall Sally,” the place goes crazy, cementing the group as the
top act in Liverpool.
1960 – The Miracles appear on American Bandstand - the first Motown
act to do so - singing "Shop Around."
1963 – Music critics of the London Times name John Lennon and Paul
McCartney the “Outstanding Composers of 1963.”
1963 – The Animals make their radio debut on the BBC’s Saturday Club.
1964 – The Who appear at the Ealing Club in London.
1964 – The Supremes appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time,
singing "Come See About Me." They will go on to appear 14 more times
on the show with Diana Ross, more than any other rock act.
1965 – Teen actor Davy Jones appears in the “If You Play Your Cards
Right, You Too Can Be A Loser” episode of ABC-TV’s medical drama Ben
Casey.
1966 – The Marvelettes release their single, “The Hunter Gets Captured
By The Game” b/w “I Think I Can Change You” on the Tamla label.
1967 – The Doors are the musical guests on the debut episode of The
Jonathan Winters Show.
1969 – As if to declare that the ‘60s are over, Led Zeppelin II hits
#1 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
1970 – Bobbie Gentry, The Friends Of Distinction and Peter Nero all
appear on The Ed Sullivan Show.
1971 – The Sonny And Cher Show debuts on CBS.
1974 – Bob Dylan records “Idiot Wind” and “You’re A Big Girl Now” at
Sound 80 studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
1975 – Following Rod Stewart’s departure on December 18, The Faces
officially call it quits.
1975 – Future Smiths singer Steve Morrissey has a letter published in
Sounds music magazine, complaining about the lack of media coverage
for the New York Dolls.
1975 – The Four Seasons release their single, “December, 1963 (Oh,
What A Night)” b/w “Slip Away.”
1983 – Walter Scott, lead singer for St. Louis act Bob Kuban & The In-
Men, who scored a 1966 hit with “The Cheater,” is seen alive for the
last time. On April 10, 1987, his badly decomposed, bound body is
found floating face down in a cistern, having been shot in the back.
Scott's second wife, Jo Ann Calceterra, will plead guilty to hindering
prosecution in his murder and will receive a five-year sentence, while
her boyfriend, James Williams, is found guilty of two counts of
capital murder in the deaths of Scott, as well as his previous wife,
Sharon Williams. Williams received two life terms, and died in prison
on September 13, 2011.
1983 – The Police play the first of four nights at the Wembley Arena
on their Synchronicity Tour.
1984 – Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Madness, Nik Kershaw, Gloria Gaynor,
Spandau Ballet, The Flying Pickets and Helen Terry all appear on the
Granada TV music show Brighton Rock.
1985 – Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon marries model Yasmin Parvanah.
They’re still married.
1986 – 29 years after its first appearance in the Top 10, and three
years after his untimely death, Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite" climbs
all the way to #1 in the UK.
1989 – Chuck Berry is sued by a former cook at his restaurant,
Southern Air, in Wentzville, Missouri, alleging that the rocker
installed hidden video cameras in the ladies restrooms. Over time, 200
females, all former patrons of the diner, will eventually sue Berry
over the allegations.
1992 – Crooner Harry Connick Jr. is arrested at Kennedy Airport in New
York after police discover an unloaded 9mm pistol in his hand luggage.
1999 – Sean “Puffy” Combs and his girlfriend Jennifer Lopez are
arrested after a gun is found in their car as they leave a Manhattan
nightclub where police are investigating a shooting in the club.
2008 – Thieves break into a house belonging to Gregg Allman in Georgia
and steal a coin collection, knives and unreleased concert recordings.
Two men are captured and charged with the burglary two days later.
