April 27th

April 27th

1974 “Chicago VII” is the #1 album in the U.S.

The set is known for the songs “Wishing You Were Here” and “(I’ve Been) Searchin’ So Long,”  

2007 John Mellencamp entertains wounded military personnel.

The performance at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., is televised live on HDNet. “You can support the troops and not support the war,” says Mellencamp, a vocal critic of the Iraq invasion.

2018 Godsmack release “When Legends Rise.”

The album features “Bulletproof,” the lead single, “Under Your Scars” and the title track.  It goes gold (500,000 units moved) three years later. 

2023 “Have You Got It Yet?” premieres in London.

The film tells the story of Pink Floyd and its early frontman Syd Barrett,  

2025 Word Arrives That Soundgarden, White Stripes and Bad Company Will Be Inducted.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also announces it will formally induct Joe Cocker, Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper and Outlast in November.

MORE TODAY IN ROCK…

1947 Badfinger guitarist Pete Ham is born.

1948 Singer Catherine Elizabeth ‘Kate’ Pierson, one of the founding members of the B-52s, is born in Weehawken, NJ.

1951 KISS guitarist Ace Frehley (Paul Daniel Frehley) is born in the Bronx.

1964 “In His Own Write,” John Lennon’s collection of drawings, poetry and prose is published.

1969 Joe Cocker makes his U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1975 Pink Floyd concludes a five-night engagement at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. In all, over 500 fans are arrested, mostly for marijuana possession. “They have a dope festival” says L.A. Police Chief Ed Davis. “It’s called a Rock concert or something.” That begs the question: Is it possible to listen to Pink Floyd without drugs?

1978 Jim James (James Edward Olliges Jr.) guitarist/frontman for My Morning Jacket, is born in Louisville, KY. 

1979 Ozzy Osbourne is fired from Black Sabbath and replaced by Ronnie James Dio.   Eventually, Ozzy returns and Dio goes solo. 

1981 Wings bite the dust with Denny Laine’s departure. Paul McCartney goes solo.

1984 Patrick Stump (born Patrick Martin Stumph), lead singer/rhythm guitarist/songwriter for Fall Out Boy, is born in Glenview IL.

2005 Motley Crue’s performance in Grand Rapids, MI, is filmed for a TV special and DVD. “This gives our fans a chance to see this f**king incredible show from the safety of their living rooms,” asserts the usually demur bassist Nikki Sixx.

2006 Rolling Stones’ guitarist Keith Richards falls out of a palm tree in Fiji, suffering a brain hemorrhage. Richards later undergoes cranial surgery. 

2008 When pigs fly. A giant inflatable pig, covered with political slogans, that is part of Roger Waters’ (Pink Floyd) stage set during his performance at the Coachella Festival in Indio, CA, breaks free from its mooring. Festival organizers offer $10,000 cash and four lifetime passes to Coachella to whoever tracks down the dirigible. The pig crash-lands a few miles away and is found two days later. The two couples split the reward.

2009 Aerosmith settles a class-action lawsuit brought against them after they pulled out of a sold-out concert on Maui, Hawaii, in September ’07. As part of the deal, the group gives a free performance on Maui in ’09. The suit claimed that the cancellation cost ticket buyers up to $3 million in various expenses.

2013 Slash appears in a PSA style video calling attention to the crisis facing sharks. “Recent data shows that over 100 million sharks are being killed a year,” he states. “That’s three sharks every second. That’s unsustainable and it’s not cool. We need sharks to have a healthy ocean.”

2015 Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins), a huge wrestling fan, is named a Senior Producer, Creative and Talent Development for TNA Wrestling. Part of his job is to “develop characters and create story lines” for TNA’s flagship program Impact Wrestling.

2023 Flyleaf play its first concert with singer Lacey Sturm in 11 years at Schoepf’s BBQ in Belton, TX. The band hadn’t performed live since ‘15. 

 2024 Green Day’s “Dilemma” is their ninth song to top Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and their second in a row, following “American Dream Is Killing Me.”  Both tracks are from Green Day’s 14^th studio album, “Saviors.”

2024 Ricky Bonazza (Butcher Babies) makes his debut with Fear Factory at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas.  He fills-in for the band’s regular bassist Tony Campos, who is touring with Static-X.