Are you ready to learn some stuff? It’s June 27th and here’s what happened Today in Rock History!
Starting the day on a sad note as, just one day before the start of The Who’s 2002 US tour, bassist John Entwistle was found dead in his hotel room by the stripper he went to bed with the night before at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Vegas. The coroner declared his death was from a heart attack induced by an undetermined amount of cocaine. He was 57.
We also lost Chris Squire of YES in 2015 from leukemia.
Moving on to releases now, we got The Mothers of Invention’s debut Freak Out! in 1966!
Other releases include One Foot in the Grave from Beck in 1994, These Days from Bon Jovi in 1995 and Cosmic Thing from The B-52’s in 1989!
In 1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to allow fans to download a new song in its entirety from the internet. The song?
In 1971, Fillmore East in New York City closed its doors for good.
Two music festivals began in 1970. The first being the 3-day Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music in Bath, England. On the bill for the festival included Santana, Pink Floyd, The Mothers of Invention, and headliner Led Zeppelin!
The other festival was the Trans-Continental Pop Festival aka The Festival Express! The festival tour was unique as rather than flying or driving to each city, most of the acts rode a train between tour stops. The express traveled across Canada with the Dead, Janis Joplin, The Band, and the Flying Burrito Brothers in tow.
Also in 1970, Queen played their first gig. Billed as Smile, the band featured Freddie Mercury on vocals, Roger Taylor behind the kit, Brian May on guitar, and on bass was…. Mike Grose? John Deacon would replace Grose on bass just a year later.
And finally in 1980, during a performance in Nuremberg, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham collapsed behind his kit just three songs into the set. He would be rushed to the hospital, and this would cause the show to abruptly end. Alcohol was the main culprit of Bonham’s collapse. He would die from alcohol poisoning later that year.
This has been Today in Rock History! Keep on Rocking, keep on Rolling! Check back tomorrow for your next rock history lesson!
