Sept. 27 marks the anniversary of several famous birthdays as well as the tragic death of Metallica’s original bass player. These are some of the most important events in rock history that happened on this day.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Two huge names in rock music had No. 1 albums on different continents, 28 years apart, on this day. They are:
- 1980: David Bowie got his fourth No. 1 album in the UK when Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) topped the charts. It was also successful in the US, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart.
- 2008: Metallica reached the top of the US Billboard 200 album chart with their ninth studio album, Death Magnetic. It stayed on top for three weeks and marked the band’s return to its thrash metal roots.
Notable Recordings and Performances
Over the years, rock fans were treated to a memorable performance and a noteworthy album release on Sept. 27:
- 1964: The Beach Boys made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing hit songs such as “Wendy” and “I Get Around.” This was a major milestone for the band, helping to establish them as a leading American rock act and introducing their unique surf rock sound and vibe to a broad national audience.
- 1992: Peter Gabriel released his sixth studio album, Us, through Real World Records and Geffen Records. It peaked at No. 2 in the charts in both the US and the UK, and went Platinum in the US.
- 2005: Neil Young released his 28th studio album, Prairie Wind, a collection of serious, introspective songs inspired by the singer’s recent health scare and his father’s long-term illness.
Industry Changes and Challenges
The rock music industry was affected by the following events on Sept. 27:
- 1943: Canadian rock musician Randy Bachman, founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bachman co-wrote and performed many massive hits with these groups, including “American Woman,” “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet,” and “Takin’ Care of Business.”
- 1947: Meat Loaf was born in Dallas, Texas. His debut and most famous album, Bat Out of Hell, released in 1977, sold over 43 million copies worldwide and established the singer as one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
- 1984: Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario. She signed her first record deal at the age of 16, and her debut album, Let Go, remains the best-selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist.
- 1986: Metallica’s bass player, Cliff Burton, was killed when his band’s tour bus skidded and crashed on an icy road in Sweden. Despite only being in the group for four years, Burton played a decisive role in Metallica’s first three albums, Kill ‘Em All, Ride the Lightning, and Master of Puppets, which are all widely considered to be the blueprints for modern metal.
From promising starts to tragic endings, Sept. 27 had a little bit of everything. Come back tomorrow to learn about more remarkable events in rock music history.
