27 NOVEMBER
In Music History
2021 Taylor Swift's extended version of "All Too Well," with a running time of 10:13, hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the longest song ever to top the chart. Don McLean held the record since 1972, when "American Pie," running 8:36, went to the top.
2015 Pope Francis becomes the first pope to release a pop album. Titled Wake Up!, it's a collection of songs built around recordings of his speeches and prayers from various locations around the world between 2013 and 2015.More
2009 Pop singer Al Alberts (of The Four Aces) dies of complications from renal failure at age 87.
2009 Bess Lomax Hawes (of the Almanac Singers) dies of a stroke at age 88.
2007 Singer and author Rosanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash, undergoes brain surgery to relieve pressure on her brain stem from a malformation. The operation is successful, and Rosanne recovers.
2006 Alan Leslie "Fluff" Freeman, longtime Pick of the Pops host in the UK, dies at age 79.
2000 Having been found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Sandra Rosas, wife of Los Lobos' Cesar Rosas, Gabriel Gomez, the victim's half-brother, leads police to a shallow grave in a nearby canyon. Dental records are used to ID Rosas body.
1999 Influential independent rock icons Pavement announce they have broken up. During their show at London's Brixton Academy, bandmember Stephen Malkmus tells the crowd that the show will be the band's last.
1997 Icelandic singer Björk is admitted to the hospital in Reykjavik, Iceland, with a high fever. The singer is forced to cancel many upcoming performance dates due to a kidney infection.
1997 Reba McEntire debuts her new song "What If" at halftime of the Cowboys-Oilers Thanksgiving Day football game at Texas Stadium. Proceeds from the song are donated to the Salvation Army.
1995 The Beatles' Anthology I sets a first-week sales record of 1.2 million copies.
1985 Rocky IV opens in theaters, introducing a younger generation to James Brown, who performs a new song called "Living In America" before a big fight scene. It's Brown's first big hit since 1974, and also his last.
1981 Before file sharing, there was the dual-cassette recorder. In an effort to stop people from making copies of tapes, ads run in the British press saying, "Home taping is wiping out music."
1973 Jimmy Widener, known as Hank Snow's rhythm guitarist, is beaten, robbed, and fatally shot in a Nashville alley.
1970 George Harrison releases All Things Must Pass, his first solo album since the breakup of The Beatles. The first single, "My Sweet Lord," becomes the first ex-Beatle solo #1 in the UK and also in the US.
The Beatles Are #1 30 Years After Their Split
2000The Beatles have the #1 album in America with a collection of their 27 chart-topping hits, appropriately titled 1, proving that their appeal spans generations.
Read more27 NOVEMBER
Featured Events
2017 Country singer Blake Shelton is named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive." He's the second musician to receive the honor in the annual feature's 32-year run; the first was Adam Levine, his fellow coach on The Voice, in 2013.
2000 Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, on the lam after escaping from a drug-rehabilitation center on October 17, is arrested at a Philadelphia McDonald's when a policewoman recognizes him in the drive-thru lane.
1991 Freddie Mercury's funeral is held in London. Just a small group of friends and family, including Elton John and Mercury's Queen bandmates, are at the private service. At the singer's request, his longtime companion Mary Austin takes his ashes - she never discloses their location.
1990 MTV bans the video for Madonna's "Justify My Love," which is too racy for the network. The singer responds by releasing the video on VHS, which sells over a million copies.
1982 Lionel Richie, who has already topped the Hot 100 with his group Commodores ("Three Times A Lady," "Still") and with Diana Ross ("Endless Love"), reaches the top spot on his own with his first single, "Truly."
1969 The Rolling Stones record Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! at New York City's Madison Square Garden. In the audience is Jimi Hendrix, celebrating his 27th (and last) birthday.
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