Today in Music History for Feb. 27:
In 1924, Sir Henry Thornton, president of the CNR, opened radio station CNRO in Ottawa. It was one of a series of CNR operated studios that opened across the country. Their initial purpose was to provide Canadian programming that could be picked up on the newly-installed radio receivers on CNR trains.
In 1955, Neal Schon, vocalist and guitarist with the rock band "Journey," was born in San Mateo, Calif. The group's fourth LP, "Infinity," sold a million copies in 1978. Three years later, "Escape" became "Journey's" first No. 1 LP. A single from it, "Open Arms," hit No. 2 on the Billboard chart. "Journey" is said to be the first rock band to inspire a video game. "Journey -- Escape" was in the arcades in late 1982.
In 1962, Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The record, released only 10 days after Chandler signed with Vee-Jay records in Chicago, remained in the top spot for three weeks.
In 1967, "Pink Floyd" recorded their first single, "Arnold Layne." The song, about a man who steals garments from clotheslines, was a hit in Britain but not in North America.
In 1967, Toronto rock band "The Paupers" made their New York debut at the Cafe A Go Go. During the next year, "The Paupers" performed widely in the U.S. and Canada, recording two albums and having modest hits in this country with the singles "If I Call You By Some Name" and "Simple Deed." The band broke up in mid-1968.
In 1971, "Jefferson Airplane" was fined $1,000 for using profanity onstage at a concert in Oklahoma City.
In 1977, Keith Richards of "The Rolling Stones" was arrested at the Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto on heroin possession charges. He was eventually found guilty. In lieu of a jail sentence for Richards, "The Rolling Stones" played two benefit CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) concerts at the civic auditorium in Oshawa, east of Toronto, in April 1979.
In 1980, "What a Fool Believes" by the "Doobie Brothers" won the Record and Song of the Year Grammy Awards. The Album of the Year was "52nd Street" by Billy Joel.
In 1986, Van Halen released "Why Can't This Be Love," their first single since Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth as lead singer. It would rise to No. 3 on the Billboard chart.
In 1989, jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw lost an arm after falling in front of a New York subway train. Shaw, who was legally blind, fell down a flight of stairs, then rolled off the platform into the path of a train. He would die in hospital of pneumonia two-and-a-half months later at age 44. Shaw rose to prominence in the 1960s with a hot, brassy style that ran counter to the cool tones favoured by many trumpeters of the period.
In 1990, Janet Jackson gave a preview of her first world tour in Pensacola, Fla. The concert was announced only a day ahead of time, and all 7,600 of the $10 tickets went in three hours. Proceeds went to benefit the homeless.
In 1991, James Brown was granted parole and set free in Columbia, S.C. He had been serving time for leading police on a high-speed chase through two states.
In 1993, hundreds of k.d. lang clones showed up at the London Women's Centre for Britain's first "k.d. convention." The women -- no men were allowed -- watched lang music videos and tapes of her interviews, had a k.d. karaoke sing-a-long session and a k.d. lookalike contest.
In 1995, "Beach Boys" Mike Love and Brian Wilson reunited for the first time in 15 years to work on two new songs at Love's home in Lake Tahoe, Nev. It came two months after Love and Wilson settled their long-running legal battle over the songwriting credits on 35 of the group's songs.
In 1995, Canadian singer Celine Dion made British chart history by becoming the first artist in more than 30 years to have both the No. 1 album and single for five straight weeks. Dion topped the singles chart with "Think Twice" and the album chart with "The Colour of My Love." The last time that happened for five consecutive weeks was in 1964 with "I Feel Fine" from "Beatles for Sale."
In 1996, Elton John was made a Commander of the British Empire in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He was honoured for services to the music industry and charity.
In 1997, the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the last male-only orchestras in the world, named a harpist as its first female member.
In 1999, rapper-actor LL Cool J was charged with assault following an incident on the set of Oliver Stone's football film "Any Given Sunday." He was alleged to have hit co-star Jamie Foxx in the face while shooting a scene at a stadium in Miami. LL said he was just trying to add some realism.
In 2002, Canadian singer Nelly Furtado won her first Grammy for Best Female Pop Performance for "I'm Like a Bird." R&B singer Alicia Keys led all winners at the Los Angeles ceremony with five trophies, while Irish rockers "U2" took home four. Canada's Joni Mitchell received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy along with Al Green, Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie and Perry Como.
In 2009, rockers "U2" took to the rooftops again. They played a surprise gig on top of the BBC building in London where 5,000 people gathered on the streets below to hear them play two new songs, "Get On Your Boots" and "Magnificent," as well as "Vertigo" and "Beautiful Day." They performed a rooftop concert in Los Angeles in 1987 that served as the basis for their video for "Where The Streets Have No Name."
In 2011, "Nine Inch Nails" frontman Trent Reznor, along with collaborator Atticus Ross, won the Oscar for Best Original Score for "The Social Network." Randy Newman won Best Original Song for "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3."
In 2011, 88-year-old blues legend Eddie Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues," was killed in Florida when his car turned into the path of a Greyhound bus. Born in Jamaica, and raised in Alabama, Kirkland eventually moved to Indiana before he settled in Detroit. He polished his blues sound and toured for seven-and-a-half years with John Lee Hooker. He moved to Georgia, became a bandleader for Otis Redding and performed with a variety of artists, including Little Richard, Ben King, Ruth Brown and Little Johnnie Taylor.
In 2013, renowned American classical pianist Van Cliburn died at age 78 after suffering from bone cancer. He skyrocketed to fame in 1958 after winning the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23.
In 2013, Grammy-winning rock band "The Stone Temple Pilots" fired singer and co-founder Scott Weiland.
In 2013, former Motown vocalist Richard Street, a member of "The Temptations" for 25 years, died after a short illness. He was 70.
In 2015, multi-platinum country singer Carrie Underwood gave birth to a son. Isaiah Michael Fisher was the first child for Underwood and her husband, NHL player Mike Fisher.
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The Canadian Press
