Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive veteran Randy Bachman was born on this day in 1943 in Winnepeg, Manitoba.  He was barely out of diapers when he got started in music at age 3, winning a singing competition. At 5, he took up violin and continued with it until becoming a teenager. Though he never learned to read music, Randy developed the ability to commit note sequences to memory on just one listen to a song.  When he jettisoned violin in favor of becoming a guitarist during his high school years he also lost all interest in academics.  That coincided with Bachman connecting with Chad Allen and forming a group named the Silvertones, the band that would become the Guess Who in 1965.  The group became the first Canadian band with a #1 track in the US with American Woman in 1970.  Bachman and Allen parted ways shortly after that and Randy recruited  his brother Robbie to play drums, Tim Bachman on guitar and Fred Turner on bass to form Bachman-Turner Overdrive.

 

Other Noteworthy Classic Rock events on September 27 include...

 

1947 Meat Loaf (Marvin Aday) born.

1976 Allman Brothers release Wipe The Windshield, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas. 

1979 Wings guitarist Jimmy McCullough dies of a heroin OD. 

1979 Blondie releases Eat to the Beat.

1979 Elton John collapses during his set at the Universal Amphitherter in LA, but returns to complete the set.

1986 Metallica's Cliff Burton dies in crash of tour bus in during European tour.

1994 Moody Blues honored with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

1997 Bob Dylan performs for the Pope during the World Eucharist Conference in Bologna, Italy.

2000 U2 plays Beautiful Day and Elevation on the roof of the Clarence Hotel in Dublin.

2004 Producer Phil Spector indicted in murder of actress Lana Clarkson on the grounds of his estate.

2005 Neil Young releases Prairie Wind.

2007 Ozzy Osbourne does guest DJ appearance for BBC's anniversary.

2008 Pink Floyd manager Bryan Morrison dies in a polo accident at 66.   

2010 Jimmy Page auto biographic photo book published.

2019 Metallica announces James Hetfield  re-entered rehab.