August 27

 

The blues lost its greatest modern voice today in 1990 when Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash leaving a gig at Alpine Valley Resort in Wisconsin, ending the life of the Texas guitarist who had single-handedly revived blues music for a new generation…

 

The Beatles' world crumbled today in 1967 when their beloved manager Brian Epstein died from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills at just 32, leaving the Fab Four without their guiding hand and beginning their slow dissolution…

 

Rock history's most legendary meeting occurred today in 1965 when Elvis Presley finally met The Beatles at his Bel Air home - yet incredibly, no one thought to bring a camera to document the King meeting the princes of rock and roll…

 

Beatle memorabilia reached new heights today in 1992 when John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "A Day in the Life" sold at auction for $100,000, proving that even scraps of paper from the Fab Four were worth their weight in gold…

 

Jazz elegance was born on this date in 1909 when tenor saxophonist Lester Young entered the world, the innovative musician whose smooth style and hipster vocabulary influenced generations of jazz players before his death in 1959…

 

The Captain of soft rock Daryl Dragon was born on this day in 1942, the keyboardist half of Captain and Tennille whose maritime-themed pop hits like "Love Will Keep Us Together" defined easy-listening music in the 1970s before his death in 2019…

 

Grunge's most enduring statement was delivered today in 1991 with Pearl Jam's debut album 'Ten,' featuring classics like "Alive" and "Jeremy" that would help define alternative rock and establish the Seattle band as arena-filling superstars.