It’s June 27th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 1970, the English band Smile decided to change their name to Queen.

In 2002, The Who bassist John Entwistle died from a heart attack at age 57 in his room at Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel, one day before the first scheduled show of the band’s American tour.

In 2015, Yes bassist Chris Squire died at the age of 67 from cancer.

In 1981, Motorhead had their only number one album in the UK when their live set No Sleep Til Hammersmith topped the chart.

In 1994, Aerosmith became the first major band to let fans download a full new track free from the Internet. Over ten-thousand CompuServe subscribers downloaded the song “Head First” within its first eight days of availability.

In 1971, the Fillmore East concert hall in New York closed with performances by the Allman Brothers, the J. Geils Band, the Beach Boys and Mountain.

In 1995, Mirror Ball, the collaborative album between Neil Young and Pearl Jam, came out.

In 2000, Sum 41 released their debut EP, Half Hour of Power.

And in 2006, Axl Rose was arrested after allegedly biting a security guard on the leg outside his hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T This Day in Music)

Nudge