On this day March 27 in Rock history:

1960 -   Two anti-payola bills are introduced in US Congress by 71-year-old Representative Emanuel Celler of New York. He blames payola for "the cacophonous music called Rock and Roll," and says that style of music would never have gained popularity, "especially among teenagers," if not for the result of payola.

1961 -   The very first record ever released by Del Shannon, "Runaway" enters the Billboard chart on its way to becoming a million selling, number one hit. In 2004, Rolling Stone rated the song as #466 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

1965 -   The Who released their first US chart entry, "I Can't Explain". Although the song could only climb as high as #93 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band still gained a large following thanks to their exciting live performances.

British rocker P.J. Proby, who was accused of splitting his skin-tight trousers during performances on several occasions, was ordered off the stage at a municipal ballroom in Hereford, England. Proby would later claim that that real reason he was fired was to make room for Tom Jones, and that his pants actually split at the knees.

The Supremes' "Stop! In The Name Of Love" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first of two weeks. The record also led the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the Cashbox Best Sellers list, and reached #7 on the UK Official Charts. It had already been awarded a Gold Record for sales of one million copies on March 23rd and would go on to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. "Stop! In The Name Of Love" was nominated for the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Group Vocal Performance, but somehow lost to "Flowers on the Wall" by The Statler Brothers.

1966 -   Roy Orbison fell off a motorbike during a UK tour, fracturing his foot. He played the remaining dates sitting on a stool and walking on crutches.

1967 -   The Young Rascals record "Groovin" at Atlantic Records' Talentmasters Studio in New York City. The song would spend four nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and became the only hit the group ever had in the United Kingdom, where it reached #8.

At a ceremony held at the Playhouse Theatre in London, The Beatles were awarded three Ivor Novello awards: best-selling British single of 1966 - "Yellow Submarine", most-performed song of 1966 - "Michelle", and next-most-performed song - "Yesterday".

Columbia Records releases "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits", an LP that contained all of Dylan's Top 40 singles up to that time. The album would go on to be certified five times Platinum by the RIAA, and is his best-selling LP in America. The album cover, designed by Bob Cato using a photo taken by Rowland Scherman, would win a 1967 Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Photography.

1970 -   The Faces, featuring Rod Stewart and Ron Wood, released their debut LP, "First Step". The album would go on to reach #45 on the UK Official Albums Chart and #119 on the Billboard Top LPs list. Two singles, "Flying" and "Around the Plynth" were released, but neither one charted.

1971 -   Three Dog Night's version of Hoyt Axton's "Joy To The World" enters the Billboard Hot 100 on its way to becoming the biggest selling single of the year. Unlike most Three Dog Night songs recorded at that point, instead of having just the three main vocalists singing harmony, the song was recorded with all seven members of the band singing.

"I Am... I Said" by Neil Diamond entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #45. Climbing the charts slowly, the record would peak at #4 in both the US and the UK.

1972 -   Elvis Presley records what proves to be his last Top Ten hit during his lifetime, "Burning Love". Drummer Ronnie Tutt would later recall, "He never felt comfortable with it because he had a hard time with those lyrics." The song would reach #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Cashbox Best Sellers chart, and #7 in the UK. The song's writer, Dennis Linde, later overdubbed the opening guitar riffs into the record's final mix.

1973 -   Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead is arrested for speeding on the New Jersey turnpike, but the $15 speeding ticket turns into $2,000 bail when the police find a wide variety of drugs in Garcia's car. He spends three hours in jail.

1979 -   Eric Clapton married George Harrison's ex-wife, Patti Boyd at the Apostolic Assembly of Faith in Christ Jesus church in Tucson, Arizona. To throw off the press, Clapton's manager, Roger Forrester had booked the event in nearly every church in town. Eric's band and road crew rented black and powder blue tuxedos, but forgot to order shoes, so they showed up wearing their everyday, dirty sneakers.

1981 -   Carl Wilson releases his first, self-titled, solo album. Tired of just milking old hits, he was the one member of The Beach Boys that fought hard to keep the band relevant musically all through the early 1970s. Carl started playing small clubs with his new touring band, and eventually got an opening slot with The Doobie Brothers. Unfortunately, his album did not sell well, produced no hit singles, and stalled at #185 on the Billboard 200.