This Day in Top 40 History: February 12
On this day in Top 40 history, Feb. 12, Motown received its first million-selling single, Adele received five GRAMMY awards, and rock stars faced interesting and confounding legal challenges. In addition, pop diva Rihanna performs at the Super Bowl halftime show, which became one of the most-watched halftime shows in the history of this major sporting event.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Feb. 12 saw major hits and albums released and plenty of awards, including:
- 1977: Barbra Streisand’s “A Star Is Born” hits No. 1 in the U.S.
- 2006: Beyoncé becomes the first woman to have a No. 1 song and star in a No.1 movie at the same time. “Check On It” and “The Pink Panther” movie gave her this milestone. She was the third person to achieve this behind Prince and Eminem.
- 2017: Pop diva Adele swept the 59th GRAMMY Awards, winning five trophies, including the top categories of Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.
Cultural Milestones
Some performers and artists took a stand against injustice, while other stars changed the perception of genre performances.
- 1997: Snoop Doggy Dogg and Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs tried to end the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry that allegedly ended the life of Tupac Shakur. Despite their goal of stopping rap rivalry violence, in March of 1997, rapper the Notorious B.I.G was killed.
- 2015: Weird Al Yankovic became a guest editor of Mad magazine. This magazine writes satire about a wide range of topics, and Yankovic’s contributions as editor added a snarky twist.
- 2023: Pop star Rihanna performed at the Super Bowl halftime show with lavish stunts and songs, and it was one of the most-watched halftime shows of all time. After the show, Rihanna revealed she was pregnant at the time of her performance.
Notable Recordings and Performances
Popular songs and historic performances that were released or occurred on Feb. 12 include:
- 1997: Iconic rock/pop star David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- 2013: Grunge group Soundgarden’s “By Crooked Steps” is released. Fellow grunge rocker from Nirvana, Dave Grohl, filmed the music video for the song.
Industry Changes and Challenges
From not paying taxes to breach of contract, musical stars have challenges.
- 1967: Keith Richard and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones were arrested at Richard’s home in Redlands, England. The arrest was for alleged drug possession, but the Stones later claimed it was a setup by a British newspaper.
- 2003: Aretha Franklin lost a court case against Broadway producer Ashton Springer for breach of contract. Franklin failed to appear for Broadway musical rehearsals due to her fear of flying.
- 2008: Singer Roger Isley from The Isley Brothers remained in prison for tax evasion. On this day, the appellate court upheld his 37-month prison sentence for five counts of tax evasion.
From ground-breaking Super Bowl halftime shows to police raids on rock stars, Feb. 12 saw a mix of industry shake-ups and notable recordings. Many of these events still influence the music industry today.
