Pick a Day

Music History Events: Charts

April 10, 1993 Depeche Mode's eighth album, Songs of Faith and Devotion, reaches #1 in America, knocking Whitney Houston's soundtrack from The Bodyguard off the top spot, and holding off challengers Eric Clapton, Kenny G and Sting. Inspired by the grunge scene, the band adds distorted guitars and live drums to their signature synth sound.More

March 20, 1993 Reggae rules as "Oh Carolina" by Shaggy hits #1 in the UK while Snow's "Informer" holds the top spot in America. It's the first #1 for both artists - Snow is Canadian; Shaggy is Jamaican-American.

February 27, 1993 Whitney Houston's single "I Will Always Love You" reaches its 14th week at #1, a new record. In 1995, this record is broken by "One Sweet Day" by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men.

February 13, 1993 RuPaul becomes the first drag queen to make the Hot 100 when "Supermodel (You Better Work)" enters the chart at #91. It rises to #45 in April.More

January 2, 1993 With "The Last Song" charting at #24, Elton John logs his 23rd consecutive year with a song in the US Hot 100, breaking Elvis Presley's record. Elton's streak started in 1970 with "Border Song" and continues into 2000 with "Someday Out Of The Blue," stretching the new record to 31 years.

November 28, 1992 Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You," a cover of a Dolly Parton song from 1974, goes to #1 in America.

November 14, 1992 With lead vocals by Jamie Walters, "How Do You Talk To An Angel," the theme song to Aaron Spelling's new drama The Heights, hits #1 for the first of two weeks. More

October 31, 1992 "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men is the #1 song on the Hot 100 for the 12th consecutive week, breaking the record held by Elvis Presley's two-sided "Don't be Cruel/Hound Dog," which was #1 for 11 weeks in 1956. The group is displaced three months later by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You"; in 1995, Boyz II Men ties Houston's 14-week record with "I'll Make Love To You."

October 24, 1992 "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men ties Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" as the longest-running #1 single when it reaches its 11th week at the top. It spends two more weeks at #1, but loses the record three months later when Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" stays for 14 weeks.More

October 10, 1992 Country music is all the rage in America, as The Chase by Garth Brooks debuts at #1 on the albums chart, supplanting Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus, which has held the top spot for 17 weeks.

August 15, 1992 Boyz II Men and TLC, both on the 2 Legit 2 Quit tour opening for MC Hammer, claim the top two spots in the US with "End Of The Road" and "Baby-Baby-Baby." Both songs were written and produced by Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons.

July 4, 1992 The king of all booty songs, Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back," hits #1 in America.More

April 25, 1992 "Jump" by Kris Kross hits #1 in the US, where it stays for eight weeks. Kris Kross is the rap duo of Chris Kelly and Chris Smith, who are both 13. The track is produced by Jermaine Dupri, who goes on to supply beats for another youngster: Lil Bow Wow.

January 11, 1992 Nirvana's Nevermind album hits #1 in America, unseating Michael Jackson's Dangerous.

December 21, 1991 "Bohemian Rhapsody" goes back to #1 on the UK charts after the death of Freddie Mercury and stays there for five weeks. In America, the song gets new life the next year when it is used in the movie Wayne's World.

December 7, 1991 Amplified by an innovative video with Macaulay Culkin and morphing, "Black Or White" by Michael Jackson hits #1 in America for the first of seven weeks.More

November 23, 1991 Twenty-five years after the original version of the Percy Sledge soul classic "When A Man Loves A Woman" hit #1 in America in 1966, Michael Bolton's cover tops the chart.

October 12, 1991 Mariah Carey hits #1 in America with "Emotions," the title track to her second album. Her first four singles also hit the top spot, making Carey the first artist to hit #1 with their first five singles (overtaking The Jackson 5).

September 28, 1991 Thanks to a proliferation of "New Country" radio stations and more accurate reporting, country music goes mainstream as Garth Brooks' Ropin' the Wind becomes the first country album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.More

June 22, 1991 N.W.A.'s second and final studio album, Niggaz4life (also known as Efil4zaggin), hits #1 in the US, becoming just the fourth rap album to top the chart. The previous rap chart-toppers are Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys in 1987, Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em by MC Hammer in 1990, and To the Extreme by Vanilla Ice later that year.

January 12, 1991 "I Touch Myself" by Australian new wave girl group Divinyls hits #1 on the Australian ARIA chart, #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #10 on the UK charts. This is a landmark event, as the song deals very frankly with female libido and sexual desire - not just as the passive object of a male.

November 3, 1990 "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice hits #1 in the US, marking the first time a rapper has topped the chart.More

November 3, 1990 After being featured prominently in the smash hit film Ghost, The Righteous Brothers' version of "Unchained Melody" returns to the top of the UK charts after 25 years.

September 29, 1990 Nelson (Rick Nelson's twin sons, Gunnar and Matthew) top the Billboard Hot 100 with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection," becoming the second generation of Nelsons to top the charts. Their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, may have been the most popular of the bunch as a band leader in the '30s and '40s.

August 4, 1990 Mariah Carey lands her first #1 Hot 100 hit when her debut single, "Vision Of Love," goes to the top. It's the first of her 14 chart-toppers... in the '90s!

June 9, 1990 Wilson Phillips hit #1 on the Hot 100 with "Hold On," a feat accomplished by their famous parents in the '60s - Wendy and Carnie Wilson are the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys; Chynna Phillips was born to John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas.

June 9, 1990 MC Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em becomes just the second rap album to reach #1 in America (Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys was the first).More

April 7, 1990 Bonnie Raitt emerges from a career slump with her first #1 album, Nick Of Time, unseating Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl.More

March 23, 1990 The romantic comedy Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, debuts in US theaters. Named for Roy Orbison's classic tune, it also boasts an impressive soundtrack, including the #1 hit "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette.More

January 27, 1990 Soundgarden become the first grunge band to make the Billboard albums chart when Louder Than Love shows up at #168 (Phil Collins is at #1 with ...But Seriously). It peaks at #108 in March.