Pick a Day

Music History Events: Charts

August 18, 1973 Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn's "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" hits #1 on the country chart.

December 9, 1972 Helen Reddy becomes the first Australian to land a #1 hit in America when "I Am Woman" tops the chart.

August 26, 1972 Nilsson's novelty song "Coconut" peaks at #8 on the US pop chart, where it will stay for one week.

September 19, 1970 Diana Ross, after leaving The Supremes, gets her first #1 solo hit with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

June 3, 1970 Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," with a funky descending bass line courtesy of Motown Funk Brother Bob Babbitt, is released as a single.

January 17, 1970 Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" peaks at #76, where it will stay for one week.

October 25, 1969 Two fictional bands fronted by Ron Dante are in the US Top 10: "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies at #3 and "Tracy" by The Cuff Links at #9.

September 27, 1969 A new version of The Dells' 1956 hit "Oh What A Night," now with a sonorous spoken intro, goes to #1 on the R&B chart.

September 20, 1969 The self-titled album by Blind Faith, the supergroup of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ric Grech and Ginger Baker, hits #1 in America, where it stays for two weeks. The band play their last show on September 29, and never re-form.

April 19, 1969 "Good Times, Bad Times," the first Led Zeppelin single, reaches its chart peak of #80 in America.

January 25, 1969 Nina Simone's "Ain't Got No; I Got Life" peaks at #94, where it stays for one week.

October 26, 1968 Nina Simone's "Do What You Gotta Do" peaks at #83, where it will stay for four weeks.

April 24, 1968 "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong goes to #1 in the UK, where it becomes the top-selling single of 1968. In America, it stalls at #116; it's revived there in 1988 when it appears in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam.

April 8, 1967 The Doors' first single, "Break On Through (To The Other Side)," hits a wall, stalling at #126 in the US. Their next release, "Light My Fire," does much better, going to #1.

August 28, 1965 Mel Carter's signature tune "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" peaks at #8 on the Hot 100.

July 24, 1965 Bob Dylan charts for the first time as an artist in the US when "Like A Rolling Stone" enters at #91. A handful of his songs have already been hits as covered by other artists, most notably the 1963 Peter, Paul and Mary version of "Blowin' In The Wind."

April 11, 1965 Bob Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, goes to #1 in the UK. It's the first time an artist other than The Beatles or The Rolling Stones has topped the chart since the Summer Holiday soundtrack on April 28, 1963.

February 22, 1964 "Dawn (Go Away)" by The Four Seasons hits #3 on the Hot 100, where it stays for 3 weeks trailing two Beatles songs. The song is gradually bumped by more Beatles songs until April 4, when the Fab 4 hold all of the Top 5.

November 2, 1963 The female UK duo The Caravelles reach the Hot 100 at #84 with "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry," starting a run of 38 years when at least one British act is on the American chart.

August 3, 1963 The Beatles show up on a Billboard chart for the first time when "From Me to You" bubbles under on the Hot 100, reaching a peak of #116 the following week. Their US breakthrough doesn't happen until January 1964, when "I Want To Hold Your Hand" rises up the chart, hitting #1 in February.

April 28, 1963 Cliff Richard and The Shadows are #1 on the UK albums chart for the 14th week with the soundtrack to the movie Summer Holiday. It's the last time an artist other than The Beatles or The Rolling Stones tops the chart for two years.

January 26, 1963 Dionne Warwick lands her first solo hit when her debut single, "Don't Make Me Over," peaks at #21 on the Hot 100. It also marks the beginning of her longtime collaboration with songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

May 25, 1962 The West Side Story soundtrack goes to #1 in the US, where it stays for a record 54 (non-consecutive) weeks.

January 23, 1961 Nina Simone's "Trouble in Mind" peaks at #92, where it will stay for one week.

September 12, 1960 Nina Simone's "Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out" peaks at #93, where it will stay for one week.

October 5, 1959 Nina Simone's debut single, "I Loves You Porgy," peaks at #18 on the Hot 100, the highest she will ever place on the chart.

April 30, 1959 Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (written by Paul Anka) goes to #1 in the UK nearly three months after his death. It's his only UK #1.

November 28, 1957 Harry Belafonte becomes the first black man to hit #1 in the UK when "Mary's Boy Child" tops the chart. The single stays at #1 for seven weeks and becomes a Christmas favorite.

March 24, 1956 Billboard makes their periodic albums chart a weekly feature, with Belafonte by Harry Belafonte. at #1 The chart lists anywhere from 15-30 spots, but is gradually expanded, and in 1967 it grows to 200. The chart goes through several name changes before settling on The Billboard 200 in 1992.