Pick a Day

Music History Events: Milestones

November 15, 2004 Shania Twain's album Come On Over is certified double diamond by the RIAA, with over 20 million copies sold in the US. It's just the seventh album to do so, and the only one by a female artist.

July 13, 2004 Jimmy Buffett releases License To Chill, his 21st studio album. It's mostly a collection of duets with fellow country stars, including Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, and George Strait. It's also his first album to go to #1 in the US.More

November 5, 2003 Jimmy Buffett wins his first Country Music Association Award when "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," a duet with Alan Jackson, is named Vocal Event of the Year.

February 21, 2001 Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira wins her first (US) Grammy Award when her live MTV Unplugged release wins Best Latin Pop Album. The performance, filmed at the Grand Ballroom in New York City, featured acoustic-rock renditions of her Spanish-language tunes, including "Octavo Dia," "Ojos Asi," and "No Creo."

February 10, 2001 Jennifer Lopez' album J.Lo goes to #1 in America. Her movie The Wedding Planner is #1 at the box office, making her the first person with a #1 movie and album at the same time.

October 25, 2000 SoundScan announces first-week sales of 1,054,000 for Limp Bizkit's album Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water. It's the last rock studio album to sell a million copies in a week.

April 7, 1999 Shania Twain's third album Come On Over is certified Diamond (10 million in sales) by the RIAA, making her the first female artist with back-to-back Diamond albums; her second album, The Woman in Me, was certified in 1997.

November 2, 1997 Brandy becomes the first black Disney princess when she plays Cinderella in the ABC TV movie. Whitney Houston plays her Fairy Godmother.

July 19, 1997 The Fat Of The Land by The Prodigy becomes the first album by an electronic group to hit #1 in America.

June 28, 1997 Thanks to the heartwarming title track written for his daughter, Bob Carlisle's Butterfly Kisses becomes the first contemporary Christian album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200.

January 11, 1996 Kenny G's Breathless becomes the first album of mostly instrumental tracks certified Diamond for sales of 10 million in America.

June 24, 1993 The California band Severe Tire Damage pull off the first webcast in history, live streaming a concert from the Xerox Research Center in Palo Alto to an extremely small audience. The next year, The Rolling Stones become the first major artist to do a webcast.

February 25, 1992 Garth Brooks wins his first Grammy Award when Ropin' The Wind, his third album, is named Best Country Vocal Performance, Male.

May 20, 1991 The first album from an MTV Unplugged performance is released when Paul McCartney issues Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) in the UK. It is released in America in June.

April 15, 1991 MC Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em becomes the first rap album to go Diamond, for sales of 10 million copies in America.

February 20, 1991 Alison Krauss wins her first Grammy Award when I've Got That Old Feeling takes Best Bluegrass Recording. By 2016, Krauss wins 26 more statuettes, surpassing Aretha Franklin as the most-awarded female artist in Grammy history and tying for second place with Quincy Jones as the most-awarded living recipient.

May 2, 1989 The Cure issue a gloomy record that's predicted to be commercial suicide, but ends up being their best seller: Disintegration. It boasts their biggest pop hits, "Lovesong" and "Lullaby."More

February 22, 1989 DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) win the first-ever rap Grammy (Best Rap Performance) for "Parents Just Don't Understand," their comic tune built from the I Dream of Jeannie theme song.

August 11, 1987 LL Cool J's second album, Bigger And Deffer, goes Platinum, making him the first rap solo act to hit that mark.

February 10, 1987 Randy Travis' Storms Of Life becomes the first debut country album certified for selling a million copies within its first year of release.

November 21, 1986 Switched-On Bach, an album of Moog synthesizer interpretations of classical compositions, becomes just the second classical album certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album was released in 1969 by Walter Carlos, who in the late '70s switched gender, becoming Wendy Carlos.

April 14, 1986 LL Cool J becomes the first solo rapper with a Gold album when his debut, Radio, is certified for sales of 500,000 in America. He becomes the first Platinum solo rapper a year later when his second album, Bigger And Deffer, sells a million.

October 10, 1985 Luciano Pavarotti's 1976 Christmas album 0 Holy Night becomes the first classical album certified Platinum, with sales of over a million copies in America.

June 18, 1985 Weird Al Yankovic's Dare To Be Stupid, featuring the Devo-inspired title track, makes history as the first album of comedic music ever released on compact disc.

February 26, 1985 The Judds win their first Grammy Award when "Mama He's Crazy" (their first #1 single) is named Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

February 2, 1985 "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner begins a two-week run at #1 in the US, the first song with a gospel choir to top the chart. The song was written by Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones and inspired by the woman who would later become his wife: Ann Dexter-Jones.

December 11, 1983 Run-D.M.C. release their second single, "Hard Times," a song about financial struggles. It's the first rap song to get covered by another rap group, having first appeared on Kurtis Blow's debut album in 1980.

October 8, 1983 "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler stays at #1 in America, with "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" by Air Supply at #2, a configuration that holds for three weeks. Both songs were written and produced by Jim Steinman, making him the first solo writer and producer to hold the top two spots.

September 17, 1983 Vanessa Williams, who later becomes a popular actress and lands a #1 hit with "Save The Best For Last," becomes the first Black woman crowned Miss America. She gives up the title the next year after naked photos of her appear in Penthouse.

May 28, 1983 "Candy Girl" by New Edition goes to #1 in the UK, becoming the first song with a rap to top the chart in that territory.