Pick a Day

Music History Events: Milestones

March 27, 1958 Stereo albums are introduced.

January 13, 1958 Marty Robbins' #1 country hit "The Story of My Life" peaks at #15 on the Hot 100. It's the first hit from Burt Bacharach and Hal David, who become one of the most prolific and renowned songwriting duos of the '60s and '70s.

November 24, 1957 Harry Belafonte's "Mary's Boy Child" becomes the first single to sell a million copies in the UK. It stays at #1 for an unheard-of seven weeks and becomes a perennial UK Christmas favorite.

October 7, 1957 The idea of expanding his gospel album into a Christmas album works out well when Elvis Presley's Elvis' Christmas Album earns pre-orders of 500,000 copies, going Gold before it is even released. It eventually becomes the best-selling Christmas album of all time.

September 29, 1956 RCA Victor Co. announces that it has received over 856,327 advance orders for Elvis Presley's next single, "Love Me Tender."

September 25, 1956 Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender" becomes the first single to sell a million copies before its release.

March 22, 1956 Mr. Wonderful opens on Broadway. Its star Sammy Davis, Jr. will soon become a top entertainer and member of the Rat Pack.

January 31, 1956 Elvis Presley signs with the William Morris Agency in order to make himself available to film studios.

May 28, 1955 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" has four different versions on the charts, including a #1 hit for Bill Hayes. The other three are by Fess Parker, Walter Schumann and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

May 22, 1954 Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) has his bar mitzvah in Hibbing, Minnesota.

July 12, 1952 Vera Lynn's "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" hits #1 on the Best Sellers chart in America, making her the first foreign artist to top a major chart in that country.

February 10, 1942 RCA Victor presents Glenn Miller with a gold record for "Chattanooga Choo Choo." It's purely a promotional gimmick (the label is celebrating sales of over one million), but still the first time that a gold record is awarded. Other labels follow suit in handing out framed golden discs to their artists in celebration of the one million milestone, and in 1958 the RIAA makes it official, awarding gold records to singles and albums that sell over a million copies.

August 13, 1924 Vernon Dalhart's "The Prisoner's Song" becomes the first country record to sell a million copies, a milestone for public acceptance of the genre.

January 7, 1924 George Gershwin finishes work on "Rhapsody In Blue."

March 7, 1917 "The Dixie Jass Band One Step," by Nick LaRocca's Original Dixieland Jass Band (Victor 18255), becomes the first jazz recording released for sale in the US.

August 13, 2022 Beyoncé's album Renaissance goes to #1 in America, making her the first female solo artist to have her first seven albums top the chart.

January 13, 2022 "Baby Shark" becomes the first video to reach 10 billion views on YouTube.

June 26, 2021 Bruce Springsteen performs Springsteen On Broadway at the St. James Theater, becoming the first person to perform a full-length show on Broadway since the pandemic hit in 2020. The audience is required to show proof of vaccination.

March 14, 2021 At the Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift wins Album Of The Year for Folklore and Beyoncé takes four awards, making her the most-awarded woman in Grammy history, her 28 trophies surpassing Alison Krauss' 27.

February 16, 2021 Lauryn Hill's 1998 album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill is certified Diamond for 10 million sales in America, making her the first female hip-hop artist to earn that certification.

December 12, 2020 El Ultimo Tour del Mundo by Bad Bunny becomes the first entirely Spanish-language album to top the Billboard 200 albums chart.

December 5, 2020 BTS hit #1 in America with "Life Goes On." Most of the lyric is Korean, making it the first chart-topper since "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco with lyrics predominantly in a language other than Spanish or English.

November 13, 2020 Kylie Minogue's album Disco goes to #1 in the UK, making her the only woman to top the chart in five consecutive decades.

November 13, 2020 Harry Styles appears on the cover of Vogue, becoming the first man to get the cover solo.

September 15, 2020 Sotheby's holds the first-ever auction of hip-hop memorabilia, which includes a set of Tupac Shakur's love letters ($75,600), Slick Rick's eye patch ($25,200), and Salt-N-Pepa's jackets ($23,940). The marquee item is the plastic crown Notorious B.I.G. wore on his last photo shoot, which sells for $594,750.

August 8, 2020 Taylor Swift becomes the first artist to debut at #1 on both the Hot 100 and US albums chart when Folklore and its lead single, "Cardigan," both go to the top. Folklore is her seventh consecutive #1 album.

June 26, 2020 At 79, Bob Dylan becomes the oldest artist to top the UK albums chart with an album of original songs when Rough And Rowdy Ways hits the top spot.

May 18, 2020 Country singer Travis McCready holds the first post-pandemic concert at Temple Live in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Fans are spaced out in "pods," required to wear masks, and have their temperatures taken before they are admitted.

January 4, 2020 Mariah Carey becomes the first artist to top the Hot 100 in four different decades when "All I Want For Christmas Is You" stays at #1 for a third week.

August 20, 2018 The RIAA certifies the Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 at 38 million units, making it the best-selling album of all-time in America, besting Michael Jackson's Thriller by 5 million (another Eagles album, Hotel California, is third with 26 million). Worldwide, Thriller is by far the biggest selling album.