This Day in Top 40 History: February 12

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1977: Barbra Streisand's "A Star Is Born" hits No. 1 in the U.S.
• 1981: Rush released their Moving Pictures, their eighth studio album. Peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, it would become their highest-charting record in the U.S. at the time. Additionally, the album spawned “Limelight” and “Tom Sawyer,” which cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
• 1982: XTC released English Settlement, which reached No. 5 on the UK Albums chart and became their highest-charting record in the region. Besides, it produced a Top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, “Senses Working Overtime.”
• 1990: MC Hammer issued his third studio LP, Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em. The project was a huge success, as it cracked the Top 10 in both the U.S. and the U.K. Even better, it delivered at least five Top 20 hits, including “U Can't Touch This,” “Pray,” and “Have You Seen Her.”
• 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: 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

• 1980: Gucci Mane was born in Bessemer, Alabama. His most notable hit is “Black Beatles,” the No. 1 single he collaborated on with Rae Sremmurd. Gucci Mane has teamed up with a string of other artists, including Migos, Bruno Mars, Selena Gomez, and Chris Brown. This has enabled him to place more Top 40 hits on the Hot 100, such as “Fetish” and “I Get The Bag.” 
• 1988: Mike Posner was born in Detroit, Michigan. After securing a record deal with J Records in 2009, he released his debut single "Cooler Than Me,” which stalled at No. 6 on the Hot 100. In 2015, he dropped his biggest hit as of this writing, “I Took A Pill In Ibiza.” The song cracked the Top Five on the Hot 100. 
• 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: 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

• 1977: “Heart of Glass” hitmakers Blondie and Tom Petty performed at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, California, for the fourth time in a row. This concert also featured The Ramones and The Heartbreakers.
• 1997: David Bowie received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 
• 2013: Soundgarden's "By Crooked Steps" is released. Fellow grunge rocker from Nirvana, Dave Grohl, filmed the music video for the song.
• 2012: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band owned the stage at the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which were held at the Staples Center in California. Other notable performers were Adele, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Chris Brown.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1967: Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones were arrested at Richards' 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: 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.
• 2017: Al Jarreau died in Los Angeles, California. Several days before his death, the 76-year-old had announced his retirement from live performances. His over 50-year-long music career has seen him score a few Top 40 hits on the Hot 100, including “Mornin'” and “We're in This Love” together. 
• 2018: Judas Priest shared via Facebook that Glenn Tipton would not tour with them anymore due to his battle with Parkinson's disease. Tipton had been a member of the group since 1974, just before they dropped their debut album, Rocka Rolla. The Firepower artists announced that Andy Sneap would step in as their new guitarist. 
• 2023: Trugoy the Dove, who was born David Jolicoeur, died at 54. He was best known as a founding member of De La Soul, whose "Me, Myself and I" cracked the Top 40 on the Hot 100 and spent 17 weeks on the chart. The group also placed multiple Top 30 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, including Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and De La Soul Is Dead.