This Day in Top 40 History: February 20

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1979: George Harrison issued his eighth self-titled LP in the U.S. Although this record didn't enter the Billboard 200, it reached No. 14 on the Top LPs & Tape chart. In addition, it delivered a Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, “Blown Away.”
• 1988: Superstar Rihanna was born on Feb. 20 in Saint Michael, Barbados. She has had 34 GRAMMY nominations, nine wins, and over 100 million Recording Industry Association of America gold and platinum certifications.
• 1995: Tricky dropped Maxinquaye, his debut album, which reached No. 3 in the U.K. This set featured guest vocals from Martina Topley-Bird, Alison Goldfrapp, and Ragga. Among its well-received tracks were “Black Steel,” “Overcome,” and “Pumpkin,” which cracked the Top 40 on the Singles Chart. 
• 2005: Tori Amos launched The Beekeeper, which soared to No. 5 on the Billboard 200. This 20-track record featured “Sleeps With Butterflies” and “Ribbons Undone.”
• 2008: Kylie Minogue won Best International Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards on Feb. 20. This Australian Princess of Pop hit songs include "I Should Be So Lucky," "All the Lovers," and "Padam Padam."
• 2011: Vocalist and performer Katy Perry launched her California Dreams Tour in Lisbon, Portugal. On this tour, Perry played 124 shows ending in 2012 in Pasay, Philippines.

Cultural Milestones

• 1967: Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington. He was best known as the frontman of Nivarna, one of the bands credited with helping popularize grunge. Before his tragic death at 27 in 1994, Cobain helped place songs such as “You Know You're Right” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the Top 10 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart. The latter, which reached the summit of the Hot 100, is arguably Nirvana's biggest hit.
• 1982: “We Belong” singer Pat Benatar and her guitarist, Neil Giraldo, tied the knot. Their professional and personal relationship has broken the mold and lasted over four decades. The couple shares two children, Hana and Haley, and three grandchildren, as of this writing. 
• 1991: Record producer and performer Quincy Jones won Album of the Year at the 33rd GRAMMY Awards. Throughout his career, Jones won 28 awards and is the second-highest winner in GRAMMY history.
• 2003: Olivia Rodrigo was born in Murrieta, California. At only 22, she's a three-time GRAMMY winner with up to six Top 10 hits on Billboard's Hot 100. Her most notable single is “Driver's License,” which peaked at the top of that chart. With her musical talent and achievements, Rodrigo has garnered praise from reputable, industry-leading magazines such as Time and Billboard.
• 2013: Billboard began using YouTube views of music singles to help determine Billboard Hot 100 hits, illustrating the influence of YouTube viewing on the music culture.
• 2022: Multi-Grammy winner Billie Eilish performed at a sold-out show at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Eilish has made waves in the music industry since age 14. At the 2024 Grammys ceremony, she won Song of the Year for "What Was I Made For?" 

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1993: Whitney Houston's chart-topping song, "I Will Always Love You," was still No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By the end of Feb. 20, this song had remained in this spot for 15 weeks.
• 2009: The White Stripes, who have at least 13 Top 40 hits to their name, performed on the final episode of NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien show. This would be the last time the duo sang together in public as they split in 2011. 
• 2013: Bruno Mars announced his massive The Moonshine Jungle World Tour, which supported his Unorthodox Jukebox album.
• 2020: While on their Winter European Tour 2020, Five Finger Death Punch played their first concert in Hungary at the Papp László Sportaréna in Budapest. This was a pretty huge deal for their guitarist, Zoltán Báthory, as he'd always wanted to perform in his home country. The band, which has placed over 15 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, sang songs such as “Trouble” and “Never Enough.”
• 2023: The Backstreet Boys performed at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, for their DNA World Tour. The Backstreet Boys' hits included "I Want It That Way" and "Quit Playing Games."

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1974: Cher, of the husband-and-wife pop duo Sonny and Cher, filed for divorce from Sonny Bono. Soon after her divorce, Cher married rock star Gregg Allman, and they had a son together.
• 1992: Superstars across industries faced challenges. Pop diva Paula Abdul announced her engagement to actor Emilio Estevez. They wed but divorced after two years.
• 1996: Snoop Dogg and McKinley Lee, his bodyguard, were acquitted of murder charges arising from the killing of Philip Woldermariam at Woodbine Park in Los Angeles, California. According to sources, the prosecutors had alleged that the duo shot Woldermariam while he tried to walk away from a physical altercation. 
• 2003: A fire broke out at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island during a Great White concert, killing 100 people, including Ty Longley, the band's guitarist, and injuring over 200 others. The “Once Bitten Twice Shy” hitmakers' tour manager, Daniel Biechele, who unleashed the pyrotechnics that sparked the fire, and the venue's owners, Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, were charged with different crimes, so they got varying sentences.
• 2017: Teen heartthrob and musician David Cassidy from the Partridge Family TV show announced he had dementia. Because of his diagnosis and failing health, Cassidy stopped touring and performing as a musician.