This Day in Top 40 History: April 29

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1981: Van Halen released Fair Warning, their fourth studio LP.  The album delivered “Unchained,” “Push Comes to Shove,” “So This is Love,” and other tracks. It cracked the Top 10 in the U.S. and sold over two million copies in the region. Despite that, this project is deemed one of the slowest-selling records launched during David Lee Roth's tenure as the band's frontman. 
• 1983: Men at Work put out their sophomore album, Cargo. The project broke into the Top 10 in multiple regions, including the U.K., the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. In the U.S., this set featured several Top 30 hits, including “Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive,” “It's a Mistake,” and “Overkill.” It was the band's final record with contributions from the original lineup, which included Ron Strykert, Greg Ham, Colin Hay, Brian Cadd, John Rees, and Jerry Speiser. 
• 2003: Yeah Yeah Yeahs dropped their debut solo LP, Fever to Tell. Although the album failed to crack the Top 40 in the U.S., it reached No. 13 in the U.K. Additionally, it spawned several Top 30 hits in the latter, including “Maps” and “Pin.”
• 2006: The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was in its early stages, and headliners for April 29 included Depeche Mode, My Morning Jacket, and Cat Power. Today, megastars such as Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish headline this three-day Indio, California, music festival.
• 2022: The legendary Lady Gaga posted a small teaser video of her song “Hold My Hand.” This song was written for the soundtrack to the highly anticipated movie Top Gun: Maverick, starring Tom Cruise.
• 2024: Pop superstar and former singer of the boy band *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, performed at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was a stop for Timberlake's Forget Tomorrow World Tour. Timberlake, dubbed the Prince of Pop, has hit songs such as “Can't Stop the Feeling” and “Selfish.”

Cultural Milestones 

• 1933: Willie Nelson was born in Abbott, Texas. He dropped out of college to pursue music. Thankfully, that move paid off. As of this writing, he has six Top 10 records on the Billboard 200, such as Band of Brothers and Always on My Mind. Nelson's albums have delivered an impressive 41 Top 10 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Some of these are “Nothing I Can Do About It Now” and “City Of New Orleans.”
• 1943: Duane Allen was born in Taylortown, Texas. He is best known as a member of The Oak Ridge Boys, who have scored 17 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Titles on that list include “I Guess It Never Hurts To Hurt Sometimes,” “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight,” and “Make My Life With You.”
• 1945: Tammi Terrell was born in Thomasina Winifred Montgomery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She kicked off her music career by recording tracks for Scepter and Wand Records. Terrell also collaborated with Marvin Gaye, with whom she placed 7 Top 40 singles on Billboard's Hot 100, including “If I Could Build My Whole World Around You” and “Keep On Lovin' Me, Honey.”

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 2011: Rapper Nicki Minaj performed at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada. Minaj performed as an opening act for Lil Wayne's I Am Music II Tour.
• 2013: Major Lazer performed in Utrecht, Netherlands, as part of their Free the Universe 2013 World Tour.  This electronic dance music trio is known for songs such as “Light It Up” and “Lean On.”
• 2023: The Billboard Hot 100 chart had SZA's “Kill Bill” peak at No. 1 with 19 weeks on the charts. “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus was at No. 3, and “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj was at No. 4 after just one week on the chart. 
• 2023: Country-Pop singer/songwriter Kelsea Ballerini performed at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina, on April 29. Songs she sang included “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Miss Me More.”

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1976: After a performance in Memphis, Tennessee, Bruce Springsteen broke into Elvis Presley's Graceland, hoping to meet the King of Rock & Roll. Unfortunately, the “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” singer wasn't home, so the security guards, who thought Springsteen was just another fan, requested him to leave the property. The “Brilliant Disguise” singer was in the region for his Born to Run Tour, promoting his Top Five album of the same name.
• 1989: Jon Bon Jovi, the founder and lead singer of Bon Jovi, and Dorothea Hurley tied the knot at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. More than three decades later, the childhood sweethearts are still together. They share four children: Jesse, Stephanie, Jake, and Romeo. 
• 1992: Pop queen Paula Abdul married actor Emilio Estevez on April 29, only to divorce two years later due to irreconcilable differences and personal difficulties. 
• 1995: Tupac Shakur and Keisha Morris exchanged vows at New York's Clinton Correctional Facility. At the time, the "Keep Ya Head Up" hitmaker was serving his 11-month sentence for sexual assault. This union didn't last, though, as their marriage was annulled in March 1996. 
• 2020: Pop star Harry Styles had to reschedule his April 29 show at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany, to March 6, 2021. It was then rescheduled to July 20, 2022. This was for Styles' Love on Tour.