This Day in Top 40 History: February 21

Dua Lipa performs onstage in Chicago, Illinois

Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images

On Feb. 21, several women won music awards, pop stars were honored on TV shows, concerts were held, and music artists spoke up for justice.

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

Numerous awards were presented on Feb. 21, including:

1964: The Rolling Stones launched their rendition of Buddy Holly's “Not Fade Away,” which served as the lead single from their U.S. debut album England's Newest Hit Makers. While the song missed the Top 40 on Billboard's Hot 100, it reached No. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart, becoming their first Top 10 hit in the region.
1975: David Bowie issued “Young Americans” in the U.K., where it stalled at 18. This track landed at No. 28 on the Billboard 200, becoming his second-highest-charting single in the U.S. at the time, after “Space Oddity,” which peaked at No. 15.
2012: Adele won British Female Solo Artist and British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards with her groundbreaking album 21. This was Adele's second album, with hits such as “Set Fire to the Rain” and “Rumour Has It.”
2015: Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's “Uptown Funk” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of Feb. 21. This fun song remained in that spot for 13 weeks.
2018: Dua Lipa won British Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards. She thanked women artists for their role in inspiring her as a musician.

Cultural Milestones

Songs and performances on Feb. 21 that have made an impact include:

1933: Eunice Kathleen Waymon, better known as Nina Simone, was born in Tryon, North Carolina. She was among the first artists to address social injustices in her music. Speaking of which, she has placed many Top 40 hits on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, including “I Loves You, Porgy” and “I Put a Spell on You.” Additionally, Nina has inspired big names such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lana Del Rey.
1958: Jake Burns was born in Belfast, Ireland. He is the co-founder, songwriter, and frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, whose list of UK Top 20 albums features Hanx and Inflammable Material. Burns has also founded other bands as well, including The Big Wheel and Jake Burns. In 2009, he formed Nefarious Fat Cats, which comprised renowned singers from other groups. They played concerts to raise funds for charity organizations.
1977: At the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, “Forever” hitmakers Kiss had a few drops of their blood drawn so it could be mixed with ink and used to print Marvel Super Special #1, their first Marvel comic book. According to sources, it was used for another print magazine instead.
2001: Colombian pop star Shakira won her first Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album. Her live album MTV Unplugged was performed at the Grand Ballroom in New York City. It includes acoustic versions of her songs “Octavo Día” and “Ojos Así.”
2011: Superstar Lady Gaga filmed one of her shows during The Monster Ball Tour. She later turned this into a concert special titled Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden.

Notable Recordings and Performances

Feb. 21 has featured some notable shows and performances, including:

1970: The Jackson 5 appeared on American Bandstand and performed their No. 1 hit, “I Want You Back.” During the show, they also debuted “ABC,” which, upon release a few days later, peaked at the top of the Hot 100.
1971: On the final season of The Ed Sullivan Show, an episode was dedicated to the vocal group The 5th Dimension. They sang songs such as “Up, Up, and Away” and “One Less Bell to Answer.”
1995: At a nightclub in New York City, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed together for the first time since 1988. Springsteen wanted to include part of this show in the video for his single “Murder Incorporated,” which would be featured on his upcoming Greatest Hits album. The compilation reached the summit of the Billboard 200.
2011: Pop singer Celine Dion, who topped the charts with her song “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie Titanic, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She gave away tickets to her upcoming Las Vegas residency show.
2020: Rapper and singer Post Malone performed at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as part of his Runaway Tour.

Industry Changes and Challenges

The music industry has seen some interesting changes and challenges on Feb. 21, including:

2008: “It Ain't Fun” hitmakers Paramore canceled the remaining shows of their European tour, citing personal struggles. It was later revealed that the tension stemmed from Hayley Williams and Josh Farro's breakup, as they had been dating for a while. Although the band resumed performing together, Farro eventually left.
2014: Demi Lovato performed at the Philips Arena in Atlanta for The Neon Lights Tour. Lovato began her career as a young actor on the Disney Channel before moving on to singing and performing.
2018: Singer Ellie Goulding presented at the Brit Awards. During her short presentation, she responded to a statement made by Recording Academy Chief Executive Officer Neil Portnow, who said that women in the music industry need to “step up.”
2019: Peter Tork died of adenoid cystic carcinoma at 77. He was best known as a member of The Monkees, who placed three No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, “Daydream Believer,” “I'm a Believer,” and “Last Train to Clarksville.” Tork left the group in 1968, but his solo career was unsuccessful, especially compared with his stint with the band.
2024: The tribute show, The Simon & Garfunkel Story, played at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, Virginia. This concert-style theater show told the story of how Simon and Garfunkel met, their rise to stardom, and how they changed the industry.