This Day in Top 40 History: August 11

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1962: Tony Bennett released a double-sided track, "Once Upon a Time" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." The latter single didn't receive recognition until radio DJs started playing the B-side, but once they did, Bennett won a GRAMMY for Record of the Year.
• 1995: The movie soundtrack for Dangerous Minds was released. Coolio's hit single "Gangsta's Paradise" was the leading track on the soundtrack, and it topped the Billboard Hot 100.
• 2009: Lady A released "Need You Now," which was a massive crossover hit that reached both pop and country markets. It achieved No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• 2009: Train released the hit single "Hey, Soul Sister," ending a six-year hiatus. The song peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts and is one of the band's most famous tracks.

Cultural Milestones

• 1964: At the height of Beatlemania, The Beatles' iconic movie A Hard Day's Night premiered in the U.S. The pre-released soundtrack was already at No. 1 at the time of the premiere.
• 1969: At a party in Beverly Hills, Motown Records introduced The Jackson 5 to a crowd full of music aficionados. The group soared to popularity the following year.
• 2016: President Barack Obama's second set of summer playlists became available. Obama has since made sharing his playlists an annual tradition.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1976: In a frenzy, Neil Young recorded an entire album in a single night. However, the album, Hitchhiker, was held back by the record label until 2017.
• 2023: At Yankee Stadium, hip-hop artists, such as Snoop Dogg, Run-D.M.C. and Lauryn Hill, performed for the Hip Hop 50 Live concert. The show celebrated the 50th anniversary and origins of hip-hop.
• 2024: To wrap up the Paris Olympics, Phoenix performed an exhilarating show for the athletes and spectators. The concert ended with lead singer Thomas Mars crowd surfing through a sea of Olympic athletes.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1966: John Lennon publicly apologized while in Chicago for his remarks about The Beatles' popularity. Many fans had reacted poorly to his claim that his band was "more popular than Jesus."
• 2014: The band 5 Seconds of Summer became the first Australian musical act to reach No. 1 on the U.S. album charts. Not only were they the first, but they accomplished this feat with their self-titled debut album.