This Day in Top 40 History: December 15
On Dec. 15, 1986, the Grateful Dead took the stage for the first time since Jerry Garcia fell into a diabetic coma earlier that year. They opened their show at…
On Dec. 15, 1986, the Grateful Dead took the stage for the first time since Jerry Garcia fell into a diabetic coma earlier that year. They opened their show at the Oakland Coliseum Arena with "Touch of Grey," a track that had topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and reached No. 9 on the Hot 100. Apart from such memorable performances, Dec. 15 has hosted other important events in Top 40 history, including album releases and wedding ceremonies.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
These notable albums from Dec. 15 spawned some Top 40 hits.
- 1992: Dr. Dre dropped his debut solo album, The Chronic, through his own Death Row Records and Interscope Records. The project reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and spent over 90 weeks on the chart. Three of its tracks also cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard 100, including "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang."
- 2014: Nicki Minaj's third studio album, The Pinkprint, was released. Its list of guest appearances included Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, Meek Mill, Drake, and Ariana Grande. The set debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and delivered Top 40 hits such as "Pills N Potions," "Anaconda," and "The Night Is Still Young."
- 2017: Eminem's ninth studio album, Revival, came out. Debuting atop the Billboard 200 chart, it marked his eighth consecutive No. 1 release, a feat no other artist had achieved at the time. "Walk on Water" from the album, which featured Beyoncé, reached the Top 20 on the Hot 100.
Cultural Milestones
Over the years, Dec. 15 has seen these Top 40 cultural moments:
- 1984: "Summer Nights" singer Olivia Newton-John and "Xanadu" dancer Matt Lattanzi married. The couple's daughter, Chloe Rose Lattanzi, was born in 1986, but their divorce was finalized in 1995.
- 1990: Rod Stewart, who has more than 40 Top 40 hits in the U.K., married supermodel Rachel Hunter at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church. The lovebirds met at a Los Angeles nightclub three months earlier, when Hunter was 21, and the "You Wear It Well" artist was 45. Stewart and Hunter separated in 1999 and finalized their divorce in 2006.
- 2007: Celine Dion concluded her A New Day… residency that went down at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show, which ran for five years, included over 700 performances. These saw Dion perform some of her biggest hits, such as "A New Day Has Come," "I'm Alive," and "The Power of Love."
Industry Changes and Challenges
The music industry has lost some Top 40 artists on Dec. 15. Others have experienced various legal issues on this date:
- 1988: "I Got You (I Feel Good)" singer James Brown was sentenced to over six years in prison for assault and failing to stop for police. He was released in 1991 after serving almost half his prison sentence.
- 2001: Rufus Thomas died from heart failure at 84. Throughout his career, he dropped multiple Top 40 hits, including "Do the Funky Chicken" and "Walking the Dog." His highest-charting song was "Do the Push and Pull," which reached No. 1 on the R&B chart in the U.S.
Now that you know the events that Dec. 15 has seen, you'll understand why many music enthusiasts remember it.
