This Day in Top 40 History: December 12
On Dec. 12, 1915, Frank Sinatra was born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey. He got into music when he was pretty young and started singing at taverns to…
On Dec. 12, 1915, Frank Sinatra was born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey. He got into music when he was pretty young and started singing at taverns to earn a few dollars. With his charisma and style, people loved him despite his physical insecurities that stemmed from severe facial scarring. This made way for him to build a successful music career that saw him release a bunch of Top 30 hits on Billboard's Hot 100, including number-one singles “Strangers In The Night” and “Somethin' Stupid.”
To pay tribute to Sinatra, the state of Nevada declared Dec. 12 “Sinatra Day” in 2001. If you're eager to discover more Top 40 history from Dec. 12, you're exactly where you should be.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
These historic albums were released on Dec. 12:
- 1969: John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono's Plastic Ono Band launched Live Peace in Toronto 1969, a live album that peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. The set also featured the song "Give Peace a Chance," which reached No. 1 on the Hot 100.
- 1977: ABBA dropped their fifth studio album, ABBA: The Album, a nine-track project that dominated the U.K. charts for seven weeks and spawned two number-one singles, "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Name of the Game."
Notable Recordings and Performances
Here are a few memorable recordings and performances from Dec. 12:
- 1968: The Rolling Stones continued to film The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus at the Intertel Studios in Wembley, London, performing some of their Top 40 hits, such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Sympathy for the Devil." This concert film promoted the band's 1968 album Beggars Banquet, which charted in the Top 10 on both the U.K. Singles chart and the Billboard 200.
- 2015: Chance the Rapper became the first unsigned artist in history to grace Saturday Night Live, knocking it out of the park with an exciting performance of his new song, "Somewhere in Paradise," featuring Jeremih. Although the song didn't reach the Top 40 in the U.K. or the U.S., it helped the "I'm The One" artist expand his fanbase.
Industry Changes and Challenges
This day has seen some Top 40 artists make choices that hurt their careers, while others were involved in accidents that almost cost them their lives:
- 1957: Jerry Lee Lewis and his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown, got married in Hernando, Mississippi, but fans of the "Great Balls of Fire" hitmaker didn't approve. This led to the cancellation of Lewis' upcoming tour, and his popularity soon began to decline, with the marriage ultimately ruining his thriving rock career.
- 1976: KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was nearly electrocuted during a show at the Lakeland Civic Center in Lakeland, Florida, when he touched an improperly grounded metal railing while holding his electric guitar. It inspired him to write "Shock Me," from the band's 1977 album Love Gun.
Did you know that Nick Cannon filed for divorce from "All I Want for Christmas Is You" singer Mariah Carey on Dec. 12, 2014? Undoubtedly, this day has changed many lives in the music industry.
