Pick a Day

Music History Events: Record Breakers

February 5, 2023 Beyoncé wins four Grammys, breaking the record for most all-time Grammy wins with 32. There's also a 50 years of hip-hop celebration, and the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, given to... Dr. Dre.

March 12, 2011 At 78, Yoko Ono becomes the oldest performer to land a #1 Dance hit when "Move On Fast" tops the chart. Over the next few years she clocks several more #1 hits on that chart, setting a new record each time. The last is in 2017 with a new version of her song "Hell in Paradise," which tops the chart when she's 84.

October 16, 2010 Nicki Minaj, whose debut album is still a month away, sets a record for most entries on the Hot 100 at the same time, with seven: #11 "Bottoms Up" (with Trey Songz) #33 "2012 (It Ain't the End)" (with Jay Sean) #42 "What's Wrong With Them" (with Lil Wayne) #40 "Letting Go (Dutty Love)" (with Sean Kingston) #50 "Check It Out" (with will.i.am) #61 "Your Love" #74 "Right Thru Me"

September 26, 2009 Jay-Z lands his 11th #1 album with The Blueprint 3, breaking Elvis Presley's record for most #1 albums by a solo artist. He extends the record to 14 before Taylor Swift ties it in 2024 with The Tortured Poets Department.

October 4, 2006 Barbra Streisand's tour-opening performance at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center is the highest single event gross in the 10-year history of the arena. Streisand grosses $5,265,600 from 16,510 attendants.

September 30, 2006 George Strait breaks Conway Twitty's 26-year-old record for most #1 Country hits when "Give It Away" becomes his 41st chart-topper. He finishes his career with 44.

April 15, 2006 "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige remains at #1 on the R&B chart for its 15th week, breaking the record of 14 weeks set the previous year by Mariah Carey with "We Belong Together."

August 14, 2000 Nineteen-year-old Craig David releases his first album, Born To Do It, which debuts at #1 on the UK Albums chart and becomes the fastest-selling debut album by a British male solo act.

April 21, 1990 Paul McCartney sets a new world record for attendance at a concert by a single artist when his tour-ending show at the Maracana Stadium in Rio draws 184,000 people.

September 14, 1987 American Bandstand becomes the longest-running entertainment show in America.

April 18, 1985 Liberace breaks his own record at Radio City Music Hall, pulling in two million dollars for his latest engagement.

September 3, 1977 The Grateful Dead, with support acts The Marshall Tucker Band and New Riders Of The Purple Sage, headline a show at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey, that lasts 11 hours and sets an American non-festival record for a ticketed concert with 107,019 in attendance. That record stands until 2024 when it's broken by George Strait.

May 10, 1974 The Who sell out Madison Square Garden in a record eight hours.

March 11, 1970 The 5th Dimension win the Record of the Year Grammy for "Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In." Blood, Sweat & Tears, nominated for a record 11 awards, win three, including Album of the Year. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young win Best New Artist.

June 12, 1966 The Dave Clark Five break a record by becoming the first rock band to make 12 appearances on Ed Sullivan Show.

August 24, 1963 Stevie Wonder's album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius goes to #1, making him, at 13, the youngest solo artist ever to top the albums chart.

November 27, 2021 Taylor Swift's extended version of "All Too Well," with a running time of 10:13, hits #1 on the Hot 100, becoming the longest song ever to top the chart. Don McLean held the record since 1972, when "American Pie," running 8:36, went to the top.

September 30, 2021 Tony Bennett, 95, releases an album of standards with Lady Gaga called Love For Sale, making him (according to Guinness) the oldest person to release an album of new material.

December 16, 2020 After nearly 178 days, Twenty One Pilots pull the plug on the livestream for their "Level Of Concern" video, which refreshed every 3:40 with new footage uploaded by fans. Guinness declares it the longest music video ever made.

November 2, 2020 Thanks to a swell of views from children home during the coronavirus pandemic, "Baby Shark" overtakes "Despacito" as the most-viewed video in YouTube history, with a little over 7 billion views.

August 2, 2019 With a show in Hannover, Germany on the 246th date of his ÷ (Divide) tour, Ed Sheeran breaks the record for highest-grossing tour, surpassing the $735.3 million U2 earned on their 2009-2011 360 tour (they did it in just 110 shows). Sheeran finishes the tour August 26 with a final tally of $775.6 million.

July 6, 2019 With 13 weeks at #1, "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X breaks the record for longest-running hip-hop song on the Hot 100. "Lose Yourself," "Boom Boom Pow" and "See You Again" all had runs of 12 weeks.

September 14, 2018 Verve Records throws a launch party at the Rainbow Room in New York City to celebrate the release of Tony Bennett and Diana Krall's album Love Is Here To Stay. After the duo performs their rendition of "Fascinating Rhythm," Guinness World Records adjudicator Alex Angert announces Bennett - who first recorded the tune under the stage name Joe Bari over 68 years earlier - is now the title holder for "the longest time between the release of an original recording and a re-recording of the same single."

July 14, 2018 Drake breaks his own record for most entries on the Hot 100 at once when he places 27 songs on the tally following the release of his album Scorpion.

June 19, 2018 The day after he is murdered, XXXTentacion breaks Taylor Swift's record for most Spotify streams in a single day, with 10.4 million. A month earlier, the rapper was banned from Spotify playlists as part of their short-lived "hateful conduct" policy.

March 17, 2018 At their St. Patrick's Day concert in Brussels, The Script buy everyone in the audience of 8,000 a drink, setting a Guinness World Record for "world's biggest round."

January 28, 2018 Shakira's El Dorado wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop album, making her the first female performer to receive two trophies in that category. The first was for her 2001 live album, MTV Unplugged.

April 24, 2017 Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" tops Australia's singles chart (ARIA) for the 14th week, breaking the record set by Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in 1995.

March 17, 2017 Popular World War II-era singer Vera Lynn releases Vera Lynn 100 to celebrate her 100th birthday. The album debuts at #3 on the UK chart, making her the oldest living artist to have an album on the tally.

February 1, 2016 Skillet's 2009 track "Monster" goes double platinum with more than 2.6 million sales and streams, making it the biggest digital single in Christian music history.