EVENTS THAT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY FEBRUARY 20 IN MUSIC HISTORY
On this day February 20 in 1958 – Buddy Holly released his self-titled debut studio album through Coral Records. The album features hit singles such as ‘Peggy Sue’, ‘Words of Love’, and ‘Rave On!’.
1959 – Welsh singer Shirley Bassey hit number one on the UK Singles chart with ‘As I Love You’ for the first of four consecutive weeks.
1961 – Australian composer, arranger, and pianist Percy Grainger died on this day February 20 in music history at the age of 78.
1964 – With ‘Diane’, The Bachelors topped UK singles chart. The song was also a hit in the US and Australia where it peaked at No.3.
1965 – Gary Lewis & the Playboys reached the top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 on this day February 20 with their rendition of ‘This Diamond Ring’.
1970 – Under the Plastic Ono Band name, John Lennon released ‘Instant Karma!’ as a single in the United States. He wrote and recorded the song in one day on January 27th.
1971 – The album musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ by Various Artists went to number one on the US Billboard 200 chart on this day February 20.
1979 – George Harrison released his self-titled eighth solo studio album through his own record label Dark Horse. The album peaked at No.14 in North America and it features hit songs such as ‘Faster’, ‘Blow Away’, and ‘Not Guilty’.
George Harrison – Faster
1981 – Rick James released the single ‘Give it to Me Baby’ on this day February 20, a song from his fifth studio album ‘Street Dogs’. It became a number one hit on the US Billboard Dance and Soul charts.
1988 – Kylie Minogue hit No.1 on the UK Singles chart with ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ for the first of five consecutive weeks. The song was a big hit worldwide and it also became a chart-topper in six other countries, including Australia.
1988 – The number one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on this day February 20 in music history was ‘Seasons Change’ by the vocal group Expose.
1991 – The 33rd Annual Grammy Awards were held at the Radio City Music Hall in New York. The biggest winner of the night was Quincy Jones who returned home with six awards. Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, and Bette Midler also among the winners.
1993 – The posthumously released compilation album ‘Words of Love’ by Buddy Holly & The Crickets went to No.1 in the UK on this day February 20.
1998 – Canadian singer and songwriter Robert “Bob” McBride died at the age of 51. Best remembered as the frontman of the rock band Lighthouse.
1999 – With the Grammy Award-winning song ‘Fly Away’, Lenny Kravitz topped the UK Singles chart on this day February 20.
2010 – The charity single ‘Everybody Hurts’ performed by various artists under the name Helping Haiti was at No.1 in the UK. The song raised money for the victims of the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake.
2015 – Barbadian singer Rihanna topped the US Billboard 200 chart with her eighth studio album ‘Anti’ on this day February 20 in music history.
2016 – With his debut single ‘Pillowtalk’, singer and songwriter Zayn reached number one in the US. The song was an international hit that year and it peaked at No.1 in eleven other countries, including the UK, Canada, and Australia.
2020 – Rock band Green Day scored their fourth number one album in the UK on this day February 20 with ‘Father of All…’.
2021 – American pianist Gene Taylor died on this day at the age of 68. Best remembered for his illustrious solo career and brief collaboration with Canned Heat.
BORN ON THIS DAY FEBRUARY 20 IN MUSIC HISTORY
1937 – American singer and actress Nancy Wilson was born in Chillicothe, Ohio on this day February 20 in music history. Best known for her hit renditions of ‘(You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am’ and ‘Guess Who I Saw Today’.
1941 – Singer-songwriter, composer, and producer Buffy Sainte-Marie was born in Piapot 75 Reserve, Canada. Best known for her Academy Award winning song ‘Up Where We Belong’
1944 – American jazz trumpeter and composer Lewis “Lew” Soloff was born on this day February 20 in Brooklyn, New York City. Best known for his work with the jazz-rock band Blood, Sweat and Tears.
1945 – English singer and songwriter James Alan Hull was born in Benwell, Newcastle. He rose to fame as a founding member of the folk rock band Lindisfarne.
1946 – Guitarist and leader of the J. Geils Band, John Warren “J.” Geils was born on this day February 20 in New York City, US.
1950 – American multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter Walter Carl Becker was born in Queens, New York. Best known as the co-founder of the jazz-rock band Steely Dan.
1951 – Singer-songwriter and guitarist Randy Craig Wolfie also known professionally as Randy California was born in Los Angeles, California on this day February 20 in music history. He came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Spirit.
1953 – Guitarist and co-founder of the punk-rock band The Cramps, Kristy Wallace better known by her stage name Poison Ivy was born in San Bernardino, California.
1955 – American bass guitarist Jonathan “Jon” Brant was born on this day February 20 in Chicago, Illinois. Best known as a member of the rock band Cheap Trick from 1982 until 1987.
1963 – Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ian Brown was born in Warrington, England. He gained fame as the frontman of the alt rock band The Stone Roses
1967 – Frontman and co-founder of the grunge band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain was born on this day February 20 in Aberdeen, Washington.
1975 – Singer and founding member of the vocal group the Backstreet Boys, Brian Littrell was born in Lexington, Kentucky.
1985 – Russian singer Yulia Volkova also known professionally as Julia was born on this day February 20 in Moscow. Best known as one half of the pop music duo t.A.T.U.
1988 – Pop music singer Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados on this day February 20 in music history. She’s one of the best-selling artists of all time with over 250 million records sold worldwide.