This Day in Top 40 History: February 25

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1980: Bob Seger released Against the Wind, his 11th studio album. This LP entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1 and spent over 100 weeks on the chart. It also delivered three Top 40 hits, including the title track, "Against the Wind," and “Fire Lake,” which cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. 
• 1981: At the 23rd Grammy Awards held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, Christopher Cross made history by winning four major categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
• 1982: Alabama unveiled their sixth studio LP, Mountain Music. Three tracks from this album reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, including “Take Me Down” and “Close Enough to Perfect.” It's also worth mentioning that Mountain Music peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, but flew to the top of the Top Country Albums chart.
• 1995: Madonna's "Take a Bow" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was her second single from the mellow 1994 album Bedtime Stories.
• 2009: President Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the highest award for pop music in the U.S. The "Isn't She Lovely" singer is the second recipient.
• 2014: ScHoolboy Q dropped his third studio album, Oxymoron. This set, which featured guest vocals from Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, The Creator, and 2 Chainz, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Additionally, it sold more than 130,000 copies in its opening week and spawned Top 40 singles such as “Studio,” which climbed to No. 38 on the Hot 100.

Cultural Milestones

• 1959: Mike Peters was born in Denbighshire, Wales. He was the frontman for The Alarm, who scored eight UK Top 40 hits throughout their career. That list featured “Absolute Reality,” “Spirit of ‘76,” and “Rain in the Summertime.” After Big Country's lead vocalist, Stuart Adamson, passed away, Peters stepped in as their new frontman for a few years, honoring Adamson's legacy. 
• 1976: Quincy Jones, who collaborated with the likes of Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and Donna Summer, became a father again, this time to Rashida Jones. Rashida is best known as an actress and film director, but she has also worked with some big players in the music industry, including Maroon 5. 
• 1986: Producer Quincy Jones won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "We Are the World," performed by multiple musicians. Recorded in one night, the song raised over $75 million for famine relief in Africa.
•  1995: Crooner Frank Sinatra sang his last song for a live audience at the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament in Palm Desert, California. Sinatra is considered one of the top singers of modern times, with millions of copies of his songs and albums sold over his long career.
• 2000: Britney Spears announced that she was releasing a line of bubble gum called Britney Spears CD Bubble Gum, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. The bubble gum, shaped like a CD, was in pink and blue packaging resembling a CD player.
• 2002: The Strokes, who have placed over 10 Top 40 hits on Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart, won several prizes at the NME Carling Awards, which were held at Planit Arches, London. Other names on the list of winners included Kylie Minogue, Radiohead, and Missy Elliott.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1972: Led Zeppelin played their first concert in New Zealand, at Auckland's Western Springs Stadium. This performance, which attracted an estimated 25,000 fans, was part of their Australasian Tour. It saw them play Top 40 hits such as “Immigrant Song” and “Black Dog.”
• 1985: U2 took their Unforgettable Fire Tour to Dallas, Texas, where they performed “Wire,” “I Will Follow,” and other songs at the Reunion Arena. The trek supported their Unforgettable Fire LP, which soared to No. 12 on the Billboard 200. 
• 1987: Frank Sinatra appeared on the TV show Magnum, P.I. with Tom Selleck. Sinatra played a retired New York policeman.
• 1992: Tori Amos released her debut solo album, Little Earthquakes, in the U.S. The album had been released earlier in the UK.
• 2012: Ed Sheeran won British Male Solo Artist and Breakthrough Artist at the Brit Awards in London. Adele won British Album and British Female Solo Artist.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 2006: The Jack Johnson and Friends soundtrack Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. This was the second time a movie soundtrack had hit the charts.
• 2011: Rick Coonce, a founding member and drummer of The Grass Roots, died from heart failure in British Columbia, Canada. He was 64. Coonce had helped The Grass Roots place a number of Top 20 hits on the Hot 100, including “Midnight Confessions” and “I'd Wait a Million Years.” After leaving the band in 1971, he switched careers and became a child protection social worker. 
• 2015: Pop queen Madonna fell on stage, landing awkwardly, after tripping on her cape while performing at the Brit Awards in London.
• 2016: A California judge ruled that producer and performer Quincy Jones could sue the late Michael Jackson's estate and Sony Music Entertainment for $10 million.
• 2019: Mark Holis died at 64 after a short illness, as his former manager, Keith Aspden, confirmed. Holis was best known as the frontman of Talk Talk, whose “Life's What You Make It” and “It's My Life” cracked the Top 30 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart. Despite their success, he had stopped making music in the 1990s to focus on his family.