This Day in Top 40 History: April 7

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1985: British pop duo Wham! reached a historic milestone when they became the first Western band to perform in communist China. George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley performed at the Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing, with the whole 10-day China trip being documented in the 1986 documentary Wham! in China: Foreign Skies.
• 2017: Bruno Mars performed at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, as part of his 24K Magic World Tour, which had a record-breaking attendance. According to Billboard, Bruno Mars sold over one million tickets in one day for this tour.
• 2024: The March Madness Music Festival was held at Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix, Arizona. Performers at this event included Leon Bridges, Mumford & Sons, and The Black Keys.

Cultural Milestones

• 1948: John Oates, member of the Hall & Oates duo, was born in New York City. He started the band with Daryl Hall in 1970 and reached the US Top 40 with 29 of their 33 singles, with 6 of them peaking at No. 1.
• 2015:The manuscript for Don McLean's hit song, "American Pie," was sold for $1.2 million at a New York auction with only two bidders. This 1971 song became an anthem, and many who grew up during the 1970s know the words by heart.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1970: At the 42nd Academy Awards, Burt Bacharach and Hal David won Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" from the famous movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
• 1977: Canadian pop and country singer Anne Murray bundled up in a snow parka and sang the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada," for the Toronto Blue Jays versus Chicago White Sox baseball game. 
• 1978: Prince released his debut album, For You, via Warner Bros. Records. He composed and performed all songs and instruments, while also producing the record, and the lead single "Soft and Wet," peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart after the artist's passing.
• 1990: Elton John performed his iconic song "Candle in the Wind" to honor AIDS activist Ryan White at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The song was a hit on numerous occasions, with a 1986 live version peaking at No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 2020: Pop star Billie Eilish canceled her Where Do We Go? World Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She was supposed to perform at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on April 7.
• 2020: April 7 is World Health Day, and on this day in 2020, pop star Britney Spears posted on her Twitter, now known as X, account, “thanks to all of the healthcare workers tirelessly working to keep us safe during this time !!!!”