This Day in Top 40 History: December 31
On New Year’s Eve in 1948, Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her 1975 debut single, “Love to Love You Baby,” peaked at No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot 100….
On New Year's Eve in 1948, Donna Summer was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her 1975 debut single, “Love to Love You Baby,” peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100. To celebrate the hit's release, she performed at a disco in New York on this day in 1975. For the event, Casablanca Records had flown in a massive cake made in Summer's image to honor her. Additionally, the Songwriters Hall of Fame posthumous inductee made history in the late 1970s when she achieved four number-one singles on the Hot 100 within a little over a year. The list included “Bad Girls,” Hot Stuff,” and “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough).” Here are more Top 40 history events from December 31 that deserve mention.
Notable Recordings and Performances
The music industry has witnessed these memorable perfomances on December 31:
- 1971: The Band, whose “Don't Do It” and “Up On Cripple Creek” cracked the Top 40 on the Hot 100, performed with a full horn section at the New York Academy of Music. This was their fourth show at the venue that week, as they had also graced it on December 28, 29, and 30.
- 1978: The Bauhaus' first show took place at Wellingborough's Cromwell pub in the UK. This would mark the beginning of a successful musical journey. But it wouldn't be until another few years that they scored their two Top 40 UK singles, “Ziggy Stardust” and “She's In Parties.”
- 1978: The Grateful Dead delivered an exhilarating performance at Bill Graham's Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. The venue, which once hosted concerts by Stevie Wonder, the Sex Pistols, Bob Seger, and other artists, would then close its doors, making that its final show. Other acts that day included The Blues Brothers and New Riders of the Purple Sage.
- 2015: Mötley Crüe played what they claimed was their farewell show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The setlist for this event featured some of the band's Top 40 hits, such as “Girls, Girls, Girls,” "Smokin' in the Boys' Room,” “Dr. Feel Good,” and “Home Sweet Home.” Note that they toured again in 2022, despite having played that ‘final' concert.
Industry Changes and Challenges
As the music industry prepared to usher in the new year, it experienced these changes and challenges on December 31:
- 1970: Paul McCartney sued Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison, seeking to dissolve the Beatles and their partnership with Apple Corps. According to sources, this was after his bandmates had appointed Allan Klein as the Beatles' manager against McCartney's wishes. He also wanted the band to officially disband because they had already stopped singing and performing together.
- 2002: 50 Cent was taken into custody along with four other men on charges of criminal possession of a weapon. At the time of this incident, he was in a vehicle parked in a no-standing zone around New York City's Copacabana nightclub. When the police searched the car, they found two weapons, including a .25 caliber handgun, leading to the arrest.
Unfortunately, the music community lost Natalie Cole, Nat King Cole's daughter, on December 31 as well. The singer died at 65 on this date in 2015.
