This Day in Top 40 History: February 28

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1976: Paul Simon won a GRAMMY for the Best Album of the Year with Still Crazy After All These Years. This award came after his split from Art Garfunkel as the duo Simon & Garfunkel.
• 1983: U2 released War, which would become their first No. 1 album in the U.K. It also performed pretty well in the U.S., where it soared to No. 12 on the Billboard 200. A few tracks from this record cracked the Top 20 in the U.K., such as “Two Hearts Beat as One” and “New Year's Day.”
• 1989: The Indio Girls released their monumental album Closer to Fine. Key songs from this album include "Closer to Fine," "History of Us," and "Tried to Be True."
• 1995: Singer Jewel released her debut album Pieces of You. This album had massive hit songs, including "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant For Me."
• 2000: Oasis put out their fourth studio album, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. It was one of the band's most successful releases, selling over 300,000 copies in its opening week and landing at No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. The record produced three U.K. Top 10 hits, “Who Feels Love?” “Sunday Morning Call,” and “Go Let It Out.”

Cultural Milestones

• 1971: Nigel Godrich was born in Westminster, London. Drawing inspiration from renowned artists like Frank Zappa and Jimi Hendrix, he got into music at an early age. This paved the way for him to build his rewarding record-producing career. In addition to working as Radiohead's touring sound engineer, Godrich has collaborated with successful musicians such as The Beatles' Paul McCartney and U2.
• 1979: Simon & Garfunkel's song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, where it remained for six weeks. This song is one of the most well-known Simon & Garfunkel tunes.
• 1996: At the 38th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, 22-year-old Alanis Morissette snagged four trophies, including Album of the Year for her chart-topping record, Jagged Little Pill. Other artists who earned space on the list of winners were Seal, Annie Lennox, Stevie Wonder, and Frank Sinatra.
• 1998: Celine Dion's hit "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in a 16-week run. In 1998, this powerful song won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and is still played on the radio to this day.
• 2019: Juice WRLD played at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. Hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj joined Juice WRLD on this tour.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1970: In Copenhagen, Denmark, Led Zeppelin were forced to play a concert as The Nobs after Frau Eva von Zeppelin, the granddaughter of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, threatened to sue them if they used her family name. According to sources, Eva claimed the “Whole Lotta Love” hitmakers were dishonouring it
• 1984: Cyndi Lauper won Best New Artist at the 27th GRAMMY Awards. The award was presented to her by Ray Davies from The Kinks.
• 1999: Hole and “God's Gonna Cut You Down” singer Marilyn Manson delivered a superb performance at the Spokane Arena, Washington, marking the beginning of their Beautiful Monsters Tour. It supported their respective albums, Hole's Celebrity Skin and Manson's Mechanical Animals. 
• 2016: Singer Sam Smith beat Lady Gaga for Best Original Song at the Oscars for "Writing's On the Wall." This song was from the James Bond movie, Spectre.
• 2023: Lizzo played at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin. Included in her setlist were "The Sign," "Grrrls," and "If You Love Me."

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1968: Frankie Lymon passed away at 25 following a heroin overdose in his grandmother's house in Harlem, New York. He was best known as the frontman of The Teenagers, whose 1956 debut single, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” reached No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. The group scored other Top 20 hits, including “Baby Baby” and “I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent.” 
• 1977: As Ray Charles performed for a benefit concert supporting Project Heavy, a community Program, at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, a fan hopped on stage and tried to strangle him with a rope. Security officers stepped in to help the “I Can't Stop Loving You” hitmaker push the attacker back, and they decided not to involve the police. 
• 2008: Mike Smith died while receiving treatment for pneumonia at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire, England. As per sources, he had spent most of his time at the facility since 2003, when he sustained a spinal cord injury. Before the tragic incident, Smith was known as the lead singer of the Dave Clark Five, who had up to 20 singles in the U.K. Top 40.
• 2008: Frontman of Culture Club, Boy George, pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment charges. He was freed on bail.
• 2012: Malaysia canceled singer Erykah Badu's show, supposedly over her tattoo displaying the Arabic word for Allah.