This Day in Top 40 History: September 26
On Sept. 26, 2009, Jay-Z broke Elvis Presley’s record for most No. 1 albums as a solo artist when The Blueprint 3 topped the charts. With this accomplishment, Jay-Z had…
On Sept. 26, 2009, Jay-Z broke Elvis Presley's record for most No. 1 albums as a solo artist when The Blueprint 3 topped the charts. With this accomplishment, Jay-Z had 11 chart-topping albums. He managed to bring the number to an impressive 14 before Taylor Swift dethroned him with The Tortured Poets Department. Keep reading for more Top 40 history from Sept. 26.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Each of these chart toppers became a staple of their era:
- 1964: Roy Orbison topped the charts with "Oh, Pretty Woman." The enduring Americana classic spent three consecutive weeks at No. 1.
- 1983: Mötley Crüe launched their sophomore studio effort, Shout at the Devil, featuring “Looks That Kill,” “Too Young to Fall in Love,” and “Ten Seconds to Love.” This album rose to No. 17 in the U.S.
- 1987: Whitney Houston notched her fifth No. 1 hit with "Didn't We Almost Have It All." Throughout her career, she had 11 singles reach the top spot.
- 2006: "Weird Al" Yankovic issued Straight Outta Lynwood, his twelfth studio LP. This record peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. In addition, it produced “White & Nerdy,” which cracked the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100.
- 2006: Ludacris launched Release Therapy, featuring guest appearances from Mary J. Blige, Karma Bridges, Jeezy, and Pharrell Williams. This project flew to No. 1 in the U.S. and produced two Top Five hits, “Runaway Love” and the chart-topping “Money Maker.”
- 2012: P!nk scored her first No. 1 album with The Truth About Love. It was her sixth album and included the hit singles "Just Give Me a Reason" and "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."
- 2014: Prince released PLECTRUMELECTRUM and ART OFFICIAL AGE, his 36th and 37th albums, respectively. While the former landed at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, the latter peaked at No. 5 on the same chart.
Cultural Milestones
These unforgettable albums and live performance recordings have influenced pop culture:
- 1948: Olivia Newton-John was born in England. Besides playing roles in successful films such as Grease, Newton-John has scored five No. 1 hits in the U.S., including “Have You Never Been Mellow,” “I Honestly Love You,” and “You're the One That I Want,” featuring John Travolta.
- 1969: The Beatles released Abbey Road, which included one of the most iconic album covers in history. This album featured the classic hit songs "Come Together" and "Here Comes the Sun."
- 1972: Shawn Stockman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known as a member of Boyz II Men, whose list of U.S. chart-toppers features “I'll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee.”
- 1974: John Lennon released his fourth solo album, Walls and Bridges. The No. 1 album included hits such as "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" and "#9 Dream."
- 2021: Adele One Night Only aired on television. This TV special won five Emmy Awards and featured Adele's first live performance in several years, as well as an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
- 2023: Taylor Swift announced that The Eras Tour movie would be released globally. The recorded film of her record-breaking concert changed the landscape for big-ticket concerts.
Notable Recordings and Performances
Live performances often make their way into public discourse, especially for new artists in the age of social media:
- 1957: West Side Story debuted on Broadway, where it ran for 732 performances. The play has since been made into two hit movies, with the soundtrack for the 1961 rendition spending 54 weeks at the top of the Billboard stereo albums chart.
- 2015: Ariana Grande's The Honeymoon Tour, which supported her No. 1 record, My Everything, stopped at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. During this visit, she performed 18 songs, including “Be My Baby,” “Right There,” and “Best Mistake.”
- 2019: Post Malone took the stage at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota and delivered memorable performances of hits such as “Circles” and “Goodbyes.” This show was part of the Runaway Tour, which supported Malone's chart-topping third studio LP, Hollywood's Bleeding.
- 2023: SZA played a five-act setlist featuring “Kill Bill” and “Blind” at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was on the SOS Tour, a trek that supported her sophomore album of the same name. Released in 2022, SOS dominated the Billboard 200 for an impressive 13 weeks.
- 2024: Sabrina Carpenter played in Detroit, Michigan, for the third show on her Short N' Sweet Tour. Her surprise cover song was "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer.
- 2025: Dylan Scott brought the house down at the Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee. The setlist for this event featured Top 40 country hits such as “My Girl,” “This Town's Been Too Good to Us,” and “What He'll Never Have.”
Industry Changes and Challenges
Top 40 industry challenges from September 26 include:
- 2000: Carl Sigman died in Long Island, New York. He was known for penning songs such as The Righteous Brothers' “Ebb Tide,” which landed at No. 5 on the Hot 100, and Andy Williams' Top 10 single, “(Where Do I Begin) Love Story.”
- 2003: Robert Palmer suffered a heart attack and died at 54. His most notable hit was “Addicted to Love,” which ruled the Hot 100 for a week and peaked at No. 5 on the U.K. Singles Chart. The song also earned him a GRAMMY in 1987.
From live TV to monumental album releases, Sept. 26 is packed with great moments from Top 40 history.
Dawn Palmer-QuaifeWriter
