This Day in Top 40 History: November 3
On Nov. 3, 1992, Bon Jovi dropped their fifth studio album, Keep the Faith. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned top 40 singles such…
On Nov. 3, 1992, Bon Jovi dropped their fifth studio album, Keep the Faith. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned top 40 singles such as "In These Arms" and "Bed of Roses." On the same day in 1994, Ella Mai was born in England. She rose to fame after auditioning for The X Factor in 2014. Although Mai's audition wasn't successful, she continued to pursue music and released her first top 10 hit, "Boo'd Up," in 2018. Read on for more historical moments from Nov. 3.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Artists rarely know how their music will rank on major music charts, but every so often, certain songs break into the top 40. Here are some popular hits from Nov. 3:
- 1984: "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On the Run)" by Billy Ocean topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song's original version, "European Queen (No More Love On the Run)," performed poorly in the U.K. Swapping "European" for "Caribbean" allowed listeners to imagine finding love while on a tropical vacation, which enhanced the song's appeal and earned Ocean his first No. 1 single in the U.S.
- 2018: Ariana Grande surprised her fans with the release of "thank u, next." It would later serve as the lead single from Grande's 2019 album of the same name. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 100, becoming the first track by a female singer to achieve that feat since "Hello" by Adele in 2015.
- 2023: Jung Kook of BTS dropped "Standing Next to You," a single from his Golden album. It became the fastest song by an Asian solo artist to hit 900 million streams. The track went to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top 40 in several countries worldwide.
- 2023: Cody Johnson released his award-winning album, Leather. It produced the top 40 singles, "The Painter" and "I'm Gonna Love You," and reached No. 18 on the Billboard 200.
Industry Changes and Challenges
Some events from Nov. 3 highlighted long-standing issues within the music industry, including:
- 1948: Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie, known as Lulu Kennedy-Cairns, was born. Her best-selling hit "To Sir with Love" hit No.1 in 1967.
- 1962: The Crystals' "He's a Rebel" scored the No. 1 position on Billboard Hot 100. The group knew nothing about the song, so they were surprised when a DJ credited it to them on the radio. The truth was, The Blossoms recorded "He's a Rebel," but under Phil Spector's direction, they didn't get the recognition they deserved, showing how exploitative and unfair the music business was in the 1960s.
What do you think The Crystals could have done after being given credit for a track they didn't sing? Did that affect their authenticity, given that they were one of the biggest girl groups in the 1960s? These are some of the questions that the events of Nov. 3 present for top 40 music fans.
