This Day in Top 40 History: November 17

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1962: The Four Seasons topped the charts with their song "Big Girls Don't Cry." The song remained at No. 1 for five weeks.
• 1980: John Lennon released his final solo album, Double Fantasy. Lennon was tragically killed a few weeks later, and the album hit No. 1 as the public grieved his death.
• 1984: Wham! spent three weeks at No. 1 with their hit song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." The hit became a staple of the decade and has endured for years.
• 1992: Kenny G released Breathless his sixth album. It was a huge success, charting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and scoring a GRAMMY Award for the single "Forever in Love."
• 2007: For the first time since 1979, The Eagles topped the Billboard 200 with their album Long Road Out of Eden. The band's seventh album was also their sixth No. 1 album.

Cultural Milestones

• 1979: ABBA was declared the biggest-selling recording group in history by the Guinness Book of World Records.
• 1992: Metallica released their two-part documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica. The film detailed the process of making and recording the band's seminal work, The Black Album.
• 1997: The Recording Industry Association of America certified Shania Twain's album The Woman in Me as Diamond. Eventually, it would go 12x Platinum. The album included the hit singles "The Woman In Me (Needs the Man in You)" and "Any Man of Mine."
• 2003: Britney Spears received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At just 21, she was the youngest singer to accept a Walk of Fame star.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1994: Bob Dylan began recording his episode of MTV Unplugged. The episode was recorded over two days in Sony Music Studios in New York City. The recorded album was a huge success for Dylan, charting at No. 23 on the Billboard 200.
• 2015: Adele performed at Radio City Music Hall for a one-night-only concert, Adele Live in New York City. It was the singer's first live performance since 2011.