On July 25, 2019, Ed Sheeran’s No. 6 Collaborations Project hit No. 1 in the U.K. The album includes duets with Eminem, Justin Bieber, 50 Cent and Khalid.
Breakthrough hits and milestones
1964: The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night began a 21-week run on the U.K. charts and reached No. 1 on the U.S. LP chart.
1970: A Carpenters song hit No. 1 in the U.S., becoming the first of 17 Top 40 hits for the duo.
2005: The Editors’ debut, The Back Room, reached No. 2 on the U.K. albums chart. Several tracks from the album made the U.K. Top 40.
2006: Pharrell Williams released his solo debut, In My Mind. It reached the Top 40 in both the U.K. and U.S., peaking at No. 7 and No. 3. The album also produced U.K. Top 40 singles.
Cultural milestones
1951: Verdine White was born in Chicago. He co-founded Earth, Wind & Fire and later started the Verdine White Foundation and the Verdine White Performing Arts Center to support music education.
1966: The Supremes released a No. 1 single on Motown. Phil Collins later revived the song with a 1982 cover.
1980: KISS played their first show with drummer Eric Carr at New York’s Palladium after Peter Criss left the band.
1980: AC/DC released Back in Black, their first album with Brian Johnson. It sold 50 million copies worldwide and hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
2004: Jimmy Buffett scored his first U.S. No. 1 album with License to Chill, a crossover hit in pop and country.
Notable performances
1965: Bob Dylan stunned fans by going electric at the Newport Folk Festival. The switch marked a big shift in his sound and in folk music.
