This Date in Rock Music History: February 17

1955:  Little Richard sent his first audition tape to Specialty Records.

1958:  The Silhouettes stood tall at #1 for a third week on the R&B chart with "Get A Job".












1960:  Paul Anka released the single "Puppy Love".
1960:  Elvis Presley received Gold record for his debut album Elvis.
1960:  The Everly Brothers signed a new 10-year record-breaking contract with Warner Brothers Records for $1 million.
1962:  "Midnight In Moscow" by Kenny Ball and His Jazzmen was still #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
1962:  For the fifth week in a row, "Duke Of Earl" by Gene Chandler was #1 on the R&B chart.







1962:  A new group appeared on the chart with a sound that was unlike anything we'd heard.  They would go on to become one of The Top 20 Artists of the Rock Era*.  The Beach Boys debuted on the chart with their first single release--"Surfin'".
1962:  Gene Chandler took over at #1 with "Duke Of Earl".








1964:  Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass made their live debut in Los Angeles.

 
1964:  Chad & Jeremy were guests on the television program The Patty Duke Show.  (Note:  some websites claim the appearance occurred on February 14, 1965.  The correct date is February 17, 1965, according to the book 'Beatleness:  How the Beatles and Their Fans Remade the World' by Candy Leonard.) 











1965:  The Kinks released the single "Tired Of Waiting For You".  (Note:  some websites erroneously place the date of release as either March 13 or August 11.  These are both physically impossible.  The song debuted on the Singles chart on March 13.  It is not possible for a song to appear in print on the Singles chart if it was released that day or not released as a single at all.)

1966:  The Beach Boys began recording "Good Vibrations".  Six months, four studios, seventeen sessions, and an estimated $50,000-$70,000 later, the group finished with the most expensive single song in the history of the Rock Era.
1966:  Nancy Sinatra topped the U.K. singles chart with "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'".








1967:  The Beatles began recording  "Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!" with seven takes at Abbey Road Studios in London.  John Lennon got the words from an antique poster of a circus performance that took place in February of 1843 in Rochdale, Lancashire.  John had purchased the poster in Sevenoaks on January 31 while the Beatles were filming the "Strawberry Fields Forever" promotional film.







1968:  Big Brother and the Holding Company signed a recording contract with the new CBS label Columbia Records.
1968:  Diana Ross & the Supremes' compilation Greatest Hits was #1 on the U.K. Album chart.
1968:  "Love Is Blue" from Paul Mauriat was the #1 Adult song for the fifth consecutive week.







            Boyce and Hart had a lot of requests for this one...

1968:  Paul Mauriat continued to have a firm hold on #1 with "Love Is Blue".  The Lemon Pipers were still at #2 with "Green Tambourine" while the Classics IV were right behind with "Spooky".  The Temptations placed fourth with "I Wish It Would Rain".  The rest of the Top 10:  Dionne Warwick jumped up 10 with "(Theme From) 'Valley Of The Dolls'", the late Otis Redding vaulted from 28 to 6 with "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", the Lettermen's medley of "Goin' Out Of My Head/Can't Take My Eyes Off You", the Human Beinz remained in the #8 spot with "Nobody But Me", John Fred & His Playboy Band dropped with their former #1--"Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" and Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart reached the Top 10 with "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight".
1970:  Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees opened in the stage musical Sing a Rude Song at the Greenwich Theatre in London.
1971:  James Taylor made his prime-time television debut on The Johnny Cash Show on ABC, performing "Fire And Rain" and "Carolina In My Mind".  Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Tony Joe White ("Polk Salad Annie") were the other guests.
1972:  Pink Floyd wrapped up a tour of the U.K. with the first of four shows at the Rainbow Theatre in London.

1973:  Anne Murray moved to #1 on the Adult chart with "Danny's Song".
1973:  War ruled the Album chart with The World is a Ghetto, knocking Carly Simon's No Secrets from the top.  The great Stevie Wonder album Talking Book was third.  
1973:  Gladys Knight & the Pips took over at #1 on the R&B chart with "Neither One Of Us (Wants To Be The First to Say Goodbye)", toppling "Love Train" by the O'Jays.  Both songs are ranked in The Top 30 R&B Songs of the 1970's*.
1973:  The Stylistics' new song "Break Up To Make Up" was a hot song, moving from 88 to 53.      






 
               Steely Dan--not bad for a first single, huh?

1973:  Elton John's first career #1 was a big one--"Crocodile Rock" remained there for a third week.  Carly Simon's former #1 "You're So Vain" proved durable with its fourth week at #2 since it left the top spot.  Hurricane Smith snuck in with "Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?", Eric Weissberg & Steve Mandell jumped into the Top 10 with "Dueling Banjos" and Roberta Flack moved from 15 to 5 with "Killing Me Softly With His Song".  The rest of a solid Top 10:  Impressive Steely Dan with "Do It Again", the Spinners had song #7 with "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love", Lobo edged up with "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend", Timmy Thomas's #3 song "Why Can't We Live Together" was on its way down and John Denver had another Top 10 with "Rocky Mountain High"..
1975:  John Lennon released the album Rock n' Roll in the United States on Apple Records, his last LP before leaving the music business for five years.

1975:  AC/DC released their debut album, High Voltage.
1976:  The Eagles released their Greatest Hits album, that closed out the millennium as the best-selling album of all-time in the United States.  It was passed in 2009 by Michael Jackson's Thriller, but just barely--both albums have been certified by the RIAA has having sold over 29 million albums.
1976:  Bette Midler was named the "Woman of the Year" by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society.
1979:  The Clash began its first tour of the United States at the Palladium in New York City.1979:  Another exciting new wave group appeared on the scene as Blondie first hit the charts with their debut single--"Heart Of Glass".
1979:  The U.K. was ahead on this group as Blondie already was #1 on the Album chart with Parallel Lines.

1979:  The Bee Gees landed at #4 on the Album chart with Spirits Having Flown in its first week.  The first album from Dire Straits moved from 15-7, while Totally Hot by Olivia Newton-John moved from 12-8 and the self-titled debut from Toto entered the Top 10.
1980:  Kenny Rogers owned the #1 U.K. song--"Coward Of The County".
1989:  David Coverdale, formerly with Deep Purple and later with Whitesnake, married Tawny Kitaen.

1990:  Aerosmith appeared on Saturday Night Live on NBC-TV.
1990:  Quincy Jones, Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, Barry White and El DeBarge combined for the new #1 R&B song--"The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)".
1990:  Linda Ronstadt & Aaron Neville followed up their smash hit "Don't Know Much" with another #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart--"All My Life".






1990:  Few albums in the Rock Era were still at #1 at this point in their lifespan but on this date, Forever Your Girl was still #1 for Paula Abdul.















1992:  Mariah Carey released the great single "Make It Happen".  (Note some websites naively report that the single was released on April 4.  "Make It Happen" debuted on the Singles chart on February 22, 1992.  It is physically impossible for a song to debut on the Singles chart if it has not been released as a single yet.)
1996:  A Platinum American Express card that once belonged to Bruce Springsteen sold for $4,500 at a memorabilia sale in New York City.  Springsteen had given the expired card to a waiter by mistake and let him keep it.






     
                      LaBouche exploded for a huge hit...

1996:  Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men were in the stratosphere with a 13th week at #1 with "One Sweet Day".  That tied them with "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men and just two songs--"I'll Make Love To You" by Boyz II Men and "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, with 14 weeks apiece, had ever spent more time at #1.  "Missing" by Everything But the Girl would likely have been a #1 song in nearly any other time period but had to settle for #2.  Whitney Houston was third with "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", Mary J. Blige moved up to fourth with "Not Gon' Cry" and the Tony Rich Project placed "Nobody Knows" at #5.  The rest of the Top 10:  Brandy's "Sittin' Up In My Room", LL Cool J fell with "Hey Lover", La Bouche had the dance floors cooking with "Be My Lover", Joan Osbourne was on her way down with "One Of Us" and the Goo Goo Dolls wrapped up the list with "Name".
1997:  Michael Nesmith, guitarist for the Monkees, directed the documentary television special Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees, in which all four members performed, which was broadcast by ABC-TV on this date.
1998:  Bob Merrill, who wrote "People" for Barbra Streisand,  "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania", "How Much is That Doggy In The Window?" and many hits, including co-writing 'Hello Dolly!", committed suicide in Culver City, California at age 76.  (Note:  many websites report his birth year as 1920, or that he died at age 74 (which would have made his birth year 1923), but Merrill's official website reports that he was born in 1921.)  

1998:  Destiny's Child released their self-titled debut album.

2000:  The Steinway piano that John Lennon used to write "Imagine" went on display at the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, England.

2001:  The Manic Street Preachers became the first Western band to play in Cuba as they were in concert at Karl Marx Stadium in Havana.

2002:  Westlife reached #1 in the U.K. with "World Of Our Own", their 10th #1 on that chart.

2002:  Ja Rule and Ashanti had the #1 song in the United States with "Always On Time".

2004:  Krist Novoselic, former bassist of Nirvana, dropped out of the race for lieutenant governor of Washington.

2004:  Don Henley said what we all feel in an editorial published in The Washington Post.  "When I started in the music business," Henley wrote, "music was important and vital to our culture.  Record labels signed cutting-edge artists and there was an incredible variety of music.  Music touched fans in a unique and personal way.  Our culture was enriched and the music business was healthy and strong.  That's all changed."  So true, Don.

2006:  The Rolling Stones were named the top money-makers for 2005, grossing $168 million in record and ticket sales.
2006:  Bill Cowsill of the Cowsills ("Hair" from 1969) died of emphysema in Calgary, Alberta, Canada at the age of 58.  (Note:  some websites report that Bill died on February 18, but 'Rolling Stone' states that he died on February 17.)
2010:  Susan Jacks of the Poppy Family ("Where Evil Grows" from 1971) received a kidney transplant from her brother, Billy.
2014:  Bob Casale, guitarist, keyboardist, and singer with Devo, and later a sound engineer, died of heart failure in Los Angeles at the age of 61.

Born This Day:
1905:  Orville "Hoppy" Jones, bassist, cello player and singer with the Ink Spots, was born in Chicago, Illinois; died October 18, 1944 in New York City.  (Note:  several websites report that Jones was born in 1902, but according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was born in 1905.)
1922:  Tommy Edwards, who had one of the great songs of the early Rock Era ("It's All In The Game" from 1958), was born in Richmond, Virginia; died October 22, 1969 after suffering a brain aneurysm in Henrico County, Virginia.

1940:  Gene Pitney, one of the great stars of the early Rock Era, who also wrote "Hello, Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson, "He's A Rebel" for the Crystals, and "Rubber Ball" for the Cyrkle, was born in Hartford, Connecticut; was found dead at age 65 in his bed in a hotel in Cardiff, Wales  April 5, 2006 while on a tour of the U.K.  (Note some sources claim Pitney was born in Rockville, Connecticut.  According to the newspaper 'The Los Angeles Times', he was born in Hartford and later lived in Rockville.)     
1946:  Dodie Stevens (real name Geraldine Ann Pasquale), who had the hit "Pink Shoe Laces" in 1959 when she was 13 years old, was born in Chicago, Illinois. 
1950:  Rickey Medlocke, singer and guitarist of Blackfoot ("Train, Train") and later a guitarist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, was born in Jacksonville, Florida.
1970: Tim Mahoney, lead guitarist of 311, was born in Omaha, Nebraska. 

1972:  Billie Joe Armstrong, songwriter,  lead guitarist and lead vocalist with Green Day, was born in Oakland, California.  (Note:  some websites claim Armstrong was born in Rodeo; he was born in Oakland and raised in Rodeo, according to the band's official website.)
1972:  Taylor Hawkins, drummer who worked with Alanis Morrisette and the Foo Fighters, was born in Fort Worth, Texas.

Tomorrow: The Woman Who Was Named Female Entertainer of the 20th Century

Another legend graces our special next.  We'll hear her story and her amazing music tomorrow, on Inside The Rock Era!

Rihanna, The #13 Female Artist of the Rock Era*

Robyn Fenty was born in Saint Michael, Barbados.  She grew up in Bridgetown and began singing at age seven.  She formed a musical trio at Combermere High School and was an army cadet in a sub-military program.  Fenty dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music.

Fenty met producer Evan Rogers in 2003 and went with Rogers to New York City to record demo tapes.  She signed a contract with the production company Syndicated Rhythm Productions, headed by Rogers and Carl Sturken.  Robyn then signed a six-album recording contract with Def Jam Recordings and moved to New York to live with Rogers and his wife.   

Robyn changed her stage name to Rihanna and began working on her debut album.  She released the single "Pon de Replay" a month in advance.  It peaked in the Top 5 of 15 countries, including #1 in New Zealand, #2 in the United States and the U.K., #3 in Canada and Switzerland, #5 in Belgium and #6 in Germany and Australia.  Rihanna won an ASCAP Pop Music Award and a BMI Pop Award for the song.

Rihanna released the album Music of the Sun, which went to #10 on the Album chart and has now sold 500,000 copies in the U.S. and two million worldwide.  A follow-up single, "If It's Lovin' That You Want", was not near as successful, but did reach the top 10 in a few countries.

In 2006, Rihanna released the album A Girl Like Me.  The lead single, "SOS", topped charts in the U.S., Canada and Australia, was #2 in the U.K., Germany and Belgium, and was #3 in New Zealand, Ireland and Switzerland.  "SOS" won Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards, and Rihanna was nominated for Female Artist of the Year, Best New Artist, and Viewer's Choice.  The song also enabled Rihanna to win another BMI Pop Award.

Next up, the single "Unfaithful", a song that hit a chord in Canada and Switzerland--both countries took it to #1.  It also reached #2 in the U.K., Germany, Australia and Ireland, #4 in New Zealand, #6 in the U.S. and #7 in France.  Rihanna picked up another ASCAP Music Award and a BMI Pop Award.

The next two singles failed to generate significant attention.  By this time, however, the first two had given Rihanna her first Platinum album, and worldwide sales of over three million.  Rihanna headlined a tour for the first time, and then joined the Pussycat Dolls on their world tour.  

Rihanna won three Billboard Music Awards for her breakthrough album:  Female Artist of the Year, Pop 100 Artist of the Year and Female Hot 100 Artist of the Year.  She won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist.

Rihanna included more up-tempo dance numbers on her third album Good Girl Gone Bad in 2007.  She took vocal lessons from Ne-Yo in the studio, as she talked about:  "I've never had vocal training, so when I'm in the studio, he'll tell me how to breathe and stuff... He'll call out these big fancy words: 'OK, I want you to do staccato.'  And I'm like, 'OK, I don't know what that is."  "Umbrella" went to #1 in every major country in the world except France, where it was #6. 

Rihanna won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration and was nominated for Record of the Year.  The video captured Monster Single of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Rihanna set out on another tour, performing in North America and Europe.  She released the single "Shut Up And Drive", a #4 hit in Australia, #5 in the U.K. and Ireland, #6 in Germany and Canada, but only #15 in the United States.  It did give Rihanna a People's Choice Award for Favorite R&B Song, and she was nominated for Favorite Female Singer.

The relative newcomer was quickly becoming a star.  She won American Music Awards for both Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist.  Her next single, "I Hate That I Love You", reached #7 in the United States, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Rihanna was able to land a third big hit on an album for the first time when "Don't Stop The Music" went to #1 in Germany, Australia, Switzerland and France, and was #2 in Canada, #3 in the United States and New Zealand, #4 in the U.K. and #6 in Ireland.  The song was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the Grammys.

Another collaboration (this time with Maroon 5 on "If I Never See Your Face Again") earned Rihanna a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and the video for Good Girl Gone Bad Live was nominated for Best Long Form Music Video. 

Rihanna re-issued the album with remixes and pulled two more big hits from it.  "Take A Bow"  rose to #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Ireland, and peaked at #2 in New Zealand, #6 in Germany and #7 in Switzerland.  The song was nominated for Favorite R&B Song at the People's Choice Awards, and the video earned Rihanna an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video.   

Rihanna won ASCAP Pop Music Awards for "Unfaithful", "Umbrella" and "Hate That I Love You", "Don't Stop The Music", and "Take A Bow", and she picked up BMI Pop Awards for "Break It Off" (with Sean Paul), "Don't Stop The Music" and "Hate That I Love You".  "Disturbia" reached #1 in the U.S. and New Zealand, #2 in Canada, #3 in the U.K. and France, #4 in Switzerland and Ireland, #5 in Germany and #6 in Australia. 

Rihanna was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, and she won an ASCAP Pop Music Award and a BMI Pop Award.  "Disturbia" was nominated for Favorite Pop Song at the People's Choice Awards.

"Rehab", on the other hand, wasn't near as successful.  In 2008, Rihanna joined several other female singers for the charity single "Just Stand Up!", the theme song to the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer.  She then combined with T.I. for the song "Live Your Life", which was a #1 hit in the United States, #2 in the U.K. and New Zealand, #3 in Australia and Ireland, #4 in Canada and #8 in Switzerland.  

Rihanna won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Pop Artist, and she and T.I. were nominated for Favorite Music Collaboration.  Rihanna won her eighth ASCAP Pop Music Award and her eighth BMI Pop Award for the song. 

In 2009, Rihanna worked with Jay-Z and Kanye West on the song "Run This Town", #1 in the U.K., #2 in the United States and #3 in Ireland.  It won Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and won a People's Choice Award for Favorite Music Collaboration.

Rihanna has constantly reinvented herself, especially after her album Good Girl Gone Bad.  She released the album Rated R in 2009.  "Russian Roulette" was the first single, #1 in Switzerland, #2 in the U.K. and Germany, #5 in Ireland, #7 in Australia, and #9 in the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

Rihanna won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, and the follow-up single, "Hard", with Young Jeezy, reached #8 in the U.S. and #9 in Canada.

"Wait Your Turn" and "Redemption Song" were released in select countries but did not catch on.  Rihanna chose "Rude Boy" (with T.I.) as the next single, and it was a worldwide success, ruling the U.S. chart for six weeks, and peaking at #1 in Australia, #2 in The U.K., #3 in New Zealand and Ireland, #4 in Germany, #5 in Switzerland, #7 in Canada and #8 in France.  It gave Rihanna an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year and another ASCAP Pop Music Award.

The next single, "Rockstar 101" was a flop, and "Te Amo" received airplay in some countries but wasn't a universal hit.  Rihanna released another remixed album, and went on her second worldwide tour. 

In 2010, Rihanna joined Eminem for the song "Love The Way You Lie", a #1 song in every major country, except #2 in the U.K. and #3 in France.  The pair was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video at the Grammy Awards.  Rihanna and Eminem received Favorite Song at the People's Choice Awards, and Rihanna was nominated for Favorite Pop Artist.  

In five years, Rihanna had accumulated seven #1 songs, fifth-most among female artists all-time.   In October, Rihanna switched managers, joining Jay-Z's stable.  The next month, Rihanna released the album Loud.  The first single, "Only Girl (In The World)", was #2 in Germany, Switzerland and France, but it was #1 in fifteen countries, including every other major country in the world. 

Rihanna won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for "Only Girl (In The World)", and she was nominated for Album of the Year for both her work on Recovery and Loud, and Loud was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album.

The second single, "What's My Name?", with Drake, made Rihanna the first female solo artist to achieve five number one songs in the U.K. in consecutive years.  It actually hit #1 before "Only Girl...", becoming the first time that a lead single reached #1 after a second single.  "What's My Name?" also peaked at #3 in New Zealand and Ireland and #5 in Canada, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (an award she won with Kanye West on "All Of The Lights").

Loud was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys.  "S &M" also attained #1 after a remix, which moved Rihanna up the ladder to #4 all-time, tied with Janet Jackson.  The new star set a Rock Era record for the least time to accumulate ten #1 songs among solo artists. 

It should be noted that the competition level from the late 1990's through 2010 was not near what it was in the 1960's and 70's, and even the 1980's, diminishing Rihanna's achievement of #1 songs somewhat.  The competition factor is a key element in the mathematical formula that produces not only The Top 5000 Songs of the Rock Era*, but the formula for this music special as well.  To be clear, though, she has dominated her era.  And, that weaker competition is all factored in, with Rihanna still ranking #13 among females all-time*.

Rihanna won an American Music Award for Loud as "Favorite Soul/R&B Album, and she was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist. 

She was nominated for an incredible 18 Billboard Music Awards, winning three--Top Female Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist and Top Rap Song ("Love The Way You Lie").  She was nominated for Top Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Hot 100 Song, Top Digital Song, Top Radio Song, Top Streaming Song (Audio), Top Streaming Song (Video)  (all for "Love The Way You Lie"), Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Album, Top R&B Song ("What's My Name?"), "Top Dance Artist, Top Social Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Streaming Artist and Top Digital Media Artist.

 

"Man Down" and "California King Bed" were also released with decreased success.  "Cheers (Drink To That)" reached #5 in New Zealand, #6 in Australia and #7 in the U.S.

Rihanna went on another world tour, which included ten sold-out concerts in London.  It was the seventh-highest grossing tour of the year.  The last three shows in London town were filmed and released as the video album Loud Tour Live at the O2 in 2012.

Rihanna collaborated with many artists, including David Guetta and Nicki Minaj.  Rihanna released her album Talk That Talk in 2011.  It reached #3, and yielded the single "We Found Love", a #1 song in twenty-seven countries, including a ten-week stay at #1 in the United States.  It is one of the newest members of The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era*.  Rihanna won a Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video, and she was nominated for Best Female Video and Best Pop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Rihanna won ASCAP Pop Music Awards for "Only Girl (In The World)", "What's My Name?", "S&M" and "We Found Love", and BMI Pop Awards for "Love the Way You Lie", "What's My Name?", "S&M', "Rude Boy" and "Only Girl (In The World)".

Rihanna captured an MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year for "We Found Love".  The next three singles, "You Da' (sic) One" and "Talk That Talk" and "Birthday Cake" were only mid-charters, unusual following a hit as big as "We Found Love".  Rihanna rebounded with the single "Where Have You Been", a #2 hit in France, #4 in New Zealand, #5 in the U.S., #6 in the U.K. and Australia and #8 in Ireland.  Rihanna was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance, and the video was nominated for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. 

Rihanna won American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and an Icon Award, and she was nominated for Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist.  She collaborated with Coldplay on the song "Princess Of China" and with Drake on "Take Care"--#6 in New Zealand, #7 in the United States, and #9 in the U.K. and Australia.

Rihanna was nominated for 13 Billboard Music Awards, but was only able to capture one trophy for Top Streaming Artist.  She was nominated for Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Pop Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Radio Song ("We Found Love"), Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Album, Top Dance Artist, Top Social Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist and Top Digital Media Artist.  She also received Favorite R&B Artist honors from the People's Choice Awards in both 2012 and 2013.

In 2012, Rihanna starred in the movie Battleship.  The following year, she released her seventh studio album, Unapologetic.  "Diamonds" was another worldwide smash, topping charts in twenty countries, including the United States, the U.K. Germany, Canada, Switzerland and France.

"Diamonds" was Rihanna's twelfth number one, tying her with Madonna and the Supremes with the fourth most number one songs in the Rock Era.  The album became the first #1 of her career.    "Stay" with Mikky Ekko hit #1 in Canada, and was #2 in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and France, #3 in the United States, and #4 in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. 

Rihanna and Ekko were nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammy Awards, and Unapologetic won the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album.  "Stay" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video.

The superstar captured another American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, and she was once again nominated for Artist of the Year, Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album.  Rihanna released "Pour It Up", "Right Now" and "What Now", but all failed to attract widespread airplay. 

Rihanna accumulated four more Billboard Music Awards, winning for Top R&B Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top R&B Album and Top R&B Song--"Diamonds".  She was nominated for Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Dance Song ("Where Have You Been"), Top Social Artist and Top Streaming Artist.

The songs "Diamonds", "Take Care" and "Where Have You Been" gave her a career total of 17 ASCAP Pop Music Awards.  She began her fifth major tour in March.  In the summer, Rihanna starred in the movie This Is the End.  

Rihanna then joined Eminem for the song "The Monster", a #1 song in every major country in the world except Germany, where it was #3.  When it reached #1 in the U.K., Rihanna became only the third artists in the history of that country to score a #1 song in seven consecutive years.  It also enabled Rihanna to tie Michael Jackson with 13 career #1's, third-most of the Rock Era.

Rihanna broke a Rock Era record with "The Monster" by becoming the fastest solo artist to achieve 13 #1 songs, surpassing the record previously held by Mariah Carey. 

Rock's #13 Female Artist has won seven Grammy Awards (out of 23 nominations), eight American Music Awards out of 16 nominations, 22 Billboard Music Awards from 33 nominations, four MTV Video Music Awards, and seven People's Choice Awards.  She has sold 10 million albums, extremely low for this range, but she gets here on the strength of her chart success and her plethora of awards.  As mentioned above, she has 13 career #1 songs, while 25 of her 49 hits have gone Top 10.