This Day in Top 40 History: March 5

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1959: Crooner Bobby Darin recorded his iconic hit song "Dream Lover." A talented performer, singer, and dancer, Darin gained widespread fame as a major pop star.
• 1991: Amy Grant put out her ninth studio album, Heart in Motion. This Top 20 album delivered her biggest hit, “Baby Baby,” which reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100. More Top 10 tracks from the set were “Every Heartbeat,” “That's What Love Is For,” and “Good for Me.”
• 2007: Arcade Fire launched Neon Bible, their sophomore album, in Europe. The project was a commercial success, reaching the Top Five on multiple charts, including the Billboard 200, where it reached No. 2. The album's “Keep the Car Running” cracked the Top 40 on the Alternative Airplay chart. 
• 2012: Lionel Ritchie released his 10th studio album, titled Tuskegee. Hit songs from this collection included "Say You, Say Me" and "Endless Love."
• 2021: Kings of Leon released their highly anticipated eighth studio LP, When You See Yourself. Debuting and peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, it became their lowest-charting record in the U.S. since 2007. Hits from this album included “100,000 People” and “The Bandit,” which landed at No. 5 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart.

Cultural Milestones

• 1962: Craig and Charlie Reid were born in Leith, Scotland. The twins would become The Proclaimers and release hits that have not only sold millions of copies worldwide but also cracked the Top 40 on multiple charts. These include “Letter From America” and “(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles,” which landed in the Top Five on the U.K. Singles chart.
• 1977: The song "Evergreen," the love theme from the movie A Star Is Born, sung by Barbara Streisand, hit No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks. In 2018, pop diva Lady Gaga revived Streisand's leading role in the movie remake, singing the songs with costar Bradley Cooper.
• 1981: E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, the legendary pop lyricist who wrote "Over the Rainbow" for the movie The Wizard of Oz, tragically died in a car crash on March 5. The song was originally sung by Judy Garland and later famously re-created by the Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole.
• 2002: The first episode of The Osbournes aired, marking the beginning of the four-season reality TV series that offered a peek into the lives of “Mama, I'm Coming Home” singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Blending drama, humor, and real-life issues, this show set the stage for reality TV series like Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
• 2009: Michael Jackson announced his upcoming This Is It series of shows to be held at London's O2 Arena. He also revealed that the concerts, which would start in July of the same year, would be his last performances in the city. Unfortunately, the “Thriller” hitmaker passed away in June, so the series was consequently cancelled. 
• 2016: To help raise funds for music scholarships, Pharrell Williams hosted a Masterclass at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch School of the Arts as an artist in residence.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1963: The Beatles recorded “From Me to You,” their third single. When they released it in the U.K. in April of the same year, it flew to the top of the Singles chart, making it their first No. 1 hit. 
• 1977: Kate Bush's single "Wuthering Heights" hit No. 1 on the U.K. charts, where it remained for four weeks. The 17-year-old songwriter was inspired to write this song after watching an adaptation of Emily Brontë's book of the same name.
• 1992: Soundgarden performed at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington. They were on their Badmotorfinger tour that supported their third studio album of the same name. This concert's setlist featured tracks such as “Rusty Cage,” “Outshined,” and “Searching With My Good Eye Closed.” 
• 2000: Madonna's version of Don McClean's 1971 song "American Pie" went to No.1 on the U.K. charts. This song was from the soundtrack to the movie The Next Best Thing.
• 2017: Superstar Adele performed at The Gabba, a renowned cricket ground in Brisbane, Australia, as part of her Adele Live 2017 tour.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1953: Long before he started dominating country song charts with hits such as “Daddy Sang Bass” and “Don't Take Your Guns to Town,” Johnny Cash intercepted a coded message that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin was dead. At the time, he was a member of the U.S. Air Force working as a Morse code operator. Since Cash shared the information with his superiors, he is credited with helping shape Cold War history. 
• 1963: Pasty Cline, whose “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces,” and “She's Got You” cracked the Top 20 on the Hot 100, died in a plane crash at 30. She was flying back to Nashville after performing at a benefit concert in Missouri. Others who lost their lives during the tragic incident were Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, and Randy Hughes, their pilot.
• 2013: Justin Bieber apologized to fans for a late start to his show the night before at O2 Arena in London, England. He blamed technical issues for his tardiness.
• 2019: Ariana Grande launched a new flavor of coffee, called the Cloud Macchiato, at select Starbucks coffee shops. Grande worked with Starbucks to develop the new beverage.
• 2020: Gibson Gives, a division of Gibson Guitars, pledged to give local musicians guitars after a tornado ravaged many of their homes in Nashville, Tennessee. These acts of charity and kindness show the bonding power of the music industry.