This Day in Top 40 History: May 6

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1996: The Cure dropped their 10th studio LP, Wild Mood Swings, featuring “Mint Car” and “Want.” The album broke into the Top 10 on the U.K. Official Albums chart, peaking at No. 9. Additionally, it reached No. 12 in the U.S. 
• 1996: Everything But The Girl released their ninth studio record, Walking Wounded. This album soared to No. 4 in the U.K. In the U.S., however, it stalled at No. 37. It's also worth mentioning that Walking Wounded delivered four U.K. Top 40 singles, including “Wrong,” “Before Today,” and the title track. 
• 2008: Diva Cher started her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Her contract was for three years and included over 200 90-minute shows with dazzling performances, costume changes, and awesome lighting effects.
• 2022: Bad Bunny's album Un Verano Sin Ti was released on May 6. It was the second all-Spanish album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart; the first was the rapper's El Último Tour del Mundo album, which topped the chart in 2020.
• 2024: Demi Lovato attended the Costume Institute Benefit, known as the Met Gala, hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Prior to the event, Lovato had suffered a series of strokes and a heart attack after a drug overdose, and since then, she has been an advocate for mental health and drug addiction.

Cultural Milestones

• 1945: Bob Seger was born in Detroit, Michigan. With over 70 million records sold worldwide, he has inspired countless artists. Seger has also placed 12 Top 10 hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, including “Tryin' To Live My Life Without You” and “Like a Rock.”
• 2005: In Augusta, Georgia, a full-size 600-pound bronze statue of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, was unveiled at James Brown Plaza on Broad Street. Bob Young, the city's then-mayor, dedicated the sculpture to the “Papa Don't Take No Mess” singer, recognizing his huge impact on the music scene. 
• 2007: Josh Hartzler and Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, got married in Little Rock, Arkansas. The former inspired the band's “Bring Me To Life,” from their Top Five album Fallen. As of this writing, Hartzler and Lee share one son, Jack Lion Hartzler, who was born in 2014. 

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1966: Bob Dylan's World Tour, which saw him shift to electric rock, stopped at the ABC Theatre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The setlist for this concert was split into acoustic and electric sections. It featured 14 songs, including Top 40 singles “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Just Like a Woman.” 
• 2005: Audioslave played a free open-air gig in Havana, Cuba, making them the first American rock act to achieve such a feat. An estimated 70,000 fans showed up to listen to them perform hits such as “Like a Stone” and “Show Me How To Live.” The band also sang their renditions of Soundgarden's “Spoonman” and “Black Hole Sun.” 
• 2018: Singer Vance Joy performed at the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta, Georgia, an annual music festival featuring an eclectic lineup of pop, indie, and alternative artists. Joy is known for hit songs such as "Riptide" and "Wasted Time."
• 2019: Ariana Grande made a stop at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, for her Sweetener World Tour. She opened the show with "breakup with your girlfriend, i'm bored" and closed with "thank u, next."
• 2023: Taylor Swift surprised fans at her Eras Tour concert at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, when she performed old hits such as her 1989 song "Out of the Woods" and "Fifteen" from 2008.
• 2024: Justin Timberlake performed at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, as part of his The Forget Tomorrow World Tour. He sang fan favorites such as "Sanctified" and "Infinity Sex."

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1965: The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards came up with the iconic guitar riff for the band's first No. 1 hit, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.” This was during his stay at a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida. Earlier that day, Mick Jagger had written the track's lyrics in 10 short minutes while relaxing by the pool in the same city. 
• 1994: Pearl Jam filed an antitrust complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging that Ticketmaster's monopolistic practices prevented them from charging a total ticket price of $20, including at least $18.50 per pass and $1.80 in service fees.  According to sources, the “Who You Are” hitmakers believed these costs unfairly exploited their fans, which led to the cancellation of their summer tour.
• 2002: Otis Blackwell died in Nashville, Tennessee. Blackwell didn't score any Top 40 singles as a performer. However, the New York native earned acclaim as a songwriter who wrote multiple successful hits, including Elvis Presley's chart-topping “Don't Be Cruel.”
• 2013: Pop/R&B/Country star Lauryn Hill was sentenced to three months in prison for tax evasion. She didn't pay taxes on earnings from 2005 through 2007 because of stated financial difficulties.
• 2014: Pop star Sia released her music video "Chandelier," but she wasn't in it. The video featured an outstanding dance performance from 11-year-old Maddie Ziegler from Lifetime's Dance Moms, wearing a blond wig to resemble the press-shy Sia.