This Day in Top 40 History: March 6

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1982: All-girl group The Go-Go's reached No.1 on the Billboard 200 with their album Beauty and the Beat. This was the first time an all-girl band had reached No.1 with an album.
• 1995: Annie Lennox launched her sophomore album, Medusa. It stalled at No. 11 in the U.S., but reached No. 1 in the U.K. Additionally, the set spawned a few Top 40 hits in both regions, including “No More 'I Love You's."
• 2012: Bruce Springsteen released his 17th studio album, Wrecking Ball. It hit No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Rock Albums chart. Successful singles from the set included “We Take Care of Our Own” and “Jack of all Trades,” which featured guest vocals from Tom Morello.
• 2014: Pop star and American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert announced his tour with rock band Queen. Lambert turned from pop to rock as frontman for this milestone tour.
• 2015: Pop queen Madonna released her 13th studio album Rebel Heart. The album got mixed reviews, with Rolling Stone giving it a 3.5 rating.

Cultural Milestones

• 1991: Tyler, the Creator was born in Hawthorne, California. He rose to fame as the co-founder of Odd Future. Even so, he found more success as a solo artist, placing over 10 Top 40 hits on the Hot 100, including “Noid” and “Rah Tah Tah.” Tyler's thriving music career has seen him achieve more feats, such as collaborating with prominent figures like Jay-Z and Erykah Badu and bagging three GRAMMYs.
• 2006: Pearl Jam made “World Wide Suicide” available for free digital download on their website, a strategy meant to promote the single, whose official release date was March 14. Although this song didn't crack the Top 40 on the Hot 100, it performed quite well on other Billboard charts. These include the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, where it peaked at No. 2.
• 2016: Diplo and Major Lazer performed a free gig in Havana, Cuba, to 400,000 people in Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Plaza. This was the first time a major U.S. musical act had played in Cuba since the normalization of the two countries' diplomatic relations.
• 2021: Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette tape, died on this day. Ottens' invention changed how we listened to music, with cassette tapes replacing large reel-to-reel tapes and vinyl records.
• 2024: Kylie Minogue won the Billboard Women in Music Icon Award at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, California. Katy Perry presented at the awards in a head-turning red dress, Karol G was voted Woman of the Year, and Victoria Monet received the Rising Star Award.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1958: The Everly Brothers recorded their famous song "All I Have To Do Is Dream."
• 2017: Travis Scott announced his Bird's Eye View tour dates. The tour started on March 10 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and ended on July 9 in Turku, Finland.
• 2017: “we can't be friends (wait for your love)” hitmaker Ariana Grande lit up the stage at Centre Bell in Montreal, Canada, while on the Dangerous Woman tour. According to sources, this trek brought in an estimated $71 million and saw Grande play over 70 concerts across five continents. 
• 2024: Zara Larsson performed at Forum Karlin in Prague, Czech Republic. She was on the European leg of her Venus tour, which supported her LP of the same name. For this show, the setlist featured tracks from the album and some of her biggest hits, including “Never Forget You.” 

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1994: Frank Sinatra collapsed while performing at a concert in Richmond, Virginia. He was singing "My Way" when it happened. After doctors at a local hospital performed tests, Sinatra was released and flew home to Palm Springs, California, on his private plane.
• 2000: Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, this time as a solo artist. The “I Shot the Sheriff” hitmaker is the only singer who has received this honor three times. His first induction came in 1992, as a member of The Yardbirds, and the second one arrived in 1993, recognizing his contributions to the music community as part of Cream.
• 2004: David Crosby, best known as a member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, was arrested in New York City on charges of marijuana and gun possession. After more than 10 hours in custody, the If I Could Only Remember My Name… artist was released on bail. This wasn't the first time Crosby spent time behind bars, though. In 1985, another drug possession charge saw him serve a one-year prison sentence.
• 2004: Peggy DeCastro died of lung cancer at 82. She was part of The DeCastro Sisters, whose biggest hit was “Teach Me Tonight,” which peaked at No. 2 in the U.S. The group released other successful singles, including “Boom Boom Boomerang,” that landed in the Top 20 in the same region. 
• 2011: Heartthrob David Cassidy got fired from the reality TV show The Celebrity Apprentice. Cassidy was the first celebrity to be fired from this show by Donald Trump.
• 2020: The music festival South by Southwest was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. After this, many major music festivals were canceled, and the way people enjoyed music had to change for a while, with only radio or streaming services publicly available.