This Day in Top 40 History: March 18

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1979: Adam Levine, frontman for the Grammy-winning band Maroon 5, was born in Los Angeles, California. The musician also serves as a coach on the popular musical TV show, The Voice, bringing himself and the band newfound fame.
• 1997: Aerosmith dropped their 12th studio album, Nine Lives. Apart from debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, it delivered some Top 40 singles. "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees),” for instance, reached No. 35 on Billboard's Hot 100. The project's “Pink” climbed to No. 27 on the same chart and even earned the band a GRAMMY in 1999. 
• 2016: Iggy Pop issued his seventeenth studio LP, Post Pop Depression, featuring “Gardenia” and “Paraguay.” While the album stalled at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, it soared to No. 5 on the U.K. Official Albums chart.
• 2016: After her split with Gavin Rossdale of the band Bush, pop star Gwen Stefani released her first solo album in a decade, This Is What the Truth Feels Like. Stefani has since married country superstar Blake Shelton.
• 2023: Morgan Wallen landed 36 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record for the most simultaneously charted songs held by Taylor Swift with 27. All tracks came from his One Thing at a Time album.
• 2023: Adele performed at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, as part of her Weekends With Adele residency.

Cultural Milestones 

• 1963: Vanessa Williams was born in The Bronx, New York. She was the first African American woman to be crowned Miss America. In addition, she's a talented musician who has scored a number of Top 30 hits in the U.S., including “Running Back to You” and “Save the Best for Last,” which hit No. 1. 
• 1986: Lykke Li was born to Kärsti Stiege and Johan Zachrisson in Ystad, Sweden. Her collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Late Night Feelings,” cracked the Top 40 in the U.K. Li has scored a couple of Top 40 albums in the region as well, such as Wounded Rhymes and I Never Learn. 

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 2002: After a long rift that lasted a little over two decades, Talking Heads teamed up to perform “Psycho Killer,” “Burning Down the House,” and “Life During Wartime,” at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. This was during their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 
• 2008: “Walk on the Wild Side” singer Lou Reed opened the Speak Up! Concert, which was held at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn to promote peace and justice. This event, which also marked the 5th anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, featured other artists and activists, including Moby and Damien Rice. 
• 2013: Ed Sheeran performed at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri. 
• 2019: Nicki Minaj performed at the Manchester Arena in the U.K. alongside stars such as Juice WRLD, Lady Leshurr, and Ms Banks. To the audience's surprise, Minaj picked a fan from the audience to experience the wild excitement of an onstage performance.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1982: Teddy Pendergrass got into an accident while driving his Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit in Philadelphia. This tragic incident left the “The More I Get, The More I Want” artist paralyzed from the waist down, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Despite contemplating suicide, he worked on multiple records in the years that followed. These included his 2004 compilation album Satisfaction Guaranteed - The Very Best, which reached No. 26 in the U.K. 
• 1994: Hole lead singer Courtney Love told Seattle police that her husband, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, was suicidal, and he had locked himself in a room with a gun. When the authorities arrived, they found boxes of ammunition and four guns at the property, but the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” singer said that he only wanted to avoid Love. Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 5 of the same year. 
• 2017: Chuck Berry died at 90. He was found unresponsive in his home in St. Charles County, Missouri. Berry had undoubtedly left his mark on the music world, placing Top 10 hits such as “My Ding-A-Ling” and “Run Rudolph Run” on the Hot 100 and influencing many renowned artists. That list includes The Beatles, Lorde, The Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen. 
• 2017: Superstar Katy Perry received the National Equality Award at the Human Rights Campaign Gala for supporting LGBTQ rights. She concluded her speech by saying, "I'll never cease to be a champion, an ally, a spotlight, and a loving voice for all LGBTQ-identifying people."
• 2020: Organizers announced the cancellation of the Glastonbury Festival due to COVID-19 restrictions. Artists due to feature at the event included Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Paul McCartney.
• 2024: Pop star Nicki Minaj apologized for canceling her show due to an unexpected illness. She was too sick to perform, and her doctors ordered her not to perform.