This Day in Rock History: May 5

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1956: Elvis Presley became the first artist to simultaneously top the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts. He reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his song "Heartbreak Hotel" and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his self-titled debut album.
• 1973: David Bowie got his first UK No. 1 album, when Aladdin Sane started its five-week run at the top of the charts. It followed his breakthrough album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and sold almost 5 million copies worldwide.
• 1984: "The Reflex" by Duran Duran climbed to the top of the U.K. singles chart, giving the group its second and final No. 1 hit song there. The song was also a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for two consecutive weeks.
• 1996: Rage Against the Machine got to the top of the US Billboard 200 albums chart with Evil Empire, which sold a quarter of a million copies in its first week of release. It also earned the band a GRAMMY for Best Metal Performance for the song "Tire Me."

Cultural Milestones

• 1948: Black Sabbath co-founder and original drummer, Bill Ward, was born in Aston, Birmingham, England. He started the band in the late 1960s alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne and left in 1983, but still played occasional shows with them until their farewell concert in 2025.
• 1959: Billy Idol's guitarist, Steve Stevens, was born in New York City. Aside from his longtime collaboration with Idol, he also played with artists like Michael Jackson, Robert Palmer, and Michael Monroe, and performed the lead guitar theme for the movie Top Gun.
• 1963: Dick Rowe, head of A&R at Decca Records, watched a Rolling Stones performance at the Crawdaddy Club in London, at George Harrison's recommendation. Impressed by what he heard and saw, he signed the band within a week, wary of missing out again after previously passing on The Beatles.
• 1986: Chairperson Ahmet Ertegun officially announced that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame would be built in Cleveland, Ohio. The city was chosen for its strong ties to rock 'n' roll, thanks to radio personalities such as Alan Freed, who popularized rock on the radio.
• 2008: Nine Inch Nails released their album The Slip for free digital download from their website. The album was written in a month and recorded in just three weeks, making it one of the band's quickest projects.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1967: The Kinks released their iconic song "Waterloo Sunset" as a single. Part of their Something Else by the Kinks album, it eventually peaked at No. 2 on the British charts.
• 1992: Radiohead released their debut EP, Drill, in the U.K. The EP featured the song "Prove Yourself," which earned the band airtime on BBC Radio 1 and put them in front of a national audience.
• 2009: At age 69, Tina Turner performed her final show at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England. This was the last show of her Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour that began in October 2008 and spanned 90 performances.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1968: After performing a farewell concert in Long Beach, California, Buffalo Springfield officially broke up. Members of the band went on to join or form other groups, including Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
• 1995: Former drummer for Guns N' Roses, Steven Adler, was arrested at his home in Calabasas, California. He was charged with possession of heroin, a felony, and faced charges for drug possession several times in the late '90s.