This Day in Top 40 History: February 5

Bad Bunny performs at the Coachella Stage during the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Feb. 5 was an interesting day across Top 40 history. At the 2006 Super Bowl halftime show, the Rolling Stones sang songs with controversial lyrics, and organizers of this event made lead singer Mick Jagger turn his microphone down during these sizzling lyrics.

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

On February 5, we heard some amazing hits with lasting musical influence.

1966: Petula Clark's "My Love" hits No. 1 on the U.S. This was her second No. 1 Billboard hit with her first being "Downtown" which lasted 15 weeks on the charts.
1983: Toto has their only #1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with "Africa." You can still hear this catchy song played on the radio.
1996: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds launched their 9th studio album, Murder Ballads, through Mute Records. It peaked at No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart. Additionally, the record featured “Where the Wild Roses Grow,” their duet with Kylie Minogue. The song peaked at No. 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
2007: MIKA released his debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion. It debuted at No. 1 in the UK and spent over 90 weeks on the Official Albums Chart. What's more, the set spawned multiple Top 40 singles, including “Relax, Take It Easy,” “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful),” and “Grace Kelly,” which dominated the UK Singles Chart for five weeks.
2011: Adele has an 11-week run on the UK charts with her second album, 21. This album reached the top charts in over 30 countries.

Cultural Milestones

Musicians and performers can have a huge impact on culture, and on Feb. 5, we had several cultural milestones.

1964: Duff McKagan was born in Seattle, Washington. With Guns N' Roses, he contributed to the making of Top 20 singles such as "Sweet Child o' Mine" and “November Rain.” He also worked with Velvet Revolver, which has placed four Top 10 hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart.
1967: The Beatles filmed themselves walking up and down Angel Lane in Stratford, London, to help promote their hit song, "Penny Lane." Many feel this was one of the first music videos.
1990: To enhance marketing efforts, Hasbro released a set of New Kids on the Block dolls. Each doll came with a personal interview cassette tape and clothes resembling what the band members wore.
2012: With 118 million views, the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show was the most-watched TV event in history. Performers at the show included Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and LMFAO.
2013: The Red Hot Chili Peppers took their I'm With You World Tour to South Africa, where they performed at the Cape Town Stadium. The setlist featured “Dani California,” “Scar Tissue,” “Snow (Hey Oh),” and other Top 40 hits. It's worth mentioning that this tour supported their album of the same name, which peaked at No. 2 in the U.S.

Notable Recordings and Performances

Songs, performances, and events to remember on February 5 include:

1962: We saw the Beatles' Ringo Starr perform live for the first time after the original drummer Pete Best's illness forced him to cancel.
1972: After the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel, Paul Simon released his solo single "Mother and Chile Reunion" which peaked at No. 4 in the U.S.
1993: Rod Stewart and former bandmate Ron Wood record "Have I Told Lately That I Love You" for the MTV Unplugged show.
1998: Stevie Wonder and Elton John performed during a state dinner held at the White House. President Bill Clinton hosted them to honor British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The duo sang hits from their discographies and wrapped things up with a duet on "Money (That's What I Want)." Originally recorded by Barrett Strong, the song had peaked at No. 23 on the Hot 100.
2017: Lady Gaga performs "God Bless America" at Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas.
2023: In Los Angeles, Bad Bunny kicked off the 65th Annual GRAMMY Awards ceremony with an electrifying performance of "El Apagón" and "Después de la Playa,” which reached No. 6 on the Hot 100. That same night, Harry Styles brought the crowd to their feet with an amazing rendition of his No. 1 hit, “As It Was.” The song had garnered four GRAMMY Award nominations at the event.

Industry Changes and Challenges

As the music industry evolves, we expect to see changes in consumption and distribution as well as stardom challenges.

2006: While Busta Rhymes was shooting the music video for the remix of his Top 20 single “Touch It,” in Brooklyn, New York, 29-year-old Israel Ramirez was shot dead. The police would later seek out Rhymes and other individuals who were on site during the tragedy, including Swizz Beatz. Thankfully, none of them was arrested in connection with the murder.
2007: Tech giant Apple Inc. has a lengthy battle with the record label Apple Corps conceived by the Beatles. Both corporations agreed to a licensing agreement.
2010: Wayne Newton, best known for his Las Vegas performances and lavish lifestyle, is accused of abandoning his airplane at an airport in Michigan. He claimed he never received the work needed on it and left it there.
2017: Sonny Geraci, who had suffered a brain aneurysm in 2012, died at 69. As the frontman of The Outsiders, he scored four Top 40 singles, including “Time Won't Let Me” and “Girl in Love.” Geraci later joined Climax and achieved a Top Five hit, “Precious and Few.”
2024: Toby Keith died of stomach cancer at 62. He had a successful music career that spanned over three decades. During that period, he placed at least 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. Some of these were “As Good As I Once Was,” “I Love This Bar,” and “I Wanna Talk About Me.”