This Day in Music
On this day in music, May 6, 1978, the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever began an astonishing 18-week straight run at the top of the UK album chart. Across the Atlantic, it spent an unbroken 24-week run atop the Billboard 200 and was well on its way to being certified 16x Platinum by the RIAA. Primarily featuring music by the Bee Gees, the soundtrack spawned a multitude of hit singles, including “Stayin’ Alive,” “How Deep Is Your Love,” and “Night Fever” (all US No.1s). The film and album (which became one of the highest-selling soundtracks of all time) both played a major role in the disco phenomenon, while in 2014, the Library of Congress added Saturday Night Fever to its National Recording Registry.
In 2020, Kraftwerk co-founder and electronic music pioneer, Florian Schneider, died at age 73. The German band rose to fame with their 1974 album, Autobahn, and would go on to have a major influence on musicians in the 1970s and 1980s, including David Bowie. Schneider left the group in 2008.
In 1965, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began working on the opening guitar riffs to “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – now considered to be one of the greatest hooks of all time. Primarily composed in a hotel room in Clearwater, Florida, hours after Richards purchased a Gibson fuzz box, the song was recorded days later at Chicago’s storied Chess Studios. Released in June 1965, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” gave the Rolling Stones their first No.1 hit in the US.
In 1995, Oasis scored their first UK No.1 with “Some Might Say.” The lead single off their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, it was the Manchester band’s last song to feature all five original members of the band, as drummer Tony McCarroll left shortly after its release. Oasis’ first performance of the song, on Top of the Pops, was also their final with McCarroll (drummer Alan White would soon step in). Inspired by Grant Lee Buffalo’s “Fuzzy,” it also reached the Top Ten in several countries across Europe.
In 1973, Paul Simon embarked on his first solo tour, following the disbandment of Simon & Garfunkel and the release of his third album, There Goes Rhymin’ Simon. Featuring support by Urubamba and the Jessy Dixon Singers, the tour was captured on the live album, Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin’.
BORN ON MAY 6
1927: Ronnie Hilton (Radio Host)
1945: Bob Seger
1951: Davey Johnstone
1960: John Flansburgh (They Might Be Giants)
1967: Mark Bryan (Hootie & the Blowfish)
1971: Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters)
1987: Meek Mill
