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On this day in music, March 24, 1986, Van Halen scored their first No.1 album on the Billboard 200 with 5150. The hard rockers’ seventh studio album marked their first to feature ex-Montrose singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth as the band’s frontman. Despite Roth’s popularity with fans, Hagar proved his worth – and then some – as the album soared to the top of the charts. Featuring such hits as “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Love Walks In,” and “Dreams,” 5150 also found success across the globe, landing in the Top 5 in Japan, Canada, and Australia, and peaking in the Top 20 in the UK and across Europe.

In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released “Dreams,” their only chart-topping hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Written by Stevie Nicks, it was plucked from their multi-platinum eleventh album Rumours.

In 1990, Irish singer Sinead O’Connor scored her only No.1 UK album with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, which featured her chart-topping cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

In 1966, Simon And Garfunkel debuted on the UK singles chart with “Homeward Bound,” which peaked at No. 9 during a 12-week chart run. The song was taken from the folk-rock duo’s third album, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

In 1997, 57-year-old Harold Melvin, leader of Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, died following a stroke. The soul group became a household name in the 1970s under Philadelphia International Records, where their hits included “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” “The Love I Lost,” and “Wake Up Everybody.”

In 2002, Gareth Gates, the runner-up to Will Young in the first series of the UK TV show, Pop Idol, broke the record for the youngest male solo artist to hit the top of the UK charts with his debut single, “Unchained Melody.” Gates was just seventeen years and 255 days old.

In 1958, Elvis Presley reported to the Memphis draft board to begin his two-year service with the US Army.

BORN ON MARCH 24

1935: Carol Kaye (Wrecking Crew)
1938: Holger Czukay (Can)
1938: Don Covay
1949: Nick Lowe (Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile)
1960: Nena
1964: Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
1970: Pasemaster Mace (De La Soul)
1970: Shannon Corr (The Corrs)
1974: Chad Butler (Switchfoot)

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