This Day in Top 40 History: August 3

Breakthrough Hits and Milestones

• 1973: 23-year-old Stevie Wonder issued his 16th studio album, Innervisions. The album reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and earned him a GRAMMY in 1974. Additionally, it delivered three Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, “Higher Ground,” “Living for the City,” and “Don't You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.” 
• 1980: Olivia Newton-John, of Grease fame, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her song "Magic." It held the top spot for four weeks.
• 1992: INXS released Welcome to Wherever You Are, their eighth studio LP. This record stalled at No. 16 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and soared to No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart. It also delivered various Top 40 singles on different charts. For instance, “Heaven Sent” and “Taste It” cracked the Top 30 on the U.K. Singles Chart. Similarly, “Not Enough Time” landed at No. 28 on the Hot 100. 
• 1998: Kylie Minogue, aka the Princess of Pop, released her fifth remix album, Mixes. The album put an electronica dance spin on songs from her 1997 album Impossible Princess.
• 2014: "Weird Al" Yankovic, famed for his comedic music, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with his album Mandatory Fun. The album included parodies of songs by Imagine Dragons, Lorde, and Iggy Azalea.

Cultural Milestones

• 1926: Anthony Dominick Benedetto, better known as Tony Bennett, was born in Queens, New York. His eight-decade-long music career saw him place timeless Top 40 singles such as “I Wanna Be Around,” “Firefly,” and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” on Billboard's Hot 100.  In 2014, he became the oldest musician to land a No. 1 record in the U.S. with the release of Cheek to Cheek, his collaboration with Lady Gaga. 
• 1971: Paul McCartney announced that he had formed a new band, Wings. The group went on to have fourteen U.S. Top 10 hits, including "Band on the Run" and "Silly Love Songs."
• 2010: Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine issued his highly anticipated autobiography, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, in the U.S. The book, which shared details about his childhood, professional music career, struggles with alcohol and drugs, as well as his relationship with Alice Cooper, landed at No. 15 on the list of New York Times best sellers. 
• 2015: After nearly 13 years of marriage, “Hollaback Girl” hitmaker Gwen Stefani filed for divorce from Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, citing irreconcilable differences. The pair share three sons, Zuma, Kingston, and Apollo. A few months after her divorce filing, Stefani started dating “God's Country” singer Blake Shelton. The couple tied the knot in 2021, and they are still together, as of this writing. 
• 2018: The soundtrack to the musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again began a four-week stint at No. 1 on the U.K. album charts. Similar to the original film, the soundtrack featured a host of popular ABBA songs that gained new life through the success of the Mamma Mia! films.
• 2019: Clairo entered the indie pop scene with her debut album, Immunity. Featuring hits such as "Bags," the album was considered one of the year's best by Billboard magazine.

Notable Recordings and Performances

• 1963: The Beatles made their last appearance at the Cavern Club in their hometown of Liverpool. By that time, the band had played almost 300 gigs at the club, but huge chart success meant that they had outgrown the venue.
• 1968: The first-ever Newport Pop Festival took place in Costa Mesa, California, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 100,000 fans. Tiny Tim, Jefferson Airplane, and The Chambers Brothers were all on the playbill.
• 2019: Ed Sheeran's Divide Tour became the largest and highest-grossing tour of all time. He spent 893 days on tour, surpassing the previous record holders, U2.

Industry Changes and Challenges

• 1985: The Cars re-released their single "Drive" after it was used during the 1985 Live Aid charity concert. All the proceeds from the re-released record went to charity.
• 1992: Summer in Paradise, the 27th studio album from The Beach Boys, was released. It is the band's only album not to make the charts in either the U.K. or the U.S.
• 2010: Madonna teamed up with her daughter Lourdes to launch Material Girl, a junior apparel line offered exclusively at Macy's. The collection featured a range of items, including clothing, handbags, footwear, and jewelry. According to sources, early shoppers received giveaways and got the opportunity to win T-shirts autographed by the “Crazy For You” singer. 
• 2016: Ricci Martin was found dead in his Utah home. His cause of death was not disclosed.  The 62-year-old was the youngest son of “Memories Are Made of This” hitmaker Dean Martin.  In addition to collaborating with successful bands such as The Beach Boys, Ricci was known for performing tribute shows in his father's honor.  A fall, however, had forced him to cancel a number of concerts in early 2026. 
• 2019: Henri Belolo died of pancreatic cancer at 82. Belolo started out as a music executive operating in France and Morocco. One night, he visited a gay nightclub with his business partner Jacques Morali, and they were convinced they could make hits by alluding to gay culture.  Soon, they would create The Village People and score U.S. Top 10 hits such as “YMCA” and “In the Navy.”