On This Day, May 19, 1986: Peter Gabriel released his fifth solo album, ‘So’

On This Day, May 19, 1986 …

Former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel released his fifth solo album, So, produced by Daniel Lanois.

The album became Gabriel’s biggest commercial success, moving over 5 million copies in the U.S. and peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart.

So featured the #1 song “Sledgehammer,” as well as hits like “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes” and “Don’t Give Up” with Kate Bush.

“Sledgehammer” earned Gabriel three Grammy Award nominations — for best male rock vocal performance, record of the year and song of the year. Its innovative video won nine MTV Video Music Awards, including video of the year.

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