On This Day, Feb. 13, 1950 …
Peter Gabriel was born in Surrey, England. The musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and activist gained fame as the original lead singer of the rock band Genesis and appeared on the band’s first six albums.
He left the group in 1975 and went on to have a hugely successful solo career, releasing his self-titled debut that year, which featured the future classic “Solsbury Hill.”
His fifth studio album, 1986’s So, became his bestselling album, moving over 5 million copies in the U.S. It featured the number one song “Sledgehammer,” as well as songs like “Big Time,” “In Your Eyes,” and “Don’t Give Up” with Kate Bush.
Gabriel is the winner of eight Grammy Awards, as well as 13 MTV Video Music Awards, nine of which went to the video for “Sledgehammer.” He’s also a two-time member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, being inducted in 2010 as a member of Genesis and in 2014 as a solo artist.
Gabriel released his first new album in 20 years, i/o, in 2023, which earned two Grammys for engineering at February’s 67th annual Grammy Awards.
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