Wikipedia:Today's featured list/May 26, 2017
Twenty-two singles topped the Alternative Songs record chart in the 1980s. Published by the music industry magazine Billboard, it ranks the most-played songs on American modern rock radio stations. The chart was created in the midst of the growing popularity of alternative music on rock radio in the late 1980s. Billboard introduced the chart in response to demand within the music industry for consistent information on the commercial performance of alternative music. During the decade, it was known as the Modern Rock Tracks chart and tabulated based on weighted reports from twenty-nine radio stations. The Modern Rock Tracks chart debuted in the September 10, 1988 issue of Billboard, with the inaugural number-one single being "Peek-a-Boo" by English alternative rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees. Upon its debut, several publications noted the presence of more independent artists on Modern Rock Tracks compared to its companion chart, Album Rock Tracks. Alternative rock band R.E.M. and new wave group The B-52's (pictured) each scored two number-one singles on the Modern Rock Tracks chart during the 1980s, the most for any artist within the decade. (Full list...)