The most iconic microphone in the world – the Shure SM58 – celebrated on May 8

CHICAGO —Shure’s iconic SM58 Vocal Microphone, the most photographed and recognized microphone in the world, had its own day to celebrate – May 8. This day celebrated the storied history of the SM58. If you’ve ever heard someone sing or speak into a live microphone, there’s an excellent chance it was an SM58. Rock stars. Pop idols. Comedians. Movie stars. Educators. Presidents. Popes. World leaders. Legendary words have passed through its iconic grille for generations.

Introduced in 1966, its superior acoustic engineering and durability has set the global standard for performance microphones. Leading up to May 8, Shure unveiled 58 reasons to love the SM58 here. Compiled from actual users of the SM58, it explains the various reasons why the microphone is so essential for a variety of people.

The legendary Shure SM58 Vocal Microphone is designed for professional vocal use in live performance, sound reinforcement, and studio recording. A highly effective, built-in spherical filter minimizes wind and breath “pop” noise. A unidirectional (cardioid) pickup pattern isolates the main sound source while minimizing unwanted background noise.

Rugged construction, a proven shock-mount system, and a steel mesh grille ensure that even with rough handling, the SM58 will perform consistently, outdoors or indoors. In fact, “mic drops” were made famous with SM58s. And, The Who’s Roger Daltrey famously would swing his SM58 around the stage as he described in his video about his love for the microphone.

“I find this microphone to be absolutely remarkable,” said Daltrey. “And no one’s been more abusive to a microphone than I am.”

To celebrate the iconic mic, a number of regional events took place throughout the week both in person and on social media. Shure gave away eight custom ignition green and grey SM58 mics. The custom color scheme was selected by the public through social media.