This Day in Top 40 History: October 27
Oct. 27, 2014, was the moment that Taylor Swift became a fully actualized pop girly. With the release of 1989, her seminal pop album, Swift cemented herself as a pop…
Oct. 27, 2014, was the moment that Taylor Swift became a fully actualized pop girly. With the release of 1989, her seminal pop album, Swift cemented herself as a pop musician. The album's title is Swift's birth year, and it symbolized a rebirth of her artistic identity. Several singles from 1989 reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, including "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Bad Blood." Keep reading for more Top 40 history from Oct. 27.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
These successful albums and hit songs launched artists to fame around the world — and their music has endured:
- 1982: Prince released 1999, his fifth studio album. It was Prince's first album recorded with the Revolution, and it peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200.
- 2006: Amy Winehouse released her second and final album, Back to Black. The content of the songs focused on a former relationship, and the album includes some of Winehouse's biggest hits, including "Rehab," "You Know I'm No Good," and "Back to Black."
- 2011: Adele notched a fifth week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with her song "Someone Like You." This achievement put Adele over the line as the fourth woman to have multiple songs spend more than five weeks at No. 1 in the same year.
Cultural Milestones
Culture often responds in a visceral way to music and musicians. These milestones are proof of that:
- 1962: The Beatles participated in their first radio interview as a band when they appeared at Hulme Hall.
- 1975: Bruce Springsteen was featured on the covers of TIME and Newsweek magazines at the same time. Both magazines were promoting the release of Springsteen's latest album, Born To Run.
- 1988: U2's concert film, Rattle and Hum, premiered in Dublin. The film featured live performances from the album of the same name.
- 2013: Lou Reed passed away at the age of 71. Reed was part of the Velvet Underground, which was managed by Andy Warhol in the 1960s.
- 2013: Fleetwood Mac cancelled several tour dates after the announcement that John McVie had been diagnosed with cancer. By 2017, McVie had entered into remission from cancer.
Oct. 27 had an impact on the music industry. We say album releases, the first radio interview, and much more. For those who missed the U2 concert in 1988, a new trend of releasing concert films was started. Today, thankfully, if you can't see a concert in person, you can usually just watch the concert film.
