This Day in Top 40 History: October 31
On Oct. 31, 2015, One Direction played the final show of their year-long On the Road Again Tour in support of their fourth album, Four. It was the group’s final tour…
On Oct. 31, 2015, One Direction played the final show of their year-long On the Road Again Tour in support of their fourth album, Four. It was the group's final tour before they took an indefinite hiatus in 2016. Zayn Malik left the band almost two months into the tour, and the remaining members continued to perform without him. Keep reading for more top 40 history from Oct. 31.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
Spanning decades, these chart-toppers give us a glimpse into the culture of bygone eras — including the early 2000s.
- 1964: The Supremes scored their second of five consecutive No. 1 singles with their enduring doo-wop hit, "Baby Love."
- 1970: Led Zeppelin topped the charts for the first of four weeks with Led Zeppelin III. The album included hits such as "Immigrant Song" and "Celebration Day."
- 2000: Outkast released their fourth album, Stankonia. On it was their highly successful track "Ms. Jackson," which earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Cultural Milestones
Oct. 31 marked these notable events in music culture.
- 1966: Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz was born in New York City. He found great success as a member of the Beastie Boys.
- 1967: Another hip-hop artist, Robert Matthew Van Winkle, was born in Dallas, Texas. Later, he became Vanilla Ice and released everyone's favorite song, "Ice Ice Baby."
- 1989: MTV taped the first episode of Unplugged, which aired the following month. The long-running series featured hundreds of musicians in an acoustic setting, often supporting artists on their journey to the top.
Industry Changes and Challenges
These Oct. 31 moments reveal the complexity and struggles of the music industry.
- 1996: Slash announced his departure from Guns N' Roses. He pursued other projects before rejoining the band 20 years later.
- 2011: 20-year-old Mariah Yeater filed a paternity lawsuit against 17-year-old Justin Bieber, claiming the young singer was the father of her child. Bieber denied the allegations, going as far as taking a DNA test to disprove the allegation.
Vanilla Ice and Ad-Rock having the same birthday — and on Halloween — just makes sense. That's a wrap on top 40 history from Oct. 31.
