More About Music History On This Day
24 Oct 1979
Paul McCartney received a medallion cast in rhodium after being declared the most successful composer of all time. From 1962 to 1978, McCartney had written or co-written 43 songs that had sold over a million copies each.
24 Oct 1987
Michael Jackson started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Bad', a No.3 hit in the UK. A music video for 'Bad', directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring one of the first appearances of yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, was released in late 1987.
24 Oct 1987
Sting went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo release 'Nothing Like The Sun.' The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet No.130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon". The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards.
24 Oct 1998
Former Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown was jailed for 4 months after being found guilty of disorderly behavior during a flight from Paris to Manchester. Brown had threatened to chop the hands off an air stewardess during a heated exchange.
24 Oct 2004
Queen became the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music was still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime, but an album of Queen's greatest hits was released this week in Iran. Freddie Mercury, was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles had made Queen one of the most popular bands in Iran.
24 Oct 2005
Madonna gave a surprise lecture at a New York university, discussing her career and new film after she arrived unannounced at City University's Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students expected a screening of her new documentary, "I'm Going To Tell You a Secret" but they were also given the chance to question the singer.
24 Oct 2006
Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut studio album. Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album's release and the album went on the top the Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks selling over seven million copies. The album also became the longest-charting album on the Billboard 200 of the 2000s decade, remaining on the chart for 277 weeks in total.
24 Oct 2006
Forbes.com revealed that Kurt Cobain had overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity. Cobain's work earned $50m in the 12 months to October 2006, compared with Presley's $42m. Former Beatle John Lennon earned $35m.
24 Oct 2006
Rapper Foxy Brown was sentenced to three years' probation for assaulting two New York nail salon workers in 2004. Brown had kicked and punched employees during a dispute over payment for a pedicure and manicure in August 2004. She had been threatened with jail after failing to turn up to court.
24 Oct 2013
NME published their latest '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' list. The top 5 read: 1. The Smiths - 'The Queen Is Dead', 2. The Beatles - 'Revolver' 3. David Bowie - 'Hunky Dory', 4. The Strokes - 'Is This It' and at 5. The Velvet Underground & Nico - 'The Velvet Underground'.
24 Oct 2013
Simon Webbe, singer with boy band Blue, was declared bankrupt despite releasing an album with the group earlier this year. Bandmate Duncan James also filed for bankruptcy in the same year and a third group member, Antony Costa, had also spoken about his financial problems after the band originally broke up in 2005.
24 Oct 2016
American singer Bobby Vee died age 73. Vee had 38 chart hits, ten of which reached the Top 20. Vee's recording of 'Take Good Care of My Baby' in the summer of 1961 went to No.1 in the US and No.3 in the UK. Vee's career began in the midst of tragedy. On February 3, 1959, "The Day the Music Died," when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, were killed in an airplane. Vee then 15 years old, and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys calling themselves the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at their next gig. Their performance was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.
24 Oct 2017
American pianist and singer-songwriter Fats Domino died aged 89 at his home in Harvey, Louisiana after a long-term illness. Domino attracted national attention with his first recording, ‘The Fat Man’, made in late 1949 for Imperial Records, an early rock-and-roll record. ‘The Fat Man’ sold one million copies by 1953 and it is widely considered the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this feat. Domino had 35 records in the US Billboard Top 40. Domino’s 1956 version of ‘Blueberry Hill’ was selected for the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry of historic sound recordings worthy of preservation.
24 Oct 2018
US singer, songwriter Tony Joe White died of a heart attack on, at the age of 75. He is best known for his 1969 US No.8 single, 'Polk Salad Annie' (also recorded by Elvis Presley and Tom Jones) and ‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ which he wrote but was first made popular by Brook Benton in 1970. He also wrote 'Steamy Windows' a UK No.13 single for Tina Turner.
24 Oct 2018
American guitarist and session musician Wah Wah Watson, (Melvin Ragin) died aged 67. He was famed for his skills with a wah-wah pedal and became a member of the Motown Records studio band, The Funk Brothers, where he recorded with The Temptations (his guitar work on 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone'), The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. He also appeared on Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album.
24 Oct 2019
During an interview with Zane Lowe for his Apple Music Beats 1 show Kanye West declared that he was ‘Unquestionably, undoubtedly the greatest human artist of all time.’ The 42-year-old Rapper also predicted that he will one day be president of the US as he defended his support of Donald Trump.
Paul McCartney received a medallion cast in rhodium after being declared the most successful composer of all time. From 1962 to 1978, McCartney had written or co-written 43 songs that had sold over a million copies each.
24 Oct 1987
Michael Jackson started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Bad', a No.3 hit in the UK. A music video for 'Bad', directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring one of the first appearances of yet-undiscovered Wesley Snipes, was released in late 1987.
24 Oct 1987
Sting went to No.1 on the UK album chart with his third solo release 'Nothing Like The Sun.' The title comes from Shakespeare's Sonnet No.130 ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"), which Sting used in the song "Sister Moon". The album won Best British Album at the 1988 Brit Awards.
24 Oct 1998
Former Stone Roses lead singer Ian Brown was jailed for 4 months after being found guilty of disorderly behavior during a flight from Paris to Manchester. Brown had threatened to chop the hands off an air stewardess during a heated exchange.
24 Oct 2004
Queen became the first rock act to receive an official seal of approval in Iran. Western music was still strictly censored in the Islamic republic, where homosexuality is considered a crime, but an album of Queen's greatest hits was released this week in Iran. Freddie Mercury, was proud of his Iranian ancestry, and illegal bootleg albums and singles had made Queen one of the most popular bands in Iran.
24 Oct 2005
Madonna gave a surprise lecture at a New York university, discussing her career and new film after she arrived unannounced at City University's Hunter College as part of the MTV series Stand In. Students expected a screening of her new documentary, "I'm Going To Tell You a Secret" but they were also given the chance to question the singer.
24 Oct 2006
Taylor Swift released her self-titled debut studio album. Swift was 16 years old at the time of the album's release and the album went on the top the Country Albums Chart for 24 non-consecutive weeks selling over seven million copies. The album also became the longest-charting album on the Billboard 200 of the 2000s decade, remaining on the chart for 277 weeks in total.
24 Oct 2006
Forbes.com revealed that Kurt Cobain had overtaken Elvis Presley as the highest earning dead celebrity. Cobain's work earned $50m in the 12 months to October 2006, compared with Presley's $42m. Former Beatle John Lennon earned $35m.
24 Oct 2006
Rapper Foxy Brown was sentenced to three years' probation for assaulting two New York nail salon workers in 2004. Brown had kicked and punched employees during a dispute over payment for a pedicure and manicure in August 2004. She had been threatened with jail after failing to turn up to court.
24 Oct 2013
NME published their latest '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' list. The top 5 read: 1. The Smiths - 'The Queen Is Dead', 2. The Beatles - 'Revolver' 3. David Bowie - 'Hunky Dory', 4. The Strokes - 'Is This It' and at 5. The Velvet Underground & Nico - 'The Velvet Underground'.
24 Oct 2013
Simon Webbe, singer with boy band Blue, was declared bankrupt despite releasing an album with the group earlier this year. Bandmate Duncan James also filed for bankruptcy in the same year and a third group member, Antony Costa, had also spoken about his financial problems after the band originally broke up in 2005.
24 Oct 2016
American singer Bobby Vee died age 73. Vee had 38 chart hits, ten of which reached the Top 20. Vee's recording of 'Take Good Care of My Baby' in the summer of 1961 went to No.1 in the US and No.3 in the UK. Vee's career began in the midst of tragedy. On February 3, 1959, "The Day the Music Died," when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper, were killed in an airplane. Vee then 15 years old, and a hastily assembled band of Fargo schoolboys calling themselves the Shadows volunteered for and were given the unenviable job of filling in for Holly and his band at their next gig. Their performance was a success, setting in motion a chain of events that led to Vee's career as a popular singer.
24 Oct 2017
American pianist and singer-songwriter Fats Domino died aged 89 at his home in Harvey, Louisiana after a long-term illness. Domino attracted national attention with his first recording, ‘The Fat Man’, made in late 1949 for Imperial Records, an early rock-and-roll record. ‘The Fat Man’ sold one million copies by 1953 and it is widely considered the first rock-and-roll record to achieve this feat. Domino had 35 records in the US Billboard Top 40. Domino’s 1956 version of ‘Blueberry Hill’ was selected for the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry of historic sound recordings worthy of preservation.
24 Oct 2018
US singer, songwriter Tony Joe White died of a heart attack on, at the age of 75. He is best known for his 1969 US No.8 single, 'Polk Salad Annie' (also recorded by Elvis Presley and Tom Jones) and ‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ which he wrote but was first made popular by Brook Benton in 1970. He also wrote 'Steamy Windows' a UK No.13 single for Tina Turner.
24 Oct 2018
American guitarist and session musician Wah Wah Watson, (Melvin Ragin) died aged 67. He was famed for his skills with a wah-wah pedal and became a member of the Motown Records studio band, The Funk Brothers, where he recorded with The Temptations (his guitar work on 'Papa Was A Rollin' Stone'), The Jackson 5, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. He also appeared on Michael Jackson's Off The Wall album.
24 Oct 2019
During an interview with Zane Lowe for his Apple Music Beats 1 show Kanye West declared that he was ‘Unquestionably, undoubtedly the greatest human artist of all time.’ The 42-year-old Rapper also predicted that he will one day be president of the US as he defended his support of Donald Trump.
Did you know you can follow any of our 175 Special Interest calendars and stay informed better than ever before? See them here. You can also create your own public or private calendar here. Post events to your calendar and ours at the same time! Terms and conditions may vary based on the policies of your local Town Planner publisher.
To learn more, watch our intro video!