One Direction Joins The Beatles & more groups with four members with solo Top 40 Hot 100 hits

Updated



On this week's Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 8), Liam Payne becomes the fourth member of One Direction to notch a top 40 hit, as "Strip That Down," featuring Quavo, jumps 44-34 in its fifth week.

Payne joins (former 1D member) Zayn, Niall Horan and Harry Styles in earning at least one solo top 40 hit on the Hot 100. (The group's other member, Louis Tomlinson, peaked at No. 52 on the Hot 100 with "Just Hold On," with Steve Aoki, in December.)

Zayn first achieved the feat in February 2016 when "Pillowtalk" debuted at No. 1. Horan followed with "This Town," which reached No. 20 in October, and Styles joined the club in April, when "Sign of the Times" arrived at its No. 4 peak.

When "Strip" debuted, we combed through every band that has appeared on the Hot 100 (dating to the chart's Aug. 4, 1958 inception) to find other acts with at least five members to chart solo anywhere on the chart. Our results found that Wu-Tang Clan boasts the most group members with solo Hot 100 entries: a lofty eight. (Note that this research doesn't include "supergroups," like Traveling Wilburys, or one-time all-star acts, such as USA for Africa.)

Where does 1D stand among acts with at least four members reaching the top 40 on their own?

The Eagles claim the record for the most group members with solo top 40 Hot 100 hits: five. In order of their first charted solo hits, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit have all hit the top 40 apart from the group. The band's former guitarist Don Felder nearly made it six, as his lone solo Hot 100 hit reached No. 43.

One Direction is now in the elite company of The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and U2, all with four members with individual top 40 hits on the Hot 100. The Beatles' John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison and Paul McCartney completed the feat first. Fleetwood Mac joined the Fab Four's ranks, thanks to Bob Welch, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie, followed by U2's Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen (via the shared "Theme From Mission: Impossible," credited to each artist), Bono and The Edge.

(Of Wu-Tang Clan's eight members with solo Hot 100 hits, only Method Man, Raekwon and Ol' Dirty Bastard have cracked the top 40.)

1D's feat is especially impressive considering the members' ages -- none is older than 25 -- and the speed at which four of them have all hit the Hot 100's top 40 individually: a span of more than just 16 months. That's even faster than The Beatles, all of whom achieved their first solo top 40 Hot 100 singles, in 1969-71, over 21 months.

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