1 January

Pick a Day

Music History Events: Incidents

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November 13, 2015 The blues-rock band Eagles of Death Metal are in the midst of performing their song "Kiss the Devil" at a sold-out show at Le Bataclan in Paris, France, when the venue is attacked by terrorists armed with automatic rifles, grenades and explosive suicide vests - one of many attacks throughout the city.More

January 27, 2015 Taylor Swift's Twitter and Instagram accounts are hacked, resulting in bogus tweets to her 51 million followers (the fourth-largest Twitter account). Swift takes to Tumblr, where she posts: "Hackers gonna hack hack hack hack hack." She also assures fans that no nude photos exist.

May 5, 2014 Beyoncé's sister Solange Knowles attacks Jay-Z in an elevator they are all riding after attending the Met Gala at The Standard hotel in New York. The footage, which is leaked on TMZ, shows Jay taking his whooping before a security guard restrains Solange. Beyoncé later mentions the incident in her song "Flawless" when she sings, "sometime s--t go down when there's a billion dollars on an elevator."More

August 22, 2012 Rap star LL Cool J hears his alarm go off in his Los Angeles home and rushes downstairs to confront an alleged burglar named Jonathan Kirby. One broken nose, jaw, and rib later, Cool J has subdued the intruder and police are on their way to take the suspect into custody. No word on whether LL quoted one of his own songs, "Mama Said Knock You Out," during the altercation.

September 13, 2009 When Taylor Swift wins for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West comes on stage and commandeers the microphone, explaining that Beyoncé deserved the award for her "Single Ladies" video. When Beyoncé does win for Video of the Year later that night, she brings Taylor on stage to finish her speech.More

April 30, 2008 At the Coachella festival, Roger Waters' giant inflatable pig escapes, roams the countryside and ultimately deflates.

September 9, 2007 During a performance by Alicia Keys at the MTV Video Music Awards, Tommy Lee and Kid Rock get in a fight, prompting presenter Jamie Foxx to decry the "white on white violence."

April 24, 2007 US President George W. Bush is denied a luxury suite at the Imperial Hotel in Vienna when Mick Jagger, in town with The Rolling Stones on a tour, books it first.

April 10, 2007 The Hendersonville, Tennessee, house once owned by Johnny Cash burns to the ground. It had been purchased after Cash's death by Barry Gibb of The Bee Gees, who planned to renovate it.

August 28, 2003 Britney Spears and Madonna share a big, juicy kiss during the opening performance of the MTV Video Music Awards. Madonna then plants one on Christina Aguilera, but we only get a glimpse of it because the director cuts to a shot of a thunderstruck Justin Timberlake in the audience.More

February 3, 2003 Phil Spector is charged with murder after police are called to his 33-room mansion in Alhambra, California, and discover the actress Lana Clarkson dead from a gunshot wound.More

April 19, 2002 Alice In Chains lead singer Layne Staley is discovered dead in his Seattle apartment after police break down his door to investigate reports that he is missing. Staley, whose addictions led him to cut off contact with friends and family, had died on April 5 of a drug overdose. He was 34.

October 16, 2001 Bob Dylan is turned away by security guards at his concert at the Jackson County Exposition Center in Oregon because he doesn't have a credential. The guards were under orders from Dylan's security director not to let anyone through without a pass. "He said no exceptions," explained the venue manager.

May 24, 2000 50 Cent is shot nine times while in the backseat of a parked car. He lives, but is dropped by his label, Columbia. Moving to G-Unit, he becomes a superstar a few years later, with the shooting front and center on his bio.

December 30, 1999 George Harrison is nearly killed when the mentally disturbed Michael Abram breaks into his home and stabs him in the chest. Harrison's wife, Olivia, saves her husband by attacking Abram with a poker and a table lamp. George suffers a collapsed lung, but survives.

October 28, 1999 Performing at the Adams Mark hotel in Dallas, Kenny Rogers throws a frisbee that hits a chandelier. The broken glass hits audience member Kevin O'Toole, who claims that it leaves his face scarred and ruins his sex life. Both he and his wife sue Rogers, claiming the singer "deprived her of the services, love and guidance of her husband."

July 24, 1999 On the third day of the Woodstock '99 festival on Griffiss Air Force Base, overpriced water, overflowing toilets and a Limp Bizkit performance of "Break Stuff" lead to riots, groping and injuries. Conditions deteriorate as the festival rages on, and by the final day, MTV is covering the event with the tagline "Apocalypse Woodstock."

November 23, 1998 After his concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, Marilyn Manson has a backstage run-in with Spin magazine editor Craig Marks, who claims that Manson assaults and threatens to kill him.More

May 26, 1996 Firemen arrive at the burning home of Eric Clapton to find the guitarist running in and out of the home to save his guitar collection. The house is gutted, with about three million dollars in damage.

February 19, 1996 During Michael Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" at the 1996 BRIT Awards, Jarvis Cocker of the band Pulp jumps on stage and makes demeaning gestures toward Jackson. Cocker says he did it because Jackson was "pretending to be Jesus."More

May 10, 1991 Bushwick Bill of the Geto Boys gets a signature look when he loses his right eye after being shot by his girlfriend.

August 27, 1990 35-year-old Stevie Ray Vaughan dies in a helicopter crash near East Troy, Wisconsin, following a concert at the Alpine Valley Music Theater where earlier in the evening he appeared with Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, and his older brother, Jimmie Vaughan.

August 13, 1990 While warming up for an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Curtis Mayfield is paralyzed when a lighting tower falls from the stage and onto his back. He remains a quadriplegic for the next nine years until his death in 1999.

June 14, 1990 Four days after being arrested for performing obscene songs at a Florida nightclub, the rap group 2 Live Crew performs at the Ozone Club outside of Atlanta. Authorities had warned the group that they would be arrested if they performed their dirty songs, so the rappers encourage the crowd to sing the obscene lyrics for them, resulting in about 500 people singing lines like "that's the way we like to f--k" as police officers look on. No arrests are made, and the group gets even more publicity and a bump in sales for the album they released a year earlier.

July 21, 1989 Performing on the Club MTV tour at a stop in Bristol, Connecticut, Milli Vanilli's tracks go screwy when they try to lip-synch to the song "Girl You Know It's True." As the line "girl you know it's..." repeats over and over, the duo panic and scurry off stage. It is later revealed that they didn't sing on their album.More

May 2, 1989 Michael Jackson, wearing a wig and fake moustache, enteres a Zales jewelry store in Simi Valley, California. Security finds him suspicious and calls the police, who show up to explain that you shouldn't wear a disguise to a jewelry store.

May 17, 1987 Tom Petty's home in Encino, California, burns to the ground. Petty and his family escape unharmed, but are traumatized by the blaze, which is determined to be arson. The perpetrator is never caught.More

March 27, 1987 U2 play a rooftop concert in Los Angeles to film their video for "Where The Streets Have No Name." Thousands of onlookers gather and police order the band to stop playing.More

September 27, 1986 Cliff Burton (Metallica's second bassist) dies in a bus crash in Sweden during Metallica's Damage Inc. tour in support of the Master of Puppets album. Burton, age 24, is asleep in his bunk when the bus skids off the road. He is thrown from the window and crushed when the vehicle rolls over him.

January 27, 1984 At the peak of his popularity, Michael Jackson films an ad for Pepsi that goes horribly wrong when some stray pyro sets his hair on fire.More

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