January 26, 1991 At the second Rock in Rio festival, Norwegian pop trio a-ha draw a crowd of 198,000, breaking the world record for paid attendance at a rock concert - and is snubbed by the press.More
January 18, 1991 Three teenagers are killed at an AC/DC concert at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah when they are crushed in the crowd. The band learns of the tragedy a few songs later; they complete the show at the request of the fire marshal.
January 15, 1991 On the United Nations deadline for Iraq to remove troops from Kuwait, a new version of "Give Peace A Chance" is released, with contributions from Iggy Pop, Tom Petty, LL Cool J and dozens of others.More
November 23, 1990 Bad Religion release their fifth full-length studio album, Against the Grain. This is the band's last recording with drummer Pete Finestone, who left the band just prior to the recording of their next album Generator, which eventually dropped in 1992.
November 22, 1990 Two members of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, Ruben Gomez (16) and Sergio Gonzalez (18), are arrested for possession of marijuana at Miami International Airport and fired from the group. This does little to change the band dynamic, as Menudo regularly brings in younger members as others age out.
October 27, 1990 Bandleader Xavier Cugat dies of heart failure in Barcelona, Spain, at age 90.
October 22, 1990 The band Mookie Blaylock, soon be known as Pearl Jam, make their stage debut at The Off Ramp in Seattle. In the audience are members of Soundgarden and Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson.
October 8, 1990 Eddie Vedder flies from his home in San Diego to Seattle, where he meets his Pearl Jam bandmates for the first time and starts a week of recording that becomes the bulk of their debut album, Ten. Vedder was chosen based on vocals he added to a three-song instrumental demo the band made.More
October 7, 1990 Soundgarden perform at the Gathering of the Tribes festival in Costa Mesa, California. In the crowd is Eddie Vedder, who the next day flies to Seattle and meets his Pearl Jam bandmates for the first time. Vedder and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden end up recording vocals together that day for the song "Hunger Strike" as part of the Temple of the Dog project.
September 29, 1990 Nelson (Rick Nelson's twin sons, Gunnar and Matthew) top the Billboard Hot 100 with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection," becoming the second generation of Nelsons to top the charts. Their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, may have been the most popular of the bunch as a band leader in the '30s and '40s.
September 24, 1990 AC/DC releases The Razors Edge, omitting the apostrophe in the title. The only album by the band to feature Chis Slade on drums, it reaches #2 on the US Albums chart and #4 in the UK.
September 10, 1990 Starring a young rapper named Will Smith, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuts on NBC. Smith hones his acting skills during his six seasons on the show, which features guest appearances by his musical partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff.More
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 21, 1990 Alice in Chains release their debut album, Facelift, one of the first grunge albums to gain widespread popularity.More
August 21, 1990 Jane's Addiction release the alternative rock touchstone Ritual de lo Habitual, which frontman Perry Farrell describes as filled with "sex and violence and joy and happiness."More
July 21, 1990 With a bevy of special guests, Roger Waters performs The Wall at the former site of the Berlin Wall, which came down eight months earlier.More
July 2, 1990 Tesla records their album Five Man Acoustical Jam live at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. Their cover of "Signs" becomes a surprise hit and catalyzes an acoustic rock trend, with MTV's Unplugged series delving into more rock acts soon after.
June 26, 1990 Nelson release their debut album After the Rain, which sells over 2 million copies thanks to the #1 single "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection." Nelson is the duo of Gunnar and Matthew, the twin sons of Rick Nelson.More
June 10, 1990 Members of the rap group 2 Live Crew are arrested on charges of public obscenity after performing songs from their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be in a Hollywood, Florida, nightclub. A few days earlier, a federal court ruled the album obscene, and therefore performing it is against the law. It gets even more ridiculous when a cover band performs the songs for the purpose of getting arrested, which they do. Eventually, the ruling is overturned and charges against the rappers (and cover band) are dropped.
June 3, 1990 The Big Day free festival takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, with Wet Wet Wet, Deacon Blue, Hothouse Flowers, Sheena Easton, Texas, Hue and Cry, John Martyn, Eddi Reader, The Average White Band and others. Channel 4 TV runs a six-hour live broadcast from the event.
May 30, 1990 Australian rockers Midnight Oil make headlines when they stage a protest concert outside of the Exxon building in New York City in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill that devastated Prince William Sound in Alaska the year before. Vocalist Peter Garrett says: "We can't treat the world like a garbage dump, and there's more to life than profit and loss."More
May 27, 1990 The Stone Roses play a concert on Spike Island, an abandoned chemical plant in Widnes, Cheshire, England, that draws 28,000 fans and comes to define the Madchester movement, inspiring Oasis and Pulp, who released a song about it in 2025 called "Spike Island."
May 16, 1990 Muppets creator Jim Henson dies of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome at 53. Henson made music a key component of The Muppet Show, which featured a gnarly house band (The Electric Mayhem) and welcomed many superstars eager to interact with his creatures. Elton John, Julie Andrews, John Denver and Loretta Lynn all appeared on the show.
May 5, 1990 Lou Reed, Al Green, Terence Trent D'Arby, Kylie Minogue and Randy Travis are among the performers at a John Lennon tribute concert in his hometown of Liverpool, England.More
April 7, 1990 Farm Aid IV takes place at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two very memorable events take place: 1) Guns N' Roses play their last show with drummer Steven Adler, whose drug addiction is taking a toll on his playing. He is booted from the band before their next performance. 2) Elton John arrives after holding vigil for Ryan White, an 18-year-old who is one of the first high-profile AIDS victims (he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion). Elton dedicates his performance of "Candle In The Wind" to White, who dies the next day.
March 21, 1990 The sitcom Sydney premieres on CBS, starring Valerie Bertinelli and a pre-Friends Matthew Perry. Bertinelli's husband Eddie Van Halen provides the theme song: "Finish What Ya Started."
March 20, 1990 Near Scranton and heading for a show in Syracuse, Miami Sound Machine's tour bus is hit by a tractor trailer on a snowy highway. Gloria Estefan suffers a serious spinal injury requiring four hours of surgery.More
March 19, 1990 Andrew Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone, dies of a heroin overdose at age 24. Members of the band go on to form Pearl Jam.More
February 18, 1990 At the BRIT Awards in London, Queen collect the BPI award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. It is Freddie Mercury's last public appearance with the band, as he dies the following year.
February 17, 1990 Emma Anderson admits in an interview that her band Lush is the "Most hated band in London."
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