December 22, 1995 Three years after her feature film debut in The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston gives her second acting performance in Forest Whitaker's romantic drama Waiting to Exhale, leading an all-African American cast that includes Angela Bassett and Dennis Haysbert.More
December 11, 1995 Atlantic Records posts "Caught A Lite Sneeze," the first single from Tori Amos' album Boys For Pele, on their website in RealAudio format, marking the first time a full track by a major artist has been made available for download before its official release.
October 23, 1995 Former Selena fan club president Yolanda Saldivar is convicted of murdering the Tejano star outside a Texas motel on March 31, 1995. The jury deliberates only 2 1/2 hours before handing down their guilty verdict.
October 7, 1995 Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill reaches the top of the US albums chart in its 15th week, giving the Maverick label, founded by Madonna, its first #1. Morissette is the fourth female artist to have a debut album reach #1 in the 1990s, following Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey and Toni Braxton.More
September 6, 1995 Joan Jett sings the National Anthem before the Baltimore Orioles game against the California Angels. The game marks Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken's 2,131st consecutive game, breaking the record held by Lou Gehrig. Jett, a huge Orioles fan and friend of Ripken, watches the rest of the game alongside a host of baseball legends, including Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio.
September 2, 1995 Michael Jackson's "You Are Not Alone" becomes the first song to debut at #1 on the Hot 100. In the video, Jackson and his wife, Lisa Marie Presley, appear topless.More
August 30, 1995 James Taylor and ex-wife Carly Simon perform together for a benefit concert at Martha's Vineyard. It's their first time in 16 years that they have shared a stage.
August 9, 1995 The original members of Kiss play together for the first time since 1980 when Peter Criss and Ace Frehley join the current band to record their MTV Unplugged special, which is later released as the album Kiss Unplugged. Not counting Ace Frehley's 1976 wedding, it also marks the only time the original members have performed without makeup. The appearance goes over so well that Criss and Frehley rejoin the band in 1996, replacing Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer. The subsequent outing becomes the top-grossing tour that year.
July 25, 1995 ESPN releases Jock Jams, Volume 1, an album of high-energy, stadium-friendly hits like "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C+C Music Factory and "Get Ready For This" by 2 Unlimited. It sells over 2 million copies and leads to four more compilations.More
July 11, 1995 Richard Ashcroft of The Verve marries Kate Radley of Spiritualized. They keep it quiet for two years, as Radley's bandmate, Jason Pierce, is also her ex-boyfriend.
June 15, 1995 Five years after their successful debut After the Rain, Nelson release their second album, Because They Can, which tanks.More
June 14, 1995 Diane Sawyer conducts a live interview with Michael Jackson and his wife Lisa Marie Presley on the ABC news program Primetime Live. Topics include the validity of their marriage, Jackson's surgeries, and if he's a Scientologist.More
June 3, 1995 Bryan Adams' "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman?," featured in the Johnny Depp movie Don Juan DeMarco, starts a five-week run at #1 on the US singles chart.
April 15, 1995 Dave Matthews Band appear on Saturday Night Live for the first time, performing "What Would You Say" and "Ants Marching."
March 28, 1995 Lyle Lovett and actress Julia Roberts announce they are separating after 21 months of marriage.
March 14, 1995 Grunge supergroup Mad Season release their only album, Above. The group includes Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees.
March 14, 1995 The Goo Goo Dolls release their breakthrough fifth studio album, A Boy Named Goo, featuring their first major hit, "Name."More
February 28, 1995 Billie Joe Armstrong (of Green Day) and wife Adrienne welcome their first child, son Joseph "Joey" Marciano Armstrong, named for Ramones singer Joey Ramone.
January 12, 1995 The 10th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held in New York. Inductees include The Allman Brothers Band, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Neil Young, and Frank Zappa.
November 8, 1994 A memorial service is held for legendary guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, late of the MC5 and The Sonics, at Mariner's Church in Detroit.
October 5, 1994 Jamie Walters, who sang the #1 hit theme song "How Do You Talk To An Angel?" for the short-lived Aaron Spelling series The Heights, joins Beverly Hills 90210 as Ray Pruit, an aspiring musician. Unfortunately for Walters, his character takes a dark turn and starts abusing fan fave Donna Martin, causing his real-life music career to suffer.More
September 27, 1994 The Dave Matthews Band release their first major-label album, Under The Table and Dreaming. The band is road-tested, with a huge fanbase in the Virginia area, where they have been playing live since 1991. They earn a legion of new fans when the tracks "What Would You Say" and "Ants Marching" get airplay across America, helping the album sell over 6 million copies.
September 8, 1994 At the MTV Video Music Awards, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch (MCA), in character as "Nathanial Hornblower," rushes the stage when R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" beats "Sabotage" for Best Direction. It's the first such intrusion at the VMAs.More
September 8, 1994 Nearly four months after tying the knot in a secret ceremony in the Dominican Republic, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley make their first public appearance as a married couple at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Jackson infamously plants a sloppy smooch on his bride.More
August 31, 1994 R. Kelly, 27, marries 15-year-old Aaliyah at the Sheraton hotel in Rosemont, Illinois (her age on the marriage certificate is listed as 18). The marriage is annulled when Aaliyah's family finds out, and few details emerge as neither party will talk about it publicly. Kelly, who produced Aaliyah's debut album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, which was released before their wedding, tells GQ in 2016: "I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close."
August 25, 1994 Billy Joel is officially divorced from the model Christie Brinkley. Their marriage lasted nine years.
August 12, 1994 Woodstock 2 - officially "Woodstock '94" - begins in Saugerties, New York, with Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and Violent Femmes performing. The festival is a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.More
August 4, 1994 The Notorious B.I.G. marries R&B singer Faith Evans.
August 1, 1994 Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley announce that they are married, having wed at a secret ceremony in the Dominican Republic 11 weeks earlier.
July 6, 1994 The light-hearted drama Forrest Gump hits theaters. Aside from becoming the top-grossing film of the year in North America and winning multiple Academy Awards, the movie spawns a hit soundtrack with songs from Elvis Presley, Three Dog Night, The Doors, The Byrds, The Mamas & the Papas, Buffalo Springfield, and more.More
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