June 21, 1994 A judge rules against George Michael in his lawsuit against his record label, Sony, derailing his music career for two years.More
June 3, 1994 Mark Wahlberg of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch makes his film debut in the comedy Renaissance Man as an army private who is teased by his fellow recruits for having no rhythm.
May 26, 1994 Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, the child of Elvis, in a secret ceremony held in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorce 20 months later, citing irreconcilable differences.More
May 21, 1994 R&B vocal group All-4-One hits #1 on the Hot 100 with "I Swear," a cover of a country song by John Michael Montgomery. The group is playing gigs at Disneyland when the song tops the chart; it stays at #1 for 11 weeks.More
April 26, 1994 Johnny Cash releases American Recordings, the first of a series of albums produced by Rick Rubin that revitalize his career.More
April 25, 1994 A jury rules that Michael Bolton's 1991 hit "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarizes The Isley Brothers 1966 song of the same name and awards $5.4 million in damages, the largest ever in a music plagiarism case.More
April 19, 1994 Nas releases his landmark debut album Illmatic at the age of 20, helping revive the flagging New York City rap scene and birth the era of lyricism. It goes on to be widely accepted as one of the greatest rap albums of all time.More
April 8, 1994 Kurt Cobain's body is found in his Seattle home by an electrician sent to install a burglar alarm. He is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound three days earlier. The Nirvana song "Come As You Are" takes on new meaning with the line, "I swear that I don't have a gun."More
March 8, 1994 Two seminal albums from the '90s are released: Soundgarden's Superunknown and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. They enter the albums chart at #1 and #2, respectively.More
March 7, 1994 The Supreme Court rules that parody constitutes fair use in deciding that 2 Live Crew's version of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (where the woman is now big and hairy) is legal.More
March 1, 1994 The Bodyguard soundtrack wins the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, with "I Will Always Love You" taking Record of the Year. Frank Sinatra receives a Living Legends Award and Aretha Franklin gets a Lifetime Achievement Award. Branford Marsalis and Bruce Hornsby take Best Pop Instrumental Performance for their song "Barcelona Mona," which was penned for the Barcelona Olympics.
February 22, 1994 Prince is granted the trademark on the symbol he has been using as his name.More
February 14, 1994 The Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia marries Deborah Koons.
February 1, 1994 Tori Amos releases her second album, Under The Pink, featuring the hit single "Cornflake Girl."More
January 19, 1994 The Ninth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held in New York City. Inductees include The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Rod Stewart. Axl Rose performs "Come Together" at the ceremony with Bruce Springsteen - it is Axl's last public appearance until 1998.
December 22, 1993 Vince Gill meets Amy Grant when she appears on his televised Christmas special, where they duet on "Tennessee Christmas." Sparks fly, but they're both married. They grow closer over the next few years and start dating in 1999 after both are divorced; in 2000 they wed.
December 6, 1993 At a video shoot for Travis Tritt's remake of the Eagles' "Take It Easy," the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to re-form for new songs and a tour.More
November 9, 1993 The Dave Matthews Band release their first album, a mostly live collection called Remember Two Things that includes early versions of "Ants Marching" and "Satellite." The band is already signed to RCA Records but they release the album independently, with their major-label debut, Under The Table and Dreaming, coming a year later.
November 9, 1993 The first Wu-Tang Clan album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), is released. The album becomes a hardcore rap landmark and proof that a 9-man hip-hop collective can succeed.More
October 29, 1993 Tim Burton's animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas hits US theaters. The film features music composed by Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo; Elfman also sings the vocal parts of protagonist Jack Skellington.
September 16, 1993 Janet Jackson appears shirtless on the cover of Rolling Stone. Her arms are in the air, with her boobs supported by a pair of hands that belong to her husband, Rene Elizondo.More
September 2, 1993 Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" video wins four awards, including Video of the Year, at the MTV Video Music Awards. Pearl Jam responds by not making any more videos until 1998.More
August 30, 1993 Billy Joel is the first musical guest on David Letterman's first show after moving to CBS.More
August 25, 1993 Snoop Doggy Dogg drives his Jeep Cherokee to Woodbine Park in Los Angeles, where his passenger, McKinley Lee, shoots and kills a rival gang member. Both are tried for murder but found not guilty in 1996.More
August 9, 1993 Lionel Richie finally divorces his first wife Brenda Harvey, who was his college sweetheart. After carrying on a secret relationship with Diane Alexander since 1986, it was only a matter of time. Richie married Alexander on December 21, 1995 and fathered two children, Miles Brockman and Sophia, before the pair split in 2004.
July 28, 1993 10,000 Maniacs perform with lead singer Natalie Merchant for the last time at the birthday bash for New York radio station Z100 (Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, The Proclaimers and Terence Trent D'Arby are also on the bill). Merchant launches a successful solo career and the band soldiers on without her, bringing new lead singer Mary Ramsey into the fold.
July 23, 1993 Poetic Justice, starring Janet Jackson (in braids) and Tupac Shakur, opens in theaters. Jackson has been acting on TV since she was a kid, appearing regularly on Good Times and Diff'rent Strokes, but the film marks her big-screen debut.
June 5, 1993 Mariah Carey marries Tommy Mottola, the music executive who signed her to Columbia Records. The marriage, her first, lasts four years.
June 1, 1993 10,000 Maniacs become the first act to appear twice on MTV Unplugged. The network has a policy against return engagements, but when they learn that Natalie Merchant will be leaving the band, they book them.More
May 28, 1993 The action comedy Super Mario Bros., a live adaptation of the popular Nintendo game starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi, debuts in US theaters. The movie flops, but the soundtrack's lead single, "Almost Unreal" by Roxette, is a top 10 hit in the UK.
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