Calendar Search Results: pop songs
April 20, 1999 At his concert at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Billy Joel announces his retirement from touring and recording pop music, as he wants to focus on classical music. His retirement doesn't last long; he returns to the stage in December. After sitting out most of 2000, he embarks on the Face to Face tour with Elton John in 2001.
January 20, 1999 Bill Albaugh (drummer for the psychedelic pop group The Lemon Pipers) dies at age 53.
December 5, 1998 Billboard changes the way they calculate the Hot 100, finally accounting for airplay. Previously, if a song wasn't available for purchase as a single, it couldn't chart. As labels withheld singles to goose album sales, popular songs like "Don't Speak" and "One Headlight" were conspicuously absent from the chart, prompting the change.
November 4, 1997 Shania Twain's third album, Come On Over, is released.More
October 11, 1997 On the UK albums chart, it's battling Britpop as The Verve's Urban Hymns knocks Oasis' Be Here Now out of #1.
September 19, 1997 The pitch-correction software Auto-Tune hits the market and soon becomes ubiquitous in recording studios, especially after Cher hits #1 with her Auto-Tuned "Believe."More
September 6, 1997 Elton John sings a new version of "Candle In The Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral. This rendition, which replaces "Goodbye Norma Jean" with "Goodbye England's Rose," becomes the best-selling single of all time in the UK.More
September 4, 1997 Accepting the award for Best New Artist, 19-year-old Fiona Apple rages against the machine, saying: "This world is bulls--t. And you shouldn't model your life about what you think we think is cool, what we're wearing, and what we're saying."More
August 28, 1997 In Leeds on the U2 Popmart tour, Bono responds to George Harrison's comment, "Bono and his band are so egocentric," by holding up a middle finger and saying, "This one's for you George!"
August 2, 1997 Sweden's teenage electropop sensation Robyn notches her first hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when "Do You Know (What It Takes)" peaks at #7 on the chart, nearly two years after it was released on her 1995 debut album, Robyn Is Here.
January 28, 1997 Pat Boone releases the album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy, where he covers various hard rock classics, including "Stairway To Heaven," "Enter Sandman" and "Crazy Train."More
November 7, 1996 On the Seinfeld episode "The Checks," Elaine is frustrated by her new boyfriend's obsession with the Eagles' song "Desperado." The actor, James Patrick Stuart, has a real-life musical connection: His dad is Chad Stuart, half of the '60s pop duo Chad & Jeremy.
July 30, 1996 Sublime's self-titled album is released. It's their major-label debut, and also their last, as lead singer Brad Nowell died of a heroin overdose two months earlier. The album goes on to sell over 5 million copies.More
July 23, 1996 Fiona Apple, 18, releases her debut album, Tidal, featuring "Shadowboxer" and "Criminal." It sells over 3 million copies in America.More
June 19, 1996 Comedic composer Vivian Ellis, known for the 1929 musical number "Spread A Little Happiness," popularly covered by Sting in 1982, dies at age 92.
April 9, 1996 Bluegrass duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings release their debut album, Revival.More
February 13, 1996 The Fugees release their second album, The Score. It's a landmark, topping the charts around the world and pushing the boundaries of hip-hop. It's also their last album, as they disband soon after.More
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 2, 1995 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland, with opening ceremony performances by Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Al Green, The Allman Brothers Band, Booker T. & the MG's, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, The Pretenders, John Fogerty, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, The Kinks, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, The Animals' Eric Burdon, and Boz Scaggs.
August 27, 1995 Big Dee Irwin dies of heart failure in Las Vegas, Nevada, at age 63. Recorded a popular version of "Swinging on a Star" with Little Eva.
August 20, 1995 After a lengthy press-fueled feud culminates in simultaneous singles releases, Blur's "Country House" beats Oasis' track "Roll With It" to the #1 spot in the UK. Oasis go on to enjoy worldwide mainstream success, while Blur later veer from the Britpop sound, developing an artier, more experimental style – heavily inspired by Pavement.
July 19, 1995 Clueless debuts in theaters, reviving the teen movie genre and boosting the film career of Alicia Silverstone, who appeared in the music video for Aerosmith's "Cryin'." The accompanying soundtrack gives retro hits a modern makeover, with the pop-punk act The Muffs covering Kim Wilde's "Kids In America."More
June 13, 1995 Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette releases her breakthrough album, the alt-rock classic Jagged Little Pill.More
February 19, 1995 Roxette become just the second Western pop act to play a public concert in China when they perform in a Beijing celebration of the Chinese New Year. To appease censors, the duo changes the lyrics of their song "Making Love to You" to "Making Up to You." Wham! was the first act to break this barrier, with a show in 1984.
September 22, 1994 Friends debuts on NBC, accompanied by a catchy theme song by The Rembrandts that becomes an unexpected hit.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 29, 1994 Oasis release their debut album, Definitely Maybe. The record goes on to sell over a million copies in the US, spearheading a second British Invasion, but for now the band remain unknown outside of the UK.More
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
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
July 5, 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish release their debut album Cracked Rear View. It takes off at the beginning of 1995, eventually selling a staggering 21 million copies.More
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