Calendar Search Results: pop songs
November 3, 1992 Rage Against The Machine release their self-titled debut album. It's filled with incendiary protest songs that take on topics like media manipulation ("Bullet In The Head"), oppression of indigenous people ("Freedom") and government warmongering ("Know Your Enemy").More
October 20, 1992 Madonna releases Erotica, a concept album about the pleasures and pitfalls of sex and romance, a day before her controversial Sex book hits the market.More
October 3, 1992 Sinéad O'Connor, famous for her hit song "Nothing Compares 2 U," goes way off script during her Saturday Night Live appearance, declaring "Fight the real enemy" and tearing up a picture of the Pope.More
May 19, 1992 Pop/soul singer Sam Smith is born in London, England.
May 19, 1992 Billy Ray Cyrus releases his debut album, Some Gave All, featuring his signature song "Achy Breaky Heart." The album dominates the Billboard 200 chart for 17 consecutive weeks, and the single's music video spawns a line-dancing trend across the US, where a new breed of country music is already becoming a phenomenon. More
May 1, 1992 Sub Pop Records release a compilation album titled The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, which for many listeners is the first time they can hear the band. Hailing from Scotland, the Vaselines had received renewed interest after Nirvana covered their songs "Molly's Lips" and "Jesus Doesn't Want Me for a Sunbeam."
April 1, 1992 MC Hammer's 2 Legit 2 Quit tour begins in Hampton, Virginia. By the end of the tour, two of his support acts have become more popular than he is: Boyz II Men and TLC.
December 7, 1991 Amplified by an innovative video with Macaulay Culkin and morphing, "Black Or White" by Michael Jackson hits #1 in America for the first of seven weeks.More
September 28, 1991 Thanks to a proliferation of "New Country" radio stations and more accurate reporting, country music goes mainstream as Garth Brooks' Ropin' the Wind becomes the first country album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.More
September 10, 1991 Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is released as a single, forever changing the musical meaning of the word "Alternative."More
August 4, 1991 Jeri Southern, a singer whose popular songs include "An Occasional Man" and "Fire Down Below," dies of pneumonia at age 64.
May 1, 1991 For the first time, MTV Unplugged features rap acts, with De La Soul, MC Lyte, A Tribe Called Quest and LL Cool J performing. LL steals the show with a shirtless rendition of "Mama Said Knock You Out."More
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 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 10, 1990 In a sign that pop and rap have fused together, To the Extreme by Vanilla Ice replaces MC Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em at #1 on the US albums chart.
November 3, 1990 "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice hits #1 in the US, marking the first time a rapper has topped the chart.More
October 6, 1990 Soundgarden, Iggy Pop, Ice T, The Cramps, Joan Baez and Public Enemy are among the artists to perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre in California, as part of A Gathering of Tribes, which is organized by The Cult's Ian Astbury. The festival is a forebear to Lollapalooza, which launches a year later.
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 21, 1990 Alice in Chains release their debut album, Facelift, one of the first grunge albums to gain widespread popularity.More
June 9, 1990 MC Hammer's Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em becomes just the second rap album to reach #1 in America (Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys was the first).More
September 6, 1989 Just as mainstream pop is about to welcome grunge music with its murky guitars and bleak outlook on society, newcomer Lenny Kravitz challenges the negativity with a simple, funk-styled message: Let Love Rule.More
August 25, 1989 Chicago mayor Richard Michael Daley declares today "Pops Staples Day" in honor of the native musician and leader of The Staple Singers.
June 17, 1989 Pop singer Simone Battle (of G.R.L.) is born in Los Angeles, California.
February 22, 1989 The very unheavy Jethro Tull win the first Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance, beating out Metallica.More
November 22, 1988 Pop singer Janet Ertel (of The Chordettes) dies of cancer at age 75.
October 18, 1988 The Traveling Wilburys, a supergroup for the ages, release their debut album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1. The band is comprised of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne. For the project, the five music legends humorously take on Wilbury family pseudonyms: Lucky (Dylan), Nelson (Harrison), Lefty (Orbison), Charlie T. Jr. (Petty) and Otis (Lynne). The album includes two popular songs, "Handle With Care" and "End Of The Line," and goes on to win a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group in 1990.
June 20, 1988 MCA Records issues landmark albums by two of their hottest young R&B acts: Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel and New Edition's Heart Break.More
June 11, 1988 Dozens of big-name acts, including Peter Gabriel, Sting, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, rock the stage at the Free Nelson Mandela Concert at Wembley Stadium in London.More
June 29, 1987 The Living Daylights, the first James Bond film to star Timothy Dalton as 007, premieres in London. The theme song was written and performed by a-ha, who are unable to attend. The film's composer, John Barry, is asked about the Norwegian band and calls them "Hitler Youth."More
June 1, 1987 Sub Pop Records issues Soundgarden's first single, "Hunted Down"/"Nothing to Say."
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