August 20, 1997 The "Hank Williams Memorial Lost Highway" is dedicated in Alabama, where the singer was born. The 50-mile stretch on Interstate 65 starts at his childhood home of Georgiana and ends in Montgomery, the site of his grave. The ceremony takes place in Montgomery (the state capitol), with Hank Williams Jr. on hand to speak.
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.
July 12, 1997 The French magazine Le Figaro publishes an interview with George Harrison where he blasts modern music, taking aim at U2 and the Spice Girls.More
June 17, 1997 Blink-182, a pop-punk trio from San Diego, release their major-label debut, Dude Ranch. The album boasts their first rock-radio hit, "Dammit," a breakup tune that blows out bassist Mark Hoppus' vocal chords.More
June 17, 1997 When Ozzy's voice gives out before the Ozzfest date in Columbus, Ohio, he doesn't appear but the show goes on without him. Fans, who aren't told until later that he won't be there, don't take the news well and trash the venue.More
June 16, 1997 In the UK, The Verve release "Bitter Sweet Symphony," which lives up to it's title: the song is a huge hit, but Mick Jagger and Keith Richards end up getting credits and royalties.More
June 14, 1997 Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You," a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G., hits #1 in America, where it stays for 11 weeks, dominating the summer of 1997.More
May 23, 1997 Country singers LeAnn Rimes and Trisha Yearwood release separate versions of the Diane Warren-penned ballad "How Do I Live" on the same day.More
February 22, 1997 The Spice Girls conquer America as their debut single, "Wannabe," hits #1.More
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
January 7, 1997 David Bowie's 50th birthday bash takes place at New York City's Madison Square Garden in the form of a charity concert benefiting Save the Children. Bowie's famous pals - including Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Robert Smith, Billy Corgan, and Foo Fighters, among others - pay tribute with renditions of the singer's tunes. Bowie closes out the event with his 1969 hit "Space Oddity."
October 6, 1996 Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw get hitched.More
September 21, 1996 Jack Gillis marries Meg White. He takes her last name, and the couple forms The White Stripes. They tell reporters they are brother and sister, which goes over until a reporter for the Detroit Free Press uncovers their marriage license in 2001.
August 6, 1996 At a show in Hollywood, the Ramones play their final concert.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 15, 1996 The Beastie Boys host the first Tibetan Freedom Concert, with performers that include Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins and John Lee Hooker. About 100,000 attend the two shows, raising money for the Milarepa Fund.More
May 28, 1996 Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode takes a nasty speedball (cocaine and heroin) and goes into cardiac arrest. Medics manage to kickstart his heart, saving his life.More
April 18, 1996 Gavin Rossdale of Bush is shirtless on the cover of Rolling Stone, but the article inside trashes the band, calling them "Nirvanawannabes."More
February 20, 1996 Snoop Doggy Dogg is acquitted of murder, ending an ordeal that started in 1993 when his bodyguard shot and killed a rival gang member from the Jeep Snoop was driving.More
February 14, 1996 Prince, 37, marries the 22-year-old model/belly dancer Mayte Garcia at a ceremony in Minneapolis. White doves are released when they exchange vows - no word on if they were crying. The marriage is annulled three years later, and Garcia takes up with Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe.
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
January 16, 1996 Jamaican police mistake Jimmy Buffett for a drug smuggler and shoot at his seaplane (the Hemisphere Dancer) after it lands in the water. Bono of U2 is on board with his family, along with Island Records head Chris Blackwell.More
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
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
October 1, 1995 Farm Aid 8 takes place in Louisville, Kentucky, with Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Hootie & the Blowfish and The Dave Matthews Band raising over $1 million to support American farmers.
August 15, 1995 Spanish pop duo Los del Rio release the single "Macarena" in the US. Inspired by a beautiful flamenco dancer, the song lights a fire in Miami beach clubs and spreads across the country, igniting the '90s hottest dance craze.More
July 31, 1995 Rapper Lil Uzi Vert is born Symere Bysil Woods in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With a stage name inspired by his rapid-fire delivery, Uzi takes the hip-hop world by storm with an eclectic blend of rap styles, including a heavy dose of trap, and emo rock on seminal tunes like "Money Longer" and "You Was Right."
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 24, 1995 Eddie Vedder, felled by a bad tuna fish sandwich, has to leave Pearl Jam's show at the Polo Fields in San Francisco after seven songs. Neil Young, on hand to play a song or two as a special guest, takes over, playing 14 songs to quell a potential riot. The No Code song "Red Mosquito" is about this incident.
June 13, 1995 Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette releases her breakthrough album, the alt-rock classic Jagged Little Pill.More
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