Calendar Search Results: this is it
April 2, 1991 Lenny Kravitz releases his sophomore album, Mama Said, with the hit "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," a plea for reconciliation to his soon-to-be ex-wife, actress Lisa Bonet. More
January 23, 1991 The Albuquerque, New Mexico, radio station KLSK FM plays the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway To Heaven" over and over for 24 hours to inaugurate a format change to classic rock. It plays more than 200 times, eliciting hundreds of angry calls and letters. Police show up with guns drawn after a listener reports that the DJ had apparently suffered a heart attack, later because of suspicion that - this being eight days into the Gulf War - the radio station had been taken hostage by terrorists dispatched by Zeppelin freak Saddam Hussein. Weirdest of all, lots of listeners don't move the dial: "Turns out a lot of people listened to see when we would finally stop playing it."
January 12, 1991 "I Touch Myself" by Australian new wave girl group Divinyls hits #1 on the Australian ARIA chart, #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #10 on the UK charts. This is a landmark event, as the song deals very frankly with female libido and sexual desire - not just as the passive object of a male.
December 3, 1990 Madonna appears on the news program Nightline, where she debuts her video for "Justify My Love," which MTV has refused to play. As the lascivious clip plays, Madonna provides commentary, answering questions from host Forrest Sawyer.More
November 23, 1990 Bad Religion release their fifth full-length studio album, Against the Grain. This is the band's last recording with drummer Pete Finestone, who left the band just prior to the recording of their next album Generator, which eventually dropped in 1992.
November 19, 1990 The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences strips the 1989 Best New Artist Grammy from Milli Vanilli because Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan didn't actually sing on their debut album, "Girl You Know It's True." It is the first time a Grammy has ever been revoked.More
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 8, 1990 The Go-Go's pose for the first "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" poster for PETA.More
August 20, 1990 Prince releases his album Graffiti Bridge, which contains the tracks "Thieves In The Temple" and "New Power Generation."More
July 21, 1990 With a bevy of special guests, Roger Waters performs The Wall at the former site of the Berlin Wall, which came down eight months earlier.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
April 16, 1990 The Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute for a Free South Africa concert is held in Wembley Stadium, London, to celebrate the release of Mandela, who had been imprisoned since 1962. Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Tracy Chapman, Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt all perform.More
March 19, 1990 Andrew Wood, lead singer of Mother Love Bone, dies of a heroin overdose at age 24. Members of the band go on to form Pearl Jam.More
January 20, 1990 After being revived by a Washington DJ, "The Electric Boogie" by Jamaican singer Marcia Griffiths peaks at #51 on the Billboard Hot 100, as the "Electric Slide" line dance craze sweeps the nation.More
November 26, 1989 MTV's acoustic showcase Unplugged premieres with an episode featuring Squeeze. Jules Shear hosts the first season.More
October 18, 1989 During a gig opening for The Rolling Stones in Los Angeles, Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses announces on stage: "Unless certain people in this band get their s--t together, these will be the last Guns N' Roses shows you'll f--king ever see. Cause I'm tired of too many people in this organization dancing with Mr. Brownstone." It's an early indicator of the fissures that will arise between the capricious Rose and his drug-addicted bandmates.
August 13, 1989 After floating down the Moskva River and passing Gorky Park, the Scorpions play the Moscow Music Peace Festival, inspiring their song "Wind Of Change."More
June 2, 1989 Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman, 52, marries 18-year-old Mandy Smith in a 15-minute civil ceremony held at a registry office in Suffolk, England. The only witnesses are Smith's sister and Wyman's son. A proper celebration takes place three days later.More
May 9, 1989 In an interview with The Washington Times, Public Enemy's "Minister of Information," Professor Griff, blames Jews for "the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe."More
December 24, 1988 Hair metal reaches its apogee as Poison's power ballad "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" hits #1 in the US. It stays for three weeks.More
November 5, 1988 The Beach Boys, who haven't had a #1 hit since "Good Vibrations" in 1966, top the charts with the Brian Wilson-less "Kokomo," used in the movie Cocktail. It's the longest gap between #1 hits for any artist.More
July 6, 1988 MTV refuses to play Neil Young's video for "This Note's For You," citing a policy against videos that mention products. The video is a parody of various ad campaigns, with lyrics mentioning Coke, Pepsi, Miller and Bud.More
April 11, 1988 In the midst of a decade characterized by materialism and excess, Neil Young releases This Note's for You, his 16th studio album. The title song mocks the marketing industry and the corporate music scene.
February 20, 1988 "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" by Pet Shop Boys climbs to #2 in America, behind Tiffany's "Could've Been." The song features Dusty Springfield, marking her first big hit since 1969.
February 5, 1988 The John Hughes film She's Having A Baby debuts in US theaters. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern star as a young married couple whose lives are about to be upended by the birth of their first child. The soundtrack features Kate Bush's heart-wrenching ballad "This Woman's Work," written and recorded expressly for the movie.More
October 12, 1987 Christmas songs get a modern makeover with the all-star compilation A Very Special Christmas, featuring Whitney Houston's "Do You Hear What I Hear?," Madonna's "Santa Baby" and an original song from Run-D.M.C., "Christmas in Hollis." Proceeds from the album go to the Special Olympics.More
August 17, 1987 Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C. wrap up their Together Forever tour with a show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Run-D.M.C. tell fans to stay in school and avoid drugs; Beastie Boys have cage dancers and beer.More
August 6, 1987 Nike takes out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times responding to the controversy over their use of The Beatles' song "Revolution" in a commercial.More
August 3, 1987 After years of delays, Def Leppard's Hysteria album is released in the US.More
July 21, 1987 Guns N' Roses release their first album, Appetite For Destruction. It's a landmark debut, featuring the hits "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine."More
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