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
April 14, 1990 Rock and roll singer Thurston Harris, known for his hit 1957 cover of Bobby Day's "Little Bitty Pretty One," dies at age 58 of a heart attack.
April 12, 1990 The Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center in Arizona announces that four newly discovered asteroids, 4147-4150, will be named Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
April 11, 1990 Elton John plays at the funeral for Ryan White, an 18-year-old who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. Michael Jackson also attends the funeral and later dedicates the song "Gone Too Soon" to White.
April 10, 1990 Public Enemy release their highly anticipated third album, Fear Of A Black Planet, with the incendiary lead single "Fight The Power." The album becomes the first in hip-hop history to sell a million copies its first week of release.
April 10, 1990 A Tribe Called Quest release their debut album, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, drawing comparisons to the mellow grooves of De La Soul. It doesn't do much damage on the charts but ages well, with the songs "Can I Kick It?" and "Bonita Applebum" earning a place as hip-hop classics.
April 10, 1990 Maren Morris is born in Arlington, Texas. She moves to Nashville and launches a successful career in country music, but her biggest hit comes when she lends vocals to the "The Middle," a techno-dance track by the producer Zedd.
April 7, 1990 Bonnie Raitt emerges from a career slump with her first #1 album, Nick Of Time, unseating Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl.More
April 7, 1990 Farm Aid IV takes place at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Two very memorable events take place: 1) Guns N' Roses play their last show with drummer Steven Adler, whose drug addiction is taking a toll on his playing. He is booted from the band before their next performance. 2) Elton John arrives after holding vigil for Ryan White, an 18-year-old who is one of the first high-profile AIDS victims (he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion). Elton dedicates his performance of "Candle In The Wind" to White, who dies the next day.
April 4, 1990 Led by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and his girlfriend, Libby Titus (they get married in 1993), The New York Rock and Soul Revue play their first major concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Other performers include Michael McDonald, Boz Scaggs and Phoebe Snow. The event grows out of a series of shows organized by Titus and held in smaller venues in the city. A pair of concerts by the collective at the same venue in March 1991 results in the popular live album The New York Rock And Soul Revue: Live At The Beacon, released in October of that year.
April 2, 1990 After releasing eight studio albums in her native French, Celine Dion issues her first English-language album, Unison. The lead single, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now," goes to #4, setting the stage for her American breakthrough.
March 27, 1990 Digital Underground, a rap collective that later includes Tupac Shakur, release their debut album, Sex Packets. It's a concept album about a drug that simulates the experience of having sex.More
March 23, 1990 The romantic comedy Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, debuts in US theaters. Named for Roy Orbison's classic tune, it also boasts an impressive soundtrack, including the #1 hit "It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette.More
March 21, 1990 The sitcom Sydney premieres on CBS, starring Valerie Bertinelli and a pre-Friends Matthew Perry. Bertinelli's husband Eddie Van Halen provides the theme song: "Finish What Ya Started."
March 20, 1990 Sinead O'Connor releases her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. The single "Nothing Compares 2 U," written by Prince, propels her to stardom.
March 20, 1990 Near Scranton and heading for a show in Syracuse, Miami Sound Machine's tour bus is hit by a tractor trailer on a snowy highway. Gloria Estefan suffers a serious spinal injury requiring four hours of surgery.More
March 20, 1990 Eric Clapton plays three songs on Saturday Night Live: "Pretending," "No Alibis" and "Wonderful Tonight."
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
March 15, 1990 9-year-old Christina Aguilera appears on the show Star Search singing the Etta James song "A Sunday Kind Of Love." She loses, but so did Britney Spears and Alanis Morissette when they appeared on the show. When she becomes a judge on the singing competition show The Voice, Aguilera often consoles losing contestants by telling them about how she lost on Star Search.
March 2, 1990 Luke Combs is born in Huntersville, North Carolina. He moves to Nashville and quickly lands a series of country hits, including "When It Rains It Pours" and "Beautiful Crazy."
March 1, 1990 In Miami, Janet Jackson sets out on her first headlining tour, the Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990. The dazzling stage show sees Jackson and her dancers re-creating some of the music videos, culminating with the crisply choreographed "Rhythm Nation." Two days later, a single from the album, "Escapade," hits #1.
February 24, 1990 At the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, The Byrds' David Crosby, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman reunite for a tribute concert honoring the recently deceased Roy Orbison and raising money to support the homeless, a cause Orbison was passionate about. Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, John Fogerty and Bonnie Raitt are also on the bill; the concert is later broadcast as a Showtime special.
February 22, 1990 A jury rules that Stevie Wonder didn't not infringe on a song written in 1976 called "I Just Called To Say" on his hit "I Just Called To Say I Love You." The lawsuit was filed in 1985 by "I Just Called To Say" writers Lee Garrett and Lloyd Chiate, but in 1986, Garrett, a childhood friend of Wonder's, pulls out of the case.
February 21, 1990 Paul McCartney is honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 32nd annual Grammy Awards, perhaps to make up for the paltry four awards they gave to The Beatles while they were still active. Bonnie Raitt is the big winner with four awards, including Album of the Year for Nick Of Time.
February 18, 1990 At the BRIT Awards in London, Queen collect the BPI award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. It is Freddie Mercury's last public appearance with the band, as he dies the following year.
February 17, 1990 Aerosmith appear on Saturday Night Live, performing "Monkey on My Back" and "Janie's Got A Gun," and also appearing in a Wayne's World skit where Tom Hanks plays their roadie.
February 16, 1990 The day before he turns 18, Billie Joe Armstrong drops out of high school. A week later, he releases the first album with his band Green Day: 39/Smooth.
February 16, 1990 Ike Turner is sentenced to four years in prison on eleven separate charges, including possession and transport of cocaine. In prison when he and ex-wife Tina are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he is released after serving eighteen months.
February 9, 1990 Midnight Oil release the album Blue Sky Mining. The lead single, "Blue Sky Mine," is inspired by the Wittenoom industrial disaster in the band's native Australia. The song is a Top 10 hit on the ARIA singles chart and tops the rock charts in the US.More
February 3, 1990 Sean Kingston is born Kisean Anderson in Miami. His pop-reggae sound gets the attention of producer J.R. Rotem, who signs him to his label and issues his first single, "Beautiful Girls," in 2007. The song goes to #1 and leads to a run of hits that lasts through 2013, but in 2025 Kingston is convicted of wire fraud after exploiting his celebrity to steal luxury goods.
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