October 12, 1996 One of these things is not like the other. Here's what the US albums chart looks like: #1 Celine Dion - Falling Into You #2 Kenny G - The Moment #3 Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
October 12, 1996 Though they've refused to release it on video for 27 years, largely due to dissatisfaction over their own performance, The Rolling Stones finally release their landmark 1968 all-star BBC television special, The Rolling Stones' Rock And Roll Circus.
October 8, 1996 Jimmy Chamberlin, charged with drug possession, pleads guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. The Smashing Pumpkins drummer was shooting heroin with touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin in July when Melvoin overdosed and died. Chamberlin was fired from the band, but returns in 1999.
October 7, 1996 At a stop in Tunis, Tunisia on his HIStory tour, Michael Jackson plays his first concert in Africa as a solo artist. The tour concludes with a series of shows in South Africa.
October 7, 1996 Singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is born in Glasgow, Scotland. His debut single, "Bruises," is a hit across Europe in 2017, and a year later he releases "Someone You Loved," a #1 hit in the US and UK.
October 6, 1996 Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw get hitched.More
October 5, 1996 Neal McCoy raises $150,000 for a charity he and wife Melinda established in 1995. Country singer Bryan White, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, Cowboys coach Joe Avezzano and radio host Bob Kingsley pitch in for a concert at the Longview High School Coliseum in Longview, Texas. The money goes to the East Texas Angel Network (ETAN), which provides financial assistance for medical treatments and related costs to families with children suffering from serious diseases.
October 4, 1996 That Thing You Do!, a musical film starring its writer/director Tom Hanks, who plays the manager of fictional '60s band The Wonders, is released to US cinemas. The title track to the film was written by Adam Schlesinger, bass player for Fountains of Wayne.More
September 29, 1996 In Randall's Island, New York, Pearl Jam play their longest show ever: 32 songs over two hours, 48 minutes. During "Porch," Eddie Vedder duct tapes himself and leaps into the mosh pit.
September 24, 1996 "That Thing You Do," the title track to That Thing You Do!, a musical film directed by and starring Tom Hanks, is released. The track is written by Adam Schlesinger, bass player for Fountains of Wayne, and performed by fictional band The Wonders. The song goes on to peak at #41 in America and is nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. It loses out on both occasions to Madonna's "You Must Love Me," from Evita.
September 21, 1996 Hank Williams III, 23, makes his debut at the Grand Ole Opry, following the legacy of his father, Hank Williams Jr., and grandfather,Hank Williams, in performing there. His set includes "Lovesick Blues," which Hank Sr. played at his Opry debut in 1949.
September 17, 1996 Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise release their debut album, Blackwater Surprise, featuring the song "Once Upon a Time."
September 17, 1996 Three years after bursting into the musical consciousness with their debut Undertow, Tool release their second album, Ænima. It opens at #2 in the US and eventually sells over 3 million copies.
September 10, 1996 Neil Peart employs some jazz-influenced traditional drum grips on Rush's 16th studio album, Test for Echo. It's the last album the band releases before the death of Peart's daughter, followed ten months later by the passing of his wife, leads the band to take a six-year recording hiatus.
September 9, 1996 Bluegrass singer/songwriter Bill Monroe dies at age 84 in Springfield, Tennessee, several months after suffering a stroke.
September 4, 1996 At the MTV Video Music Awards, Van Halen, who recently parted ways with lead singer Sammy Hagar, appear on stage with their founding frontman David Lee Roth for the first time in 11 years to present an award. The reunion is short lived - a month later they announce Gary Cherone (formerly of Extreme) as their new lead singer. Roth releases a statement saying, "I was an unwitting participant in this deception." Van Halen release one album with Cherone before reuniting with Roth in 2007.
August 28, 1996 Isaac Hayes officially protests the use of Sam and Dave's classic "Soul Man" (which he wrote) by the Bob Dole US Presidential campaign (which had renamed it "I'm A Dole Man").
August 23, 1996 The movie She's The One, with a soundtrack by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, opens in theaters. Jennifer Aniston and Edward Burns, who star in the film, appear in the video for "Walls."
August 12, 1996 With ska booming in America, Time magazine runs an article titled "It's a Ska World After All." Sublime, No Doubt and 311 all have albums on the chart.
August 12, 1996 In Buffalo, New York, Radiohead start a run of 13 shows opening for Alanis Morissette. They use their time to road test songs like "No Surprises" and "Paranoid Android," which appear on their next album, OK Computer.
August 7, 1996 A federal appeals court overturns the ruling that original Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers members Jimmy Merchant and Herman Santiago co-wrote the group's biggest hit, 1955's "Why Do Fools Fall In Love?," ruling that copyright claims must be filed within three years of the song's publication.
August 6, 1996 At a show in Hollywood, the Ramones play their final concert.More
August 5, 1996 Soul singer Wilson Pickett checks into a court-ordered rehab for cocaine addiction.
August 1, 1996 Bill Buchanan, known for a songwriting partnership with Dickie Goodman that produced the 1956 hit "The Flying Saucer," dies of cancer at age 81.
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 27, 1996 "Wannabe" hits #1 in the UK, making the Spice Girls the first all-female group to top the chart with their debut single.
July 23, 1996 Fiona Apple, 18, releases her debut album, Tidal, featuring "Shadowboxer" and "Criminal." It sells over 3 million copies in America.More
July 22, 1996 The Smokin' Grooves tour, the first major hip-hop traveling festival, kicks off a 33-date trek with a show in Sacramento, California. Artists include A Tribe Called Quest, Fugees, Cypress Hill and Busta Rhymes.
July 17, 1996 The song "Key To My Heart" by the R&B trio Choice appears in the movie Kazaam, starring Shaquille O'Neal as a 5,000-year-old genie. Choice quickly disbands but its stand-out singer, Alecia Moore, goes on to greatness as Pink.
July 16, 1996 The Sultan of Brunei, the world's richest man, marks his 50th birthday with a Michael Jackson concert on the Borneo Island. Jackson earns about $15 million for the performance, which is free to the 60,000 in attendance.
©2026 Songfacts®, LLC