June 15, 1994 The Disney film The Lion King hits theaters. A runaway hit, the movie takes in over $300 million in 1994, second only to Forrest Gump. The soundtrack goes Diamond, meaning over 10 million copies sold - a record for the soundtrack to an animated film.More
June 12, 1994 Rapper Don Toliver is born Caleb Zackery Toliver in Houston, Texas. The son of rapper Bongo Toliver, known for singing the chorus on Archie Lee's "Swang Wide," he generates a buzz in the music industry after teaming up with Travis Scott on "Can't Say" in 2018. Before he can even release his debut album, Heaven Or Hell (2020), his popularity explodes on TikTok when "No Idea" and "After Party" go viral.
June 9, 1994 After a fight with boyfriend and NFL star Andre Rison, TLC singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes douses Rison's tennis shoes with lighter fluid and sets them on fire in a bathtub. The fire quickly melts the plexiglass tub and catches onto the frame of the house. Rison's mansion is burned to the ground and Lopes is charged with first degree arson. She is sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
June 7, 1994 Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane/Starship is sentenced to 200 hours of community service on charges of pointing a loaded gun at police who responded to reports of a disturbance at her home on March 5th.
May 27, 1994 After a 14-year hiatus, the Eagles reunite for a show in Burbank, California, closing the show with "Desperado." They soon launch their "Hell Freezes Over" tour, which becomes the first tour to charge more than $100 for a substantial number of tickets.More
May 26, 1994 Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, the child of Elvis, in a secret ceremony held in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorce 20 months later, citing irreconcilable differences.More
May 21, 1994 R&B vocal group All-4-One hits #1 on the Hot 100 with "I Swear," a cover of a country song by John Michael Montgomery. The group is playing gigs at Disneyland when the song tops the chart; it stays at #1 for 11 weeks.More
May 10, 1994 Serial killer John Gacy, the subject of songs by Sufjan Stevens and Jane's Addiction, is executed for the murders of 33 young men and boys.
May 10, 1994 Weezer release their self-titled debut (aka The Blue Album). It sells 90 copies the first week but picks up steam when "Undone - The Sweater Song" starts getting airplay. "Buddy Holly" becomes a hit on MTV, and the album eventually sells over 3 million copies.
May 10, 1994 Philadelphia rhymers G. Love & Special Sauce release their self-titled debut album, featuring "Cold Beverage" and "Baby's Got Sauce."
May 7, 1994 Dead Kennedys lead singer Jello Biafra, in the audience for a show by the Fixtures at the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California, is seriously injured when a mosher lands on his leg and then starts a fight with him. According to Biafra, the mosher and his friends kicked him in the head and called him a "sellout rock star."
May 6, 1994 Donna Summer appears on an episode of Family Matters, playing Steve Urkel's shy Aunt Oona (from Altoona). Oona comes out of her shell when she belts out "Last Dance" at karaoke.
May 6, 1994 Pearl Jam cancel their summer tour when they can't find enough venues that won't use Ticketmaster, leading to a battle between the band and the ticketing behemoth.More
May 2, 1994 Varg Vikernes, leader of the Norwegian black metal band Burzum, begins his trial for the murder of rival black metal musician (and former bandmate) Oystein Aarseth, co-founder of the band Mayhem. The two men had had a confrontation in August of 1993 which ended with the fatal stabbing of Aarseth. Vikernes was convicted at the trial and was sentenced to 21 years in prison; however he was released early in May of 2009 on probation and currently continues to do business as Burzum, with several albums released since then. He still has fans.
May 1, 1994 New Kids On The Block, which two years earlier was playing stadiums, wrap up a tour of clubs and theaters in support of their Face The Music album. They call it quits soon after, but reunite in 2008.
April 28, 1994 Warren G releases his debut single, "Regulate," taking G-Funk in a bold new direction by sampling the laid-back groove to Michael McDonald's "I Keep Forgettin'" and some dialogue from the movie Young Guns. The song climbs to #2, where it spends three weeks behind "I Swear" by All-4-One.
April 27, 1994 Ace of Base's Jenny Berggren is attacked in her parents' home by Manuela Behrendt, a 21-year-old German "fan" wielding a hunting knife. After stabbing Berggren's mother in the hands during a scuffle, Behrendt is arrested and banned from returning to Sweden.
April 27, 1994 San Francisco's legendary rock venue the Fillmore Auditorium reopens with performances by The Smashing Pumpkins and American Music Club.
April 26, 1994 Johnny Cash releases American Recordings, the first of a series of albums produced by Rick Rubin that revitalize his career.More
April 25, 1994 Eagles play the first of two identical shows at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California for their appearance on MTV Unplugged, which will promote their upcoming reunion tour and album Hell Freezes Over.
April 25, 1994 A jury rules that Michael Bolton's 1991 hit "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" plagiarizes The Isley Brothers 1966 song of the same name and awards $5.4 million in damages, the largest ever in a music plagiarism case.More
April 19, 1994 Nas releases his landmark debut album Illmatic at the age of 20, helping revive the flagging New York City rap scene and birth the era of lyricism. It goes on to be widely accepted as one of the greatest rap albums of all time.More
April 16, 1994 Pearl Jam pay tribute to Kurt Cobain, who was found dead a week earlier, on Saturday Night Live with a performance of "Daughter" that ends with lead singer Eddie Vedder opening up his jacket to reveal a "K" on his T-shirt.
April 12, 1994 Hole release their major-label debut album, Live Through This, exactly one week after the suicide of Kurt Cobain, husband of the band's frontwoman, Courtney Love.
April 9, 1994 Pearl Jam visit the White House, where they meet with President Bill Clinton. The band push for reforms to rein in Ticketmaster, while Clinton looks for help crafting an official statement on Kurt Cobain, who was found dead the previous day.
April 8, 1994 Kurt Cobain's body is found in his Seattle home by an electrician sent to install a burglar alarm. He is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound three days earlier. The Nirvana song "Come As You Are" takes on new meaning with the line, "I swear that I don't have a gun."More
March 20, 1994 Madonna snags her third Razzie for Worst Actress at the 14th Golden Raspberry Awards. Her first came in 1987 for Shanghai Surprise, and the second followed in 1988 for Who's That Girl. This time around, it's her role as Rebecca Carlson in Body Of Evidence that underwhelms the judges.
March 18, 1994 Courtney Love calls the police fearing that her husband, Kurt Cobain, is suicidal. Police confiscate four guns and 25 boxes of ammo from his home.
March 10, 1994 Bad Bunny is born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Almirante Sur, Puerto Rico. He becomes a global superstar with a stronghold in America, where in 2020 his album El Último Tour Del Mundo becomes the first entirely Spanish-language album to hit #1.
March 8, 1994 Two seminal albums from the '90s are released: Soundgarden's Superunknown and Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral. They enter the albums chart at #1 and #2, respectively.More
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