March 7, 1994 The Supreme Court rules that parody constitutes fair use in deciding that 2 Live Crew's version of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (where the woman is now big and hairy) is legal.More
March 1, 1994 The Bodyguard soundtrack wins the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, with "I Will Always Love You" taking Record of the Year. Frank Sinatra receives a Living Legends Award and Aretha Franklin gets a Lifetime Achievement Award. Branford Marsalis and Bruce Hornsby take Best Pop Instrumental Performance for their song "Barcelona Mona," which was penned for the Barcelona Olympics.
March 1, 1994 Justin Bieber is born in London, Ontario, Canada. Discovered on YouTube, he moves to Atlanta and is mentored by Usher. By the time he's 18 he has two #1 albums and a phalanx of female fans known as Beliebers.
March 1, 1994 Ozzy Osbourne wins Best Metal Performance with Vocal for "I Don't Want to Change the World" from his album No More Tears. It's the first of his five career Grammy wins.
February 22, 1994 Prince is granted the trademark on the symbol he has been using as his name.More
February 1, 1994 Green Day release their major-label debut album, Dookie, bringing punk rock out of the basement with songs like "Basket Case" and "When I Come Around." At night, they play a gig at Slim's in San Francisco with The Dead Milkmen.More
February 1, 1994 Tori Amos releases her second album, Under The Pink, featuring the hit single "Cornflake Girl."More
February 1, 1994 Harry Styles is born in Worcestershire, England. He rises to fame in the boy band One Direction, and after their breakup in 2016, he becomes the best-selling solo artist of the bunch, with hits like "Sign of the Times," "Watermelon Sugar" and "Aperture."
January 30, 1994 Natalie Cole sings the US national anthem at Superbowl XXVIII in Atlanta, Georgia. Halftime is country, with Clint Black, The Judds and Travis Tritt among the performers.
January 28, 1994 Latin pop singer/rapper Maluma is born Juan Luis Londoño Arias in Medellin, Colombia. His breakthrough sophomore album, Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy (2015), showcases his dual personality as a pretty boy who sings romantic ballads and a dirty boy who sings reggaeton songs with seductive lyrics. "Borro Cassette," "El Perdedor," and "Sin Contrato" all reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Latin Songs chart.
January 19, 1994 The Ninth Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held in New York City. Inductees include The Animals, The Band, Duane Eddy, The Grateful Dead, Elton John, John Lennon, Bob Marley, and Rod Stewart. Axl Rose performs "Come Together" at the ceremony with Bruce Springsteen - it is Axl's last public appearance until 1998.
January 15, 1994 Ska music bubbles under in America as Billboard publishes a cover story called "Hunt for 'Next Big Thing' Unearths Ska Underground." Bands like No Doubt, Reel Big Fish and Sublime soon break through with ska-inflected sounds.
January 15, 1994 Counting Crows are the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, performing "Mr. Jones" and "Round Here." The appearance sparks sales of their debut album and sends radio stations scrambling to add the songs to their playlists. Despite this breakthrough appearance, the band is never asked back for the show.
December 28, 1993 Shania Twain and superproducer Mutt Lange get married. In 2001, they have a son named Eja, but divorce in 2010 after Lange takes up with Twain's best friend.
December 22, 1993 Vince Gill meets Amy Grant when she appears on his televised Christmas special, where they duet on "Tennessee Christmas." Sparks fly, but they're both married. They grow closer over the next few years and start dating in 1999 after both are divorced; in 2000 they wed.
December 19, 1993 Michael Clarke (drummer for The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers) dies of liver failure at age 47 after decades of alcohol abuse.
December 10, 1993 Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit hits theaters. Two teenagers in the film, Lauryn Hill and Tanya Trotter, duet on the song "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," which makes the soundtrack. Hill soon becomes a star with her band the Fugees and later as a solo artist; Trotter goes on to form the duo The War and Treaty with her husband Michael.
December 6, 1993 At a video shoot for Travis Tritt's remake of the Eagles' "Take It Easy," the Eagles themselves reunite and decide to re-form for new songs and a tour.More
December 5, 1993 Onetime Gin Blossoms guitarist Doug Hopkins commits suicide at age 32. Hopkins was fired from the group before the release of their debut album, New Miserable Experience, but the biggest hits from that album, "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You," were songs he wrote.
November 23, 1993 Snoop Doggy Dogg releases his highly anticipated debut album, Doggystyle, on Death Row records. Produced by his label boss, Dr. Dre, it goes straight to #1 in the US.
November 23, 1993 The Beavis And Butt-Head Experience, an album where the animated morons offer their thoughts on songs like "I Got You Babe" and "Search And Destroy," is released. It sells over 2 million copies in America.
November 23, 1993 Guns N' Roses release The Spaghetti Incident, an album of cover songs featuring a remake of the Skyliners' 1959 hit "Since I Don't Have You." It's their fifth studio album and the last they will record for fifteen years, when they reunite and release Chinese Democracy.
November 18, 1993 Nirvana records an MTV Unplugged concert in New York. The show is shot in one take - imperfections and all - and is aired one month later.More
November 17, 1993 Ritchie Blackmore plays a concert in Helsinki with Deep Purple, then quits the band for the second and final time, in the middle of a tour.
November 15, 1993 Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and Ryan Gosling join J.C. Chasez and Keri Russell in the cast of The All-New Mickey Mouse Club.More
November 15, 1993 A mysterious act called The Fireman releases an album called Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest in the UK. The cover is a red square with just a touch of text, and the music is mellow electronica. It is later revealed that The Fireman is a Paul McCartney side project.More
November 9, 1993 The first Wu-Tang Clan album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), is released. The album becomes a hardcore rap landmark and proof that a 9-man hip-hop collective can succeed.More
November 9, 1993 The Dave Matthews Band release their first album, a mostly live collection called Remember Two Things that includes early versions of "Ants Marching" and "Satellite." The band is already signed to RCA Records but they release the album independently, with their major-label debut, Under The Table and Dreaming, coming a year later.
November 6, 1993 Meat Loaf hits #1 in America with "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)." The version that opens his album Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell is over 12-minutes long, but the single is cut to 5:13.
November 6, 1993 Melissa Etheridge electrifies the crowd at Neil Young's annual Bridge School benefit concert with a rendition of Janis Joplin's "Piece Of My Heart." Warren Zevon, Bonnie Raitt, Ann and Nancy Wilson (of Heart), Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, and Simon & Garfunkel also perform.
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