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1990 in music
See also:
1989 in music,
other events of 1990,
1991 in music, 1990s in music and the list of 'years in music'
Events
- January 21 - MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with musical guest, Squeeze
- February 6 - Billy Idol is involved in a serious motorcycle accident, resulting in several broken bones. Idol had been scheduled to have a major role in Oliver Stone's film The Doors, but had to back out of the project due to his injuries.
- February 8 - 50 year old songwriter Del Shannon dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- February 14 - 50,000 fans watch The Rolling Stones play the first of 10 concerts at Tokyo's Korakuen Dome , the beginning of the Stones' first ever tour of Japan.
- February 16 - Ike Turner is sentenced to 4 years in prison for possession of cocaine.
- February 17 - Aerosmith appears in the Saturday Night Live sketch Wayne's World, where they perform the Wayne's World theme song.
- February 24 - The Byrds (Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman and David Crosby) reunite, for the first time in 25 years, to perform at a Los Angeles, California tribute to Roy Orbison. The three are joined unexpectedly on stage by Bob Dylan, who sings "Mr. Tambourine Man" with the band.
- February 27 - In Time Magazine, Milli Vanilli "singer" Rob Pilatus states that their group is, "more talented than any Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney. Mick Jagger can't produce a sound. I'm the new Elvis."
- March 03 - Freedom To Party Demonstration London, organised by Party Promoters including Genesis'88 Biology parties Sunrise/Back to the Future for later club licences and all night Music and Dance Licences for large-scale Dance Parties Staged free-party later that night in Watford UK (12,000 people).
- March 20 - Gloria Estefan's tour bus is involved in an accident. Estefan suffers several broken several bones in her back.
- March 25 - Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee is arrested for allegedly exposing his backside during a performance in Augusta, Georgia
- April 4 - Gloria Estefan returns to Miami, Florida after undergoing back surgery in March following a tour bus accident.
- April 6 - Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee suffers a mild concussion after falling off of scaffolding above his elevated drum kit during a performance in New Haven, CT.
- April 7 - Neil Young, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Guns N' Roses and Jackson Browne perform at Farm Aid IV in Indiana. John dedicates "Candle in the Wind" to AIDS patient Ryan White during his performance. White died later that evening
- April 25 - Jimi Hendrix's Fender Stratocaster that he used to perform his famous version of the "Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock, is auctioned off in London for $295,000
- May 8 - In Los Angeles, California, Tom Waits wins a $2.5 million lawsuit against Frito-Lay for unlawfully using a sound alike of Waits in its Doritos television commercials.
- May 26 - Gin Blossoms sign a contract with A&M Records
- September - In the UK, two singles, "Groove is in the Heart" by Deee-Lite and "The Joker" by Steve Miller Band (featured in a current TV jeans commercial), are announced to have sold the same number of copies in one week and a tie-break is used to decide which should be number one. "The Joker" wins.
- September 11 - After a decade of performing in the Francophone world, Céline Dion makes her formal English-language debut when she releases her album Unison .
- October - Jamaaladeen Tacuma records Boss of the Bass , that will be a blockbuster in 1991
- Fall - For the first time, Amy Grant and Gary Chapman hold a night of music at their Franklin, Tennessee Riverstone Farm, for local teenagers. Performers included Rich Mullins, Rick Elias, Charlie Peacock, Wes King and Michael W. Smith. The event becomes known as "The Loft".
- November 27 - "Vocal" group Milli Vanilli admits to lip-synching hits such as "Girl You Know It's True." They later have their Grammy award revoked.
- December - The Smashing Pumpkins begin recording Gish, which will be a blockbuster album in 1991
- December 13 - Genesis'88 stage weekly Acid House night in legally acquired warehouse in Stratford London under the banner imagine
Albums released
Top hits on record
See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1990
Published popular music
- "Keep It Together" w.m. S. Bray & Madonna
Classical music
- Gerald Barry - The Intelligence Park
- Azio Corghi - Blimunda
- Mark Lanz Weiser - Purgatory (chamber opera, based on a play by W. B. Yeats)
Births
Deaths
- January 18 - Melanie Appleby of British duo Mel and Kim, liver cancer
- January 23 - Allen Collins, Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist, complications from pneumonia
- February 8 - Del Shannon, suicide
- February 24 - Johnnie Ray, liver failure
- March 16 - Andrew Wood, Mother Love Bone
- April 3 - Sarah Vaughan, lung cancer
- June 20 - June Christy , US singer
- August 27 - Stevie Ray Vaughan, blues guitarist performer
- October 14 - Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor
- October 16 - Art Blakey, jazz drummer
- October 16 - Jorge Bolet, pianist
- November 3 - Mary Martin, US singer and actress
- December 2 - Aaron Copland, American composer
- December 18 - Paul Tortelier, cellist
Awards
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