1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.
Specific locations
Specific genres
- 1993 in country music
- 1993 in heavy metal music
- 1993 in hip hop music
- 1993 in jazz
- 1993 in Latin music
- 1993 in progressive rock
Events
January–February
- January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992.
- January 9 – The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album becomes the first album in history, since the Nielsen SoundScan introduced a computerized sales monitoring system in May 1992, to sell over 1 million copies in one week in the US.
- January 12 – Cream reunites for a performance at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles, USA. Other inductees include Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ruth Brown, The Doors, Van Morrison, and Sly & The Family Stone.
- January 13 – Bobby Brown is arrested in Augusta, Georgia, USA for simulating a sex act onstage.
- January 24–February 1 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia, expanding from its original Sydney venue to include Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide. The festival is headlined by Iggy Pop and Sonic Youth.
- January 25 – Musician and anti-government activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is charged with murder and conspiracy after an electrician was beaten to death at his home by his bodyguards.
- January 31 – Michael Jackson plays the halftime show of Super Bowl XXVII. The performance is a ratings success and begins a trend of the NFL signing big-name acts to play at the Super Bowl in order to increase the spectacle and hype surrounding the game.
- February 10 – Oprah Winfrey interviews Michael Jackson during a US television prime time special. It becomes the most watched interview in television history and is Jackson's first in fourteen years.
- February 14 – Harry Nilsson suffers a non-fatal heart attack.
- February 24 – The 35th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Garry Shandling. Eric Clapton wins six awards out of nine nominations.
March–April
- March 4 – Patti LaBelle receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, USA.
- March 6 – Whitney Houston's single "I Will Always Love You" posts its 14th week at number one in the US.
- March 20–28 – The second Kempsey Country Music Heritage Week is held in Kempsey, New South Wales.
- March 22 – Depeche Mode hits number one in U.S on the Billboard 200 with the album Songs of Faith and Devotion.
- March 23 – Luciano Pavarotti undergoes surgery in Rome to remove part of the cartilage in his right knee, after cancelling his La Scala debut of I Pagliacci when he could no longer stand because of acute pain.
- March 29 – Suede release their eponymous debut album. It enters the album chart at number 1 in the UK, setting a new record for the fastest-selling debut album by a UK act in Britain.
- April 12
- *Actress Lisa Bonet files for divorce from Lenny Kravitz, after a two-year separation.
- *The Grateful Dead sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the San Francisco Giants' home opener at Candlestick Park.
- April 17 – The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs marries screenwriter Jay Roach in Los Angeles, USA.
- April 21 – Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman marries designer Suzanne Accosta in France.
- April 22 – The Who's Tommy opens on Broadway.
- April 24 – Willie Nelson, John Cougar Mellencamp, Neil Young and more than 30 other artists perform at Farm Aid 6 in Ames, Iowa, US.
- April 29 – An animated version of Barry White appears on an episode of the US television cartoon series, The Simpsons.
May–June
- May 6 – A government official announced that the Malaysian cabinet will commission musicians to speed up the tempo of the country's national anthem in an effort to make it more dynamic.
- May 10 – Hugh Whitaker, former drummer of The Housemartins, is sentenced to six years in jail for attacking an ex–business partner with an axe.
- May 15 – The 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, held at Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Ireland, is won by singer Niamh Kavanagh, representing the host country with the song "In Your Eyes". Ireland equal France and Luxembourg's tally of five total Eurovision victories.
- Janet Jackson's "That's The Way Love Goes" reaches number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and spends eight consecutive weeks at the top spot.
- May 18 - Janet Jackson releases her 5th studio album titled Janet. It becomes her 3rd consecutive album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first album by a female artist to debut at number one in the Nielsen SoundScan Era. It also becomes the highest first week album sales by a female artist in history during that time, selling 350,000 copies.
- May 27 – June 6 – The second Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival is held.
- June 7
- *On his 35th birthday, Prince announces that he is changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol. This led to him being called The Artist Formerly Known as Prince until 2000.
July–August
- July 5 – Björk releases her 1st solo studio album Debut.
- July 7 – Singer Mia Zapata of punk band The Gits is found dead after being beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle. Her murder goes unsolved for a decade until DNA evidence leads to an arrest and conviction.
- July 17 – Guns N' Roses play the final gig on their Use Your Illusion Tour. This will be the last time the original band plays together on stage until 2016.
- July 18 – At a Lollapalooza concert in Philadelphia, Rage Against the Machine uses their entire 14-minute performance time to protest their single "Killing in the Name" being banned from radio. With only guitar feedback for sound, the group appears on stage naked with the letters "PMRC" painted on their chests and electrical duct tape over their mouths.
- July 21 – Ilaiyaraaja becomes the first Asian composer to have a symphony performed by a major UK orchestra.
- August 3 – Aharon Gorev's Klezmer Symphony, the first of its kind, is featured on the opening concert of the sixth annual International Klezmer Festival in Safed, Israel.
- August 5 – Singer Natalie Merchant announces on MTV that she is leaving 10,000 Maniacs after 12 years in the band.
- August 10 – Mayhem guitarist Euronymous is stabbed to death by fellow band member Varg Vikernes in Oslo, Norway, causing the temporary end of Mayhem.
- August 24 – News breaks to the public that Michael Jackson is being investigated on allegations of child molestation.
- August 28 – Bruce Dickinson plays his final show with Iron Maiden in London. The show is broadcast on British television, and later released on VHS and DVD.
September–October
- September 2 – Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard are charged with the August 25 murder of a 20-year-old gang member in a drive-by shooting. They are cleared of the charges in 1996.
- September 14 – A civil lawsuit is filed against Michael Jackson by thirteen-year-old Jordan Chandler and his parents, accusing the singer of sexually abusing the boy over the course of their friendship.
- September 20 – Depeche Mode becomes among the earliest bands to go on the Internet to interact with fans, as the group holds a question-and-answer session on AOL. The event is marred by technical difficulties as many participants, including the band members themselves, have trouble logging on to the chat.
- September 25 – Madonna starts the Girlie Show, her fourth world tour, in London, England. The tour marked her first concerts in South America, Oceania and the Middle East.
- September 30 – October 2 – The Abu Ghosh Vocal Music Festival is held, featuring music of Jewish, Christian, and Moslem cultural traditions, and a performance of Handel's Messiah by the Ave Sol Choir from Riga and the Rehovot Camerata Orchestra directed by Avner Biron.
- October 1 – MTV Latin America is launched.
- October 1–3 – Annual Australian Bush Music Festival takes place in Glen Innes.
- October 9 – The 22nd OTI Festival, held at the Teatro Principal in Valencia, Spain, is won by the song "Enamorarse", written by Alejandro Abad and Josep Llobell, and performed by representing Spain.
- October 17 – Savatage guitarist and co-founder Christopher Michael "Criss" Oliva killed in a car accident.
- October 31 – Tupac Shakur is arrested and charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta. The charges are later dropped.
November–December
- November 6–7 – The second annual Tooheys Sydney Country Music Festival, is held at Clarendon Racecourse, in Sydney.
- November 11 – Michael Jackson ends his Dangerous World Tour in Mexico City, Mexico.
- November 12 – Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, responding to an announcement by the Arts Council that they would fund only two of London's four orchestras starting in 1994, confirms he plans to hand back his knighthood and consider leaving the country if this support were to be withdrawn.
- November 18 – Nirvana play their unplugged concert in New York for MTV.
- November 19 – Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder is arrested in New Orleans, USA on charges of public drunkenness after a bar room brawl.
- November 19 – Madonna ends her tour in Tokyo, Japan.
- November 24 - Janet Jackson begins her Janet World Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio. The opening concert was covered by MTV in a television special featuring brief live performances and coverage from the show.
- November 30 - Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin is fired from the band due to creative differences within the band.
- December 22 – Michael Jackson makes his first public statement regarding the child molestation allegations leveled against him. In a videotaped address, Jackson calls the accusations "totally false" and asks the public to "wait to hear the truth before you label or condemn me."
- December 31 – The 22nd annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Brooks & Dunn, Daryl Hall, Kiss, Joey Lawrence, SWV, and Barry Manilow.
Also in 1993
- Rick Astley retires from the music industry at the age of 27 after selling 40 million records in a five-year period.
- Keiko Abe becomes the first woman to be inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.
Bands formed
- ''See Musical groups established in 1993''
Bands disbanded
- ''See Musical groups disestablished in 1993''
Bands reformed
- ''See Musical groups reestablished in 1993''
Albums released
Release date unknown
- Alice in Wonderland No. 5 – Randy Greif
- Amon: Feasting the Beast – Deicide
- Attitude – April Wine
- Belgium...One Point – Telex
- Beyond These Shores – Iona
- Bridges to Bert – Leftover Salmon
- The Bride – Crystal Lewis
- Bring It Down – Madder Rose
- Classics – Model 500
- Chronologie – Jean Michel Jarre
- Code of Ethics – Code of Ethics
- Demoluca – Pezz
- !!Destroy-Oh-Boy!! – New Bomb Turks
- Drag – Red Aunts
- The Downward Road – The Pursuit of Happiness
- Dragonfly Summer – Michael Franks
- Evolution – Geoff Moore
- Fathom – Mortal
- ...fluidtrance centauri... – The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa
- Footsoldier in the Moonlight – Donnie Iris
- Four – Seaweed
- From the Vaults – Nazareth
- G-Stoned – Kruder & Dorfmeister
- The Gods of Earth and Heaven – Army of Lovers
- Golden Feelings – Beck
- Goldie's Last Day – PFR
- Great Big Sea – Great Big Sea
- Heartbeat – Hank Marvin
- Heat it Up – DeGarmo and Key
- Highlands – White Heart
- Into the Son – Dakoda Motor Co.
- Is It... Man or Astroman? – Man or Astro-man?
- It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous – Hawkwind
- Jackpot Plus! – Jawbox
- Jericho – Prism
- Jonah's Ark – Skyclad
- Kings & Queens – Sham 69
- Little Red Riding Hood – Lost Dogs
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Live in Leipzig – Mayhem
- Love Makes No Sense – Alexander O'Neal
- Lucky Jim – The Gun Club
- Mindsize – Poor Old Lu
- Mr. Mention – Buju Banton
- MotorCycle – Daniel Amos
- The Muffs – The Muffs
- Near Death Experience – Cro-Mags
- Original Dubliners – The Dubliners
- Our Bodies Our Selves – The Mr. T Experience
- Out the Shizzy – 7 Seconds
- Piss – Slank
- Post Momentary Affliction – Mortification
- Quetzacoatl – J Church
- Reach of Love – Rez Band
- Reason Street – Carolyne Mas
- Reasons – Al Denson
- Redeemed Hoodlum – T-Bone (rapper)
- Saviour Machine I – Saviour Machine
- The Serpentine Similar – Gastr del Sol
- Shawl – The Prayer Chain
- Shiva Space Machine – Me Mom and Morgentaler
- Sing Me a Song – Miriam Makeba
- Southpaw – Precious Death
- Space Is the Place – Sun Ra
- The Standard – Carman
- Strange Cargo III - William Orbit
- Super Tasty – Gumball
- Take the Leap! – Toyah
- Tamplin – Ken Tamplin
- This Should Not Be – Bo Diddley
- Vampire on Titus – Guided by Voices
- Volume 2 – Die Happy (band)
- Wallflower – My Sister's Machine
- The Wind and the Wave – Billy Sprague
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highestin the charts of 1993.
| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart entries |
| 1 | Meat Loaf | I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) | 1993 |  Top 10 selling albums of the year
Top 10 best albums of the YearAll albums have been named albums of the year for their hits in the charts.
Classical music
Opera
Musical theater
Musical films
Births
Deaths
AwardsFilmfare Awards
[Grammy Awards][Country Music Association] AwardsCountry Music Hall of Fame">Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum">Country Music Hall of FameEurovision Song ContestJapan Record AwardsMercury Music PrizeGlenn Gould Prize[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]
Charts
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