1996 in music

Specific locations

• 1996 in British music
• 1996 in Norwegian music
• 1996 in Scandinavian music
• 1996 in South Korean music

Specific genres

• 1996 in classical music
• 1996 in country music
• 1996 in heavy metal music
• 1996 in hip hop music
• 1996 in jazz
• 1996 in Latin music
• 1996 in progressive rock

Events

January

• January 8 – Robert Hoskins is convicted on five charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill Madonna.
• January 16
• * Two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, are tried for the murder of Bassett's parents and younger brother. At the trial, defense lawyers attempt to blame the murders on the fact the pair had been listening to "Israel's Son" by Silverchair before the crimes. The murders are dubbed the "Israel's Son Murders". Murmur Records releases an official response, stating that the members of Silverchair do not condone violence of any kind, and that the song "seeks to criticize violence and war by portraying them in all their horror".
• * Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, Hemisphere Dancer, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono and Island Records executive Chris Blackwell are also on the plane during the incident. No one is injured.
• January 18 – Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson. The two were wed on May 26, 1994.
• January 19–February 4 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Porno for Pyros and Rage Against the Machine.
• January 25 – Madonna receives death threats from Argentine Peronists, who are enraged and insulted that she was playing Eva Peron in Evita. After she arrives in Argentina, over 50 walls throughout the city are spray-painted with the words: ¡Viva Evita! ¡Fuera Madonna!.
• January 26 – The first public performance of the controversial musical Rent takes place at the New York Theatre Workshop, a day after the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson.
• January 28 – Chris Isaak makes a guest appearance on the television show Friends.
• January 29
• * La Fenice opera house in Venice, Italy, is destroyed by fire.
• * Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist, briefly explaining his belief that all music is "made up of a lot of people".

February

• February 4 – Former Milli Vanilli band member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized after being hit over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood while attempting to steal a man's car.
• February 13
• * Tupac Shakur releases the first ever rap double album, All Eyez on Me, one of the most influential albums in hip hop history. All Eyez on Me quickly achieves platinum sales and reaches No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts.
• * Take That formally announces that they are disbanding.
• February 14 – The artist formerly known as Prince marries backup dancer Mayte Garcia, who is fifteen years his junior.
• February 19 – Jarvis Cocker disrupts a performance by Michael Jackson at the BRIT Awards. During an elaborate staging of "Earth Song", Cocker crashes the stage, lifts his shirt, and points his bottom in Jackson's direction before getting into a scuffle with security. Cocker later states that his actions were "a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing".
• February 20
• * Sepultura releases their album Roots.
• * Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard are acquitted of first-degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges, and a mistrial is declared.
• * Storytellers premieres on VH1. The first episode features Ray Davies.
• February 22 – MCA Records buys half of Interscope Records. Time Warner had owned half of Interscope until September 1995, when it sold off its share due to political pressure over the label's gangsta rap artists' explicit lyrics.
• February 28 – The 38th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Alanis Morissette wins four awards, including Album of the Year for Jagged Little Pill, while Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Hootie & the Blowfish win Best New Artist. The ceremony also notably features the reunion of the original lineup of Kiss, introduced by Tupac Shakur, for their first appearance in full makeup and outfits since 1979. Frank Sinatra wins the award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for "Duets II", his first win since 1966.

March

• March 4 – The Beatles' second reunion song is released as part of their first reunion since the band's breakup 26 years earlier. The song is a finished version of "Real Love", a John Lennon demo from 1980.
• March 13 – Ramones fans riot in Buenos Aires, Argentina after waiting all night for concert tickets, only to find the show is sold out.
• March 16 – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's 16th consecutive week stay at No. 1 in the American charts with "One Sweet Day" ends when Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" reaches No. 1. "One Sweet Day" enjoyed the longest consecutive stay at No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100's history.
• March 18 – The Sex Pistols announce they will reunite for a 20th anniversary tour.
• March 28 – Phil Collins announces he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.

April

• April 1
• *Roberto Alagna marries Angela Gheorghiu backstage at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
• *John Squire announces his departure from The Stone Roses.
• April 3 – M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy.
• April 4 – The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, scatter part of Garcia's ashes in the Ganges River in India.
• April 10 – Alice in Chains plays at Majestic Theatre in New York City for an MTV unplugged record and video to be released in July.
• April 15 – The remainder of Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
• April 16
• * Madonna announces she is four months pregnant by Carlos Leon, her then-boyfriend and trainer.
• * Rage Against the Machine releases their second studio album, Evil Empire.
• April 17 – Carlo Bergonzi gives his American farewell concert at Carnegie Hall.
• April 24 – This Train, Rick Elias, Jimmy A, Phil Keaggy, Carolyn Arends, Third Day and Ashley Cleveland perform a tribute concert for Rich Mullins at Nashville's Cafe Milano. Speakers include Reunion Records executive Terry Hemmings, record producer Reed Arvin, disc jockey Jon Rivers, and author Brennan Manning.
• April 28 – Oasis play the second of two gigs in Maine Road, home of Manchester City F.C., featured on the video "...There and Then".

May

• May 8
• *The Galway Early Music Festival is launched in Ireland.
• *A judge rules against Tommy Lee and wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, in their attempt to keep Penthouse from publishing still photos taken from an X-rated home movie that was stolen from their home in Los Angeles.
• May 11 – A 17-year-old fan is crushed in the festival seating section at a concert by The Smashing Pumpkins in Dublin, Ireland, despite the presence of 110 security guards and repeated admonishments from the band telling the crowd to stop surging towards the stage. The fan dies of her injuries the next day, and the band cancels that night's show in Belfast as a result.
• May 18 – The 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, is won by Irish singer Eimear Quinn, with the song "The Voice". It is Ireland's record seventh, and most recent, win at Eurovision.
• May 25 – Sublime lead singer Bradley Nowell dies of a heroin overdose at age 28.
• May 30 – Depeche Mode leader Dave Gahan is arrested upon his release from hospital, having overdosed on a heroin and cocaine 'speedball' in a Los Angeles hotel room and been pronounced clinically dead for two minutes in an ambulance. Gahan is ordered by the court to complete a nine-month rehabilitation.

June

• June 2 – Alice Cooper performs at Sammy Hagar's club, Cabo Wabo, in Mexico. It will be recorded and released, the following year, as a live album.
• June 8 – Tracy Bonham becomes the first female solo artist to reach number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart with the single "Mother Mother".
• June 12 – Julia Fischer, the German violinist and pianist, wins the final of the Eurovision Young Musicians 1996 competition in Lisbon, Portugal.
• June 15–16 – San Francisco holds the first Tibetan Freedom Concerts.
• June 19 – Japanese duo Chage and Aska become the first Asian group to participate in MTV Unplugged.
• June 21 – The Sex Pistols start their reunion tour in Lahti, Finland.
• June 25 – Jay-Z releases his debut album Reasonable Doubt.
• June 26 – Sammy Hagar leaves Van Halen.
• June 27 – DJ Screw, creator of chopped and screwed rap and leader of Screwed Up Click, records the 35 minute long June 27 freestyle with Houston rappers Big Moe, Bird, Key-C, Yungstar, Big Pokey, DeMo, Haircut Joe and Kay-Luv.
• June 28 – Kiss kicks off the Alive/Worldwide reunion tour at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, the first tour by the original lineup of the band since 1979.

July

• July 3
• *This World release their first album since 1986.
• *Alice in Chains perform their last concert with lead singer Layne Staley in Kansas City, Missouri while touring with Kiss.
• July 8 – The Spice Girls release their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number 1 in 31 countries and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group, but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
• July 11 – Robert Simpson's second string quintet receives its première at the Cheltenham International Festival by the Maggini Quartet with Pal Banda, cellist.
• July 13 – Phil Anselmo of Pantera overdoses on heroin after a Texas homecoming gig. Anselmo went into cardiac arrest but was revived after about five minutes by paramedics.
• July 16 – Michael Jackson performs a concert for Hassanal Bolkiah's 50th birthday at the Jerudong Park Amphitheater.
• July 19 – The Proms in the Park event is launched in London, UK.
• July 27 – Adrian Erlandsson & Patrik Jensen form The Haunted.

August

• August 1 – MTV2 is launched. The first video is "Where It's At" by Beck.
• August 6 – Punk rock group The Ramones play their final show at "The Palace" in Hollywood.
• August 10–11 – Oasis play the largest free-standing gigs in British history at Knebworth House, Stevenage. 2.7 million people apply for tickets and a sold-out crowd of 350,000 attend the concerts; 175,000 each night. Stone Roses guitarist John Squire joins the band onstage to play guitar to Champagne Supernova.
• August 15–16 – Phish hosts The Clifford Ball at Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The event is the first of their festivals, currently totaling ten. 70,000 people show up. Some say the event is considered a precursor to the large-scale music festivals of today.
• August 27 – Aaliyah releases her album One in a Million.

September

• September 4 – At the MTV Video Music Awards, Van Halen makes a surprise appearance with original singer David Lee Roth.
• September 7
• * Rapper Tupac Shakur is shot several times in a drive-by shooting, while being driven from the MGM Grand Hotel along Sunset Strip in Las Vegas after seeing the Mike Tyson versus Bruce Seldon boxing match. He dies six days later.
• * Michael Jackson starts the HIStory World Tour.
• September 10 – Wal-Mart announces it will not carry Sheryl Crow's upcoming self-titled album, because of the lyric "Watch out, sister, watch out, brother/watch our children while they kill each other/with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart Discount Stores."
• September 11 – David Bowie's single "Telling Lies" becomes the first song offered as a digital single by a major record label. Bowie launches the single by hosting an online chat in which he and two other people pretending to be him answer questions from the audience; Bowie tells the truth, while the other two are "telling lies".
• September 12 – Controversy follows The Eagles when the band dedicates "Peaceful Easy Feeling" to Saddam Hussein at a United States Democratic Party fundraiser held in Los Angeles.
• September 12 — Ricardo López mails Icelandic singer Björk a device disguised as a book designed to spray sulfuric acid on her face with the goal of disfiguring or killing her, before shooting and killing himself on camera in his apartment in Hollywood, Florida. His body was found on four days later on September 16, and subsequently the device is intercepted by Scotland Yard before it could reach Björk.
• September 13 – Tupac Shakur dies as a result of injuries sustained six days earlier.
• September 17 — Tool releases their second album Ænima.
• September 21 – Meg White marries John Anthony Gillis, who changes his name to Jack White. They will form The White Stripes the following year.
• September 24 – Weezer releases its second record, Pinkerton. Its darker vibe, and departure from their earlier style, mean it sells less well and is critically panned upon its release. However, it later garners a cult following and is eventually considered among the band's best work.
• September 27 – Sasha and Digweed release Northern Exposure, which has gone on to be considered one of the greatest dance albums of all time.

October

• October 4
• *Eddie and Alex Van Halen announce David Lee Roth will not be continuing as lead singer of Van Halen and Gary Cherone will be the band's next vocalist.
• *C-Block releases the single "So Strung Out", which reaches the fourth chart position in Germany.
• October 5 — Alternative metal band Deftones incite a riot at KUPD's U-Fest at Desert Sky Pavilion incited by lead singer Chino Moreno due to rumors that he and other members were intoxicated before their set due to their discovery of the death of Dana Wells, the late stepson of Max Cavalera. This also resulted in the band having a physical altercation with the gothic metal band Type O Negative at The Purgatory, a former Phoenix local bar after the concert due to them not being able to perform as the 10th and final set of U-Fest after the Deftones set due to the excessive rioting.
• October 6 – Country singers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill marry.
• October 13 – Prince's son Gregory Nelson dies from Pfeiffer Syndrome.
• October 14 – Madonna gives birth to daughter Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon.
• October 15 – Korn's second studio album, Life Is Peachy, debuts at number 3 on the Billboard 200 and goes on to sell 6 million copies worldwide.
• October 27 – Pop-Up Video receives its première on VH1.
• October 28 – MTV India launches.
• October 29
• * Slash announces, in a faxed statement, he is officially leaving Guns N' Roses.
• *Ian Brown and Mani officially dissolve The Stone Roses.
• October 31 – David Brookes is fined £45 in Hampstead Magistrates' Court for disrupting the "quiet enjoyment" of the public by playing his bagpipes on Hampstead Heath. Described as "a pain in the neck" by a spokesperson for the College of Pipers in Glasgow, Brookes vows to buy a bicycle to continue playing in the open air, so "they'll just have to catch me." He says he has been piping on the heath for twenty years and has been given permission to do so, adding he's surprised by the ruling because social workers are allowed to distribute condoms there.

November

• November 8 – After its première at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the film Hype!, a documentary on the Seattle grunge scene, opens to general audiences.
• November 12 – Eminem releases his debut studio album Infinite.
• November 24 – Crowded House play their farewell concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in Australia, in front of an audience of almost 200,000. Proceeds support the Sydney Children's Hospital. The band will reunite a decade later with a new studio album and tour.

December

• December 7 – The Sex Pistols finish their reunion tour in Santiago, Chile.
• December 14 – The 25th OTI Festival, held at the Teatro Nacional of the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana in Quito, Ecuador, is won by the song "Manos", written by and, and performed by Anabel Russ representing Spain.
• December 16 – Max Cavalera leaves Sepultura. Speculation for his departure includes claims that he was upset that the band did not renew his wife Gloria's contract as manager, as well as for being overwhelmed by the death of his stepson. Cavalera later denies those theories and says he left the band simply because the members had grown apart.
• December 31 – The twenty-fifth annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Shawn Colvin, KC & the Sunshine Band, Spice Girls, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Usher.

Also in 1996

• Jesper Strömblad leaves Hammerfall.
• House of Pain break up; this will lead to DJ Lethal joining Limp Bizkit.
• The Monkees embark on their 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour.
• Singer Tori Amos is sued when a man crashes his car after being distracted by a billboard advertising her album. The billboard featured a photo of Amos breastfeeding a piglet.
• Coal Chamber signs with Roadrunner Records and Mikey "Bug" Cox replaces John Tor.
• The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is passed in the United States, deregulating the number of radio and TV stations that any one broadcaster can own.

Bands formed

• ''See Musical groups established in 1996''

Bands disbanded

• ''See Musical groups disestablished in 1996''

Bands on hiatus

• Black Sabbath

Bands reunited

• The Monkees
• New Edition
• Poison
• Kiss
• Devo
• Supertramp
• Patti Smith

Albums released

Release date unknown

Biggest hit singles

Classical music

• Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen – Trumpet Concerto No. 2
• Michael Berkeley – Viola Concerto
• Elliott Carter – Clarinet Concerto
• Mario Davidovsky – Quartet No. 2 for oboe, violin, viola, violoncello
• Peter Maxwell Davies –
• *Strathclyde Concerto No 10: Concerto for Orchestra
• *Symphony No. 6
• Joël-François Durand – Les raisons des forces mouvantes for organ
• Lorenzo Ferrero – My Piece of Africa, for violin, viola, violoncello, and contrabass
• Francesco Filidei – Danza macabra, for organ
• Joep Franssens
• * Sanctus for orchestra
• * Winter Child for piano
• Vinko Globokar – Oblak Semen, for trombone
• Alexander Goehr – Viola Concerto
• Sofia Gubaidulina – Viola Concerto
• Hans Werner Henze – Labyrinth
• Wojciech Kilar –
• *Agnus Dei for mixed choir a cappella
• *Piano Concerto No. 1
• Frederik Magle – Christmas cantata: A newborn child, before eternity, God!
• John Pickard – Third Symphony
• David Sawer – Tiroirs
• John Serry Sr. – Five Children's Pieces, for piano
• Juan Maria Solare – Diez Estudios Escénicos
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – ''Orchester-Finalisten''

Opera

• Lorenzo Ferrero – La nascita di Orfeo
• Daron Hagen – Vera of Las Vegas
• Franz Hummel – Gesualdo
• James MacMillan – Inés de Castro
• Michael Obst – Solaris
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – ''Freitag aus Licht''

Musical theater

Musical films

• ''That Thing You Do!''

Births

• January 1
• * Kun, Chinese singer
• * Stunna 4 Vegas, American rapper and songwriter
• January 3
• * Florence Pugh, English actress and singer-songwriter
• * MohBad, Nigerian musician
• January 12 – Ella Henderson, English singer and songwriter
• January 13 – Lauren Sanderson, American singer-songwriter
• January 15 – Dove Cameron, American actress and singer
• January 16 – Jennie Kim, South Korean rapper, singer, and model
• January 17 – Alma, Finnish singer, songwriter, music producer, musician and activist
• January 23 – Chachi Gonzales, American actress and dancer
• January 25 - Calum Hood, Australian musician and singer.
• January 27 – Braeden Lemasters, American actor, musician, voice actor, and singer
• January 28 – Emily Piriz, American singer
• January 31 – Master KG, South African DJ, singer and record producer
• February 1 – Doyoung, South Korean singer
• February 2 – Remi Wolf, American singer-songwriter
• February 3 – Rhap Salazar, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor
• February 5 – Fireboy DML, Nigerian singer
• February 6 – Dalton Rapattoni, American singer
• February 8 – Joichiro

• February 9
• *Chungha, South Korean singer
• *Kelli Berglund, American actress, singer and dancer
• February 19
• * Mabel, Spanish-born Swedish-British singer-songwriter and activist
• * Ashnikko, American singer, songwriter, rapper and activist
• February 24 – Cristian Imparato, Italian singer
• February 27 – Ten, Thai singer and dancer
• February 29 – Jony, Azerbaijani-Russian singer
• March 2 - Reve (singer), Canadian singer-songwriter
• March 3 – Jeremy Zucker, American singer
• March 12 – Aristo Sham, Hong Kong classical pianist
• March 17 – Tokischa, Dominican rapper, internet entertainer, and performance artist
• March 24 – Jack Edward Johnson, pop rap musician in duo Jack & Jack
• March 26
• *Kathryn Bernardo, Filipina singer and actress
• *Fredo Bang, American rapper
• April 2 – Zach Bryan, American singer-songwriter, activist, and USA Navy veteran
• April 3 – Sarah Jeffery Canadian actress, dancer and singer
• April 4 – Austin Mahone, American singer
• April 5 – Mura Masa, a Guernsey-born electronic music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
• April 10 – Loïc Nottet, Belgian singer
• April 11 – Summer Walker, American singer-songwriter
• April 14 – Abigail Breslin, American singer and actress
• April 18
• * Clau, Brazilian singer
• * Ski Mask the Slump God, American rapper and songwriter
• April 19 – Sam Woolf, American singer
• May 1 – Mahalia (singer), British singer, songwriter and actress
• May 5 – Jax (singer), American singer-songwriter
• May 6 – Ocasional Talento, Bolivian rapper
• May 9 – 6ix9ine, American rapper
• May 10 – Pressa, Canadian rapper
• May 14
• *Martin Garrix – Dutch DJ and record producer
• *Cole Bennett, American music video director and videographer
• May 15 – Birdy (singer), English musician, singer and songwriter
• May 16 – Baby Tate (rapper), American rapper, singer, and record producer
• May 19 - BlocBoy JB, American rapper and songwriter
• May 31 – Normani Kordei, American singer, songwriter and dancer
• June 2 – Morissette, Filipino singer and songwriter
• June 4 – Skip Marley, Jamaican singer
• June 7 – Shane Eagle, South African rapper and songwriter
• June 10 – Wen Junhui, Chinese singer, dancer, and actor
• June 15
• *Aurora, Norwegian singer-songwriter and producer
• *Hoshi, South Korean singer and dancer
• June 19 – Priscilla Alcantara, Brazilian singer
• June 25 – Lele Pons, Venezuelan-American internet personality, actress, singer, dancer and host
• June 27 – Lauren Jauregui, American singer, songwriter and dancer
• July 2 – Beret, Spanish pop singer
• July 11 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter
• July 13 – Jena Irene, American singer-songwriter
• July 16
• *Kevin Abstract, American rapper, singer and songwriter
• *Chayce Beckham, American singer
• *Luke Hemmings, Australian singer-songwriter and musician
• July 17 – Wonwoo, South Korean rapper and singer
• July 18 – Yung Lean, Swedish rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer
• July 23
• *Danielle Bradbery, American country pop singer
• *Klava Koka, Russian singer
• August 1
• *Cymphonique Miller, American actress and singer
• *Ellona Santiago, Filipino-American singer
• August 8 – Phoebus Ng, Hong Kong singer and actor
• August 19 - Katja Glieson, an Australian-German singer
• September 1 – Zendaya, American actress, singer and dancer
• September 3 – Joy, South Korean singer, actress and host
• September 5 – Sigrid, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• September 6 – Lil Xan, American rapper
• September 10 – Jack Finnegan Gilinsky, pop rap musician in duo Jack & Jack
• September 11 – Swarmz, British Rapper
• September 16 - Baka Prase, Serbian rapper, YouTuber, internet personality, actor and entertainer
• September 17 – Slayyyter, American musician
• September 19
• * Pia Mia, Guamanian singer, songwriter and model
• * Sabrina Claudio. American singer and songwriter
• September 26 – Marina Sena, Brazilian singer
• October 1 – Shenseea, Jamaican dancehall reggae performer and deejay
• October 7 – Lewis Capaldi, Scottish comedian, singer-songwriter, musician and activist
• October 10 – Oscar Zia, Swedish singer-songwriter
• October 14
• * Lourdes Leon,, American fashion model, dancer and singer.
• * Madison Cunningham, American singer, songwriter and guitarist.
• October 15 – Zelo, South Korean rapper
• October 29
• *Emilia Mernes, Argentine singer
• *Astrid S, Norwegian singer-songwriter-model
• October 30 – Mizuki Fukumura, Japanese actress and singer
• November 1
• *Lil Peep, American rapper
• *Jeongyeon, South Korean singer
• November 6 – Stefanie Scott, American actress and singer
• November 7 – Lorde, New Zealand singer-songwriter
• November 9 – Momo Hirai, Japanese singer and dancer
• November 19 – RiceGum, American YouTube personality, comedian and musician.
• November 23 – Lia Marie Johnson, American actress, singer, and Internet personality
• December 1 – MC Cheung Tin-fu, Hong Kong singer and actor
• November 6 - Talia Mar, English singer-songwriter and internet personality
• December 9 – AleXa, Korean-American singer.
• December 11
• * Hailee Steinfeld, American actress and singer-songwriter
• * Clementine Creevy, American singer-songwriter, actor, musician and model
• December 12
• * Gabi Martins, Brazilian singer and songwriter
• * Samia (musician), American musician, singer-songwriter and actress
• December 17 – Kungs, French DJ, record producer and musician
• December 29 – Sana Minatozaki, Japanese singer and dancer
• December 30 - Stephanie Del Valle, a Puerto Rican musician, model and beauty queen
• Unknown:
• * Alaska Reid, American singer-songwriter and producer
• * Dora Jar, American bedroom pop musician

Deaths

• January 20 – Gerry Mulligan, saxophonist, 68
• January 21 – the London Boys:
• *Edem Ephraim, 36
• *Dennis Fuller, 36
• January 25 – Jonathan Larson, composer and writer of the hit Broadway musical Rent, 35
• January 26 – Henry Lewis, American bassist and conductor, 63
• January 30 – Bob Thiele, record producer, 73
• February 2 – Gene Kelly, actor and dancer, 83
• February 3 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and singer, 73
• February 7 – Boris Tchaikovsky, composer, 70
• February 15 – Wild Jimmy Spruill, guitarist, 61
• February 16 – Brownie McGhee, blues singer and guitarist, 80
• February 17 – Evelyn Laye, English actress and singer, 95
• February 20 – Toru Takemitsu, composer, 65
• February 21 – Morton Gould, composer, conductor, arranger and ASCAP President, 82
• February 26 – Mieczysław Weinberg, composer, 76
• March 4 – Minnie Pearl, comedian and country musician, 83
• March 15 – Olga Rudge, violinist, 101
• March 22 – Don Murray, drummer, 50
• March 31 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, singer and songwriter, 37
• April 2 – Booba Barnes, blues singer and guitarist, 59
• April 18 – Bernard Edwards, 43
• May 8 – Celedonio Romero, leader of the Romeros guitar quartet, 83
• May 10 – Ethel Smith, organist, 93
• May 11 – Walter Hyatt, singer-songwriter, 46
• May 17
• *Kevin Gilbert, studio engineer, songwriter with Toy Matinee, Tuesday Night Music Club, 29
• *Johnny "Guitar" Watson – guitarist, 61
• May 25 – Brad Nowell, lead singer and guitarist of Sublime, 28
• May 30 – John Kahn, rock bassist, 48
• June 15 – Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer, 79
• June 20 – Jim Ellison, singer and guitarist of Material Issue, 32
• July 12 – Jonathan Melvoin, touring keyboardist for The Smashing Pumpkins, 34
• July 16 – John Panozzo, drummer for Styx and brother of Chuck Panozzo, 47
• July 17
• *Chas Chandler, 57
• *Marcel Dadi, French country and western guitarist, 44
• July 22 – Rob Collins, original keyboardist of The Charlatans, 33
• July 29 – Jason Thirsk, Pennywise bassist, 28
• August 11 – Mel Taylor, drummer, 62
• August 13 – David Tudor, pianist and composer, 70
• August 14
• *Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor, 84
• *Al Cleveland, songwriter and producer, 66
• August 16 – Miles Goodman, American film and television score composer, 47
• August 23 – Jurriaan Andriessen, Dutch composer, 71
• September 1 – Vagn Holmboe, Danish composer, 83
• September 9 – Bill Monroe, bluegrass singer, composer, and mandolin player, 84
• September 12 – Eleazar de Carvalho, Brazilian orchestral conductor and composer, 84
• September 13 – Tupac Shakur, rapper, poet, actor, 25
• September 28 – Bob Gibson, folk singer/songwriter, 64
• October 2 – Joonas Kokkonen, Finnish composer, 75
• October 6 – Ted Daffan, country musician, 84
• October 11 – Renato Russo, lead singer and composer for Legião Urbana, 36
• October 17
• *Berthold Goldschmidt, German composer, 93
• *Chris Acland, Lush drummer, 30
• November 2 – Eva Cassidy, American vocalist, 33
• November 5 – Eddie Harris, jazz saxophonist, pianist and organist, 62
• November 10 – Manik Varma, Indian classical musician, 76
• November 13 – Bill Doggett, jazz and R&B pianist and organist, 80
• November 30 – Tiny Tim, musician, 64
• December 5 – Wilf Carter, Canadian country musician, 91
• December 10 – Faron Young, country singer, 64
• December 15 – Dave Kaye, British pianist, 90
• December 29
• *Mireille, French singer, 90
• *Jerry Knight, vocalist, bassist, songwriter and producer, 44

Awards

• 1996 Country Music Association Awards
• Eurovision Song Contest 1996
• Grammy Awards of 1996
• American Music Awards of 1996
• 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
• 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards
• Brit Awards 1996
• Mercury Music Prize, awarded to Different Class, the album by Pulp.
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: David Bowie, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, The Shirelles and The Velvet Underground.
• Glenn Gould Prize: Toru Takemitsu ; Tan Dun

Charts

• Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1996
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1996
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1996 (U.S.)
• 1996 in British music#Charts
• List of Oricon number-one singles of 1996
• List of number-one singles of 1996 (Canada)