1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.
Specific locations
Specific genres
- 1994 in country music
- 1994 in heavy metal music
- 1994 in hip hop music
- 1994 in jazz
- 1994 in Latin music
- 1994 in progressive rock
Events
January–February
- January 19 – Bryan Adams becomes the first major Western music star to perform in Vietnam since the end of the Vietnam War.
- January 21–February 5 – The Big Day Out festival takes place, again expanding from the previous year's venues to include the Gold Coast, Queensland and Auckland, New Zealand. The festival is headlined by Soundgarden, Ramones and Björk.
- January 25 – Alice in Chains release Jar of Flies which makes its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the first EP to do so.
- January 29 – The Supremes' Mary Wilson is injured when her Jeep hits a freeway median and flips over just outside Los Angeles. Her 14-year-old son was killed in the accident.
- February 1 – Green Day release their breakthrough album Dookie, ushering in the mid-1990s punk revival. It later achieves diamond certification.
- February 7 – Blind Melon's lead singer Shannon Hoon is forced to leave the American Music Awards ceremony for disruptive behavior. He was later charged with battery, assault, resisting arrest, and destroying a police station phone.
- February 11 – The three surviving members of The Beatles reunite to begin recording additional music for unfinished John Lennon's demos, presented to Paul McCartney by Yoko Ono with Jeff Lynne producing. The track, "Free As A Bird", is released as a single in late 1995 as part of the exhaustive Beatles Anthology project, reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- February 14 – Grateful Dead guitarist and frontman Jerry Garcia marries Deborah Koons.
- February 23 – Eddie Van Halen, Chris Isaak, and B.B. King attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada.
- February 26 – The Sanremo Music Festival ends with Aleandro Baldi winning the "Big Artists" category for the song "Passerà".
March–April
- March 1
- *Selena becomes the first Tejano music singer to win a Grammy Award.
- *Nirvana play their final concert, in Munich.
- *The 36th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in New York, hosted by Garry Shandling. The soundtrack from the 1992 film The Bodyguard wins Album of the Year, while its lead single, Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You", wins Record of the Year. The single version of "A Whole New World", performed by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle, wins Song of the Year. Toni Braxton wins Best New Artist.
- *Frank Sinatra receives the Grammy Legend Award. Sinatra's acceptance speech is cut short. Other artists criticize the producer's decision during the show, and Billy Joel takes extra time to perform his song, "The River of Dreams", noting that he is wasting valuable air time.
- March 3 – In Rome, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain lapses into a coma after overdosing on Rohypnol and champagne.
- March 5 – Grace Slick is arrested for pointing a shotgun at police in her Tiburon, California, home.
- March 7 – The United States Supreme Court decision Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. rules that parody can qualify as fair use. The case was spurred by 2 Live Crew releasing a parody of the Roy Orbison hit "Oh, Pretty Woman" without a license from the publishing firm Acuff-Rose Music.
- March 8 – Nine Inch Nails release their second studio album The Downward Spiral. It would go on to sell over 3 million copies and be credited with helping bring industrial rock music into the mainstream.
- March 13 – Selena releases her final Spanish album Amor Prohibido. Its production had been delayed because of the launch of Selena's fashion clothing line and boutiques, and her "Selena Live!" tour in support of Live!.
- March 18
- *Courtney Love calls the police, fearing that her husband, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, is suicidal. Police confiscate four guns and 25 boxes of ammunition from Cobain's home.
- *Bassist Darryl Jones replaces Bill Wyman in The Rolling Stones.
- March 30 – Pink Floyd embark on what would be their last world tour before their breakup. The record-breaking tour supports their Division Bell album, with the band playing to 5,500,000 people in 68 cities and grossing over £150,000,000.
- March 31 – Madonna on Late Show with David Letterman: Madonna appears on the Late Show with David Letterman, making headlines with her profanity-laced interview. Robin Williams later describes the segment as a "battle of wits with an unarmed woman."
- April 8 – The body of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found. Cobain's death, three days before, is legally declared to be suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot.
- *The Offspring release Smash, which goes on to become the best selling independent album of all time and one of the most influential albums of the 90s.
- April 25
- *Blur releases Parklife, their first album to reach No. 1 in UK, where it was certified quadruple platinum.
- *Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys is sentenced to 200 hours of community service for attacking a television cameraman during funeral services for actor River Phoenix in November 1993.
- April 26 – Grace Slick pleads guilty to having pointed a shotgun at police officers on March 5.
- April 27 – The legendary Fillmore club reopens in San Francisco with a concert headlined by The Smashing Pumpkins.
- April 30 – The 39th Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Dublin, Ireland, which becomes the first-ever country to win three consecutive contests. Its winners are Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan with "Rock 'N' Roll Kids", written by Brendan Graham. The interval features the first-ever public performance of Riverdance, featuring Michael Flatley and Jean Butler, which developed into the world-famous stage show.
May–June
- May 2 – A Los Angeles jury finds Michael Bolton, along with co-writer Andy Goldmark and Sony Music Entertainment, guilty of copyright infringement over the song "Love Is a Wonderful Thing". The song is ruled to be too similar to a song of the same name by The Isley Brothers.
- May 3 – The Rolling Stones arrive by yacht to a press conference in New York City to announce the Voodoo Lounge Tour kicking off in the summer.
- May 6
- *Pearl Jam files a complaint against Ticketmaster with the U.S. Justice Department charging that the company has a monopoly on the concert ticket business.
- *To help promote his new album, Alice Cooper releases a three-part comic book that followed the album The Last Temptation.
- May 9–13 – 1994 International Rostrum of Composers
- May 10
- * Tupac Shakur begins serving a 15-day sentence in a county jail for attacking director Allen Hughes on the set of a video shoot.
- * Weezer are introduced to the world with their self-titled debut, often referred to as the Blue Album. It would go on to become one of the most influential records of the 1990s spawning hits "Undone – The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly" and "Say It Ain't So".
- May 13 – Jo Dee Messina and Aaron Tippin with Sony label RCA Records and its country division, RCA Nashville.
- May 26 – Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley are married in the Dominican Republic.
- May 27 – The Eagles launch the Hell Freezes Over tour in Burbank, California. The reunion tour is the group's first since breaking up in 1980, but much is also made of the band becoming the first to charge over $100 per ticket for arena shows.
- June 7 – Grace Slick is sentenced to 200 hours of community service and three months' worth of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after a March 5 incident with police officers.
- June 9 – Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC, in a domestic dispute with partner Andre Rison, sets fire to his shoes; the fire ultimately spreads to the mansion they share and destroys it.
- June 21 – George Michael loses his legal bid in a London court to be released from his contract with Sony Records.
- June 27 – Aerosmith becomes the first major band to premiere a new song on the Internet. Over 10,000 CompuServe subscribers download the free track "Head First" within its first eight days of availability.
July–August
- July 12–16 – The Yoyo A Go Go punk and indie rock festival opens in Olympia, Washington.
- July 30
- *The Verbier Festival is launched.
- *In keeping with the country's new constitution and the promotion of its native language, Moldova adopts Limba noastră as its new national anthem, replacing the anthem of Romania which was previously in use.
- *Suede announce that guitarist Bernard Butler has left the band following fractious recording sessions for their album Dog Man Star.
- August 9
- *Peter Maxwell Davies conducts the first performance of his fifth symphony at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as part of The Proms.
- *Rich Mullins and "Leave a Legacy" contest winner, 76-year-old Miguel Garcia Massiate, travel to Bogotá, Colombia, with Compassion International. The two men visit the Ciudad Sucre Center where Mullins presented them with over $40,000 that was raised on his summer '94 Ragamuffin Band tour.
- *Decca releases a recording of the 1949 première of Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony for the first time.
- *Machine Head release their first album Burn My Eyes, which was a big success and becomes Roadrunner Records' best selling debut album.
- August 11 – A compact disc copy of Sting's album Ten Summoner's Tales, released the previous year, becomes the first item securely purchased over the internet; the CD is sold for $12.48 plus shipping and handling fees.
- August 12–14 – Woodstock '94 is held in Saugerties, New York. As with the original 1969 festival, attendance is swelled by a high number of gatecrashers, while heavy rains turn the festival grounds into a sea of mud. Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Aerosmith, Bob Dylan, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Gabriel, and Green Day are among the many performers.
- August 23 – Jeff Buckley releases his single, critically acclaimed, full-length studio album Grace.
- August 30
- *Oasis release their debut album Definitely Maybe; it becomes the fastest selling debut album in the United Kingdom until 1996, when Spice by the Spice Girls would be released.
- *Luis Miguel release Segundo Romance, the best-selling Latin album of the 1990s by a male artist. Four singles from the album were released; two of which reached No. 1 on the Top Latin Songs. It received a Grammy Award and a Billboard Latin Music Award.
September–October
- September 6
- *José Cura wins the Operalia – International Plácido Domingo Opera Singer Competition.
- *Bad Religion release their eighth studio album Stranger than Fiction. This proved to be the last to feature founding guitarist/songwriter Brett Gurewitz for seven years, until his return. Gurewitz would be replaced by former Minor Threat / Dag Nasty / Junkyard guitarist Brian Baker, who turned down a touring job for R.E.M. at this time, and eventually becomes a permanent member of Bad Religion.
- September 8 – Richard A. Morse, lead male vocalist of RAM, narrowly escapes a kidnapping by armed men during the band's live performance at the Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; the attempted kidnapping was provoked by the performance of "Fèy", a RAM single banned nationwide by the military authorities.
- September 15 – A 1957 audio tape of John Lennon performing with The Quarrymen on the same night he met Paul McCartney fetches £78,500 at Sotheby's, London.
- October 12 – Jimmy Page and Robert Plant: No Quarter premieres on MTV. The "unplugged" concert special featuring the two former Led Zeppelin bandmates was filmed to accompany the release of the album of the same name.
- October 15 – The 23rd OTI Festival, held at the Teatro Principal in Valencia, Spain, is won by the song "Canción despareja", written by Bibi Albert, and performed by Claudia Carenzio representing Argentina.
November–December
- November 20 – David Crosby undergoes a seven-hour liver transplant operation in Los Angeles.
- November 30 – The Breeders guitarist Kelley Deal is arrested at her Ohio home after accepting a private-courier package containing four grams of heroin.
- December 2 – Warner Music Group acquires a 49 percent share of Seattle record label Sub Pop in a deal believed to be worth over $30 million.
- December 18 – Paul Oakenfold's legendary Goa Mix is first broadcast in the early hours of this day as a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix.
- December 19 – Aerosmith opens the 250-seat Mama Kin Music Hall in Boston, co-owned by the group, with a performance.
- December 31 – The twenty-third annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special airs on ABC, with appearances by Melissa Etheridge, The O'Jays, Salt-N-Pepa, Hootie & the Blowfish and Jon Secada.
Also in 1994
- Social Distortion manager Jim Guerinot forms the label Time Bomb Recordings in joint-venture agreement with Arista. The label actually exists mostly as an imprint for current releases from Social Distortion and solo albums by Mike Ness, along with the administration of the label's back catalog.
- April – Jo Dee Messina signs to RCA Records.
- Summer – Tony Wilson attempts to revive Factory Records, in collaboration with London Records, as "Factory Too".
Bands formed
- See Musical groups established in 1994
Bands disbanded
- See Musical groups disestablished in 1994
Bands reformed
- See Musical groups reestablished in 1994
Albums released
Release date unknown
Acoustic - Nitty Gritty Dirt BandBig Bad Voodoo Daddy – Big Bad Voodoo DaddyBjesovi – BjesoviBlue Room – Unwritten LawChippy – Various aristsThe Church Within – The ObsessedChurn – Seven Mary ThreeClocking Out Is for Suckers – Drake Tungsten Danzón (Dance On) – Arturo SandovalObaa Sima – Ata KakDial Hard – GotthardGulfam – HariharanHalo in a Haystack – ConvergeHellig Usvart – HordeI Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle – PortastaticImagínate – MenudoJa još spavam u tvojoj majici – CecaK... jego mać – SedesMi Forma De Sentir – Pedro FernándezMoodSwing – Joshua Redman QuartetNaghmet Hob – Najwa KaramNo, No, No – Dawn PennParallel Universe – 4heroPatashnik – BiospherePeter Frampton – Peter Frampton Puno't Dulo – The DawnQuick – FarSafe Sex Designer Drugs & the Death of Rock 'N' Roll – Baby ChaosSoda Pop * Rip Off – Slant 6Swept Away – Jesse Colin YoungTelevision - Dr. JohnToo Bad Jim – R. L. BurnsideTortoise – TortoiseUnknown Territory – Dick DaleThe Walls We Bounce Off Of – John HartfordBiggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions.in the charts of 1994.
| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart entries |
| 1 | Bruce Springsteen | Streets of Philadelphia | 1994 |  Top ten best albums of the yearAll albums have been named albums of the year for their hits in the charts.
Classical music
Opera
Musical theaterBeauty and the Beast – Broadway production opened at the Palace Theatre and ran for 5461 performancesCarousel – Broadway revivalDamn Yankees – Broadway revivalGrease – Broadway revivalShow Boat – Broadway revivalSunset Boulevard – Broadway production opened at the Minskoff Theatre and ran for 977 performancesMusical filmsAag Aur ChingariAndaz, with music by Bappi LahiriAirheadsBackbeatChaand Kaa Tukdaa, starring SrideviFear of a Black HatGandugali, with music by Sadhu Kokila.Hated: GG Allin and the Murder JunkiesHum Aapke Hain Koun..!, with music by RaamlaxmanImmortal Beloved, biopic of Ludwig van BeethovenThe Lion King – animated feature film with songs by Elton John and Tim RiceMin fynske barndom, biopic of composer Carl Nielsen Sukham Sukhakaram, with music by Ravindra Jain.The Swan Princess – animated feature filmThat's Entertainment! IIIThumbelina – animated feature film.Births
Deaths
Awards
Filmfare Awards
Grammy AwardsCountry Music Association AwardsEurovision Song ContestMercury Music PrizeElegant Slumming – M People wins.Juno AwardRascalz – Juno Award Best rap albumCharts
KROQTriple J Hottest 100 |