The database currently contains 7367 historical events.
- David Bowie released his sixteenth studio album, Tonight. The album followed the success of Let's Dance and featured “Blue Jean”, “Loving the Alien” and the title track, a duet with Tina Turner. It also included three songs originally recorded by Iggy Pop, including “Tonight” and “Neighborhood Threat”. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
- The album “Apollonia 6” was released.
- U2 released the album “The Unforgettable Fire”, on which they began working extensively with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album included, among other songs, the hit “Pride”.
- American singer, songwriter and actress Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of singer and actress Jessica Simpson, was born in Waco, Texas. She gained major exposure through the MTV series The Ashlee Simpson Show and released her debut album Autobiography in 2004, which debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and, according to available figures, sold more than three million copies.
- Lena Katina, later a member of the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u., was born in Moscow as Elena Sergeyevna Katina. She formed t.A.T.u. with Yulia Volkova, whose single “All the Things She Said” reached number one on the UK chart in 2003. The duo represented Russia at the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest, where they finished third.
- David Bowie reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with the album Tonight. The album included, among other songs, the single “Blue Jean.”
- Scottish composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper was born.
- Prince was at No. 1 on the R&B chart with the song “Let's Go Crazy.”
- Queen played the first of nine concerts at the Sun City Super Bowl in the then-Republic of Bophuthatswana. The Works Tour also brought older songs from their first three albums into the concert setlist.
- The Grateful Dead performed at the Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- David Bowie reached No. 1 in the UK with his sixteenth studio album Tonight, which included the single “Blue Jean.” The album also reached No. 1 in the Netherlands and the Top 10 in ten other countries.
- Stevie Ray Vaughan performed at the Orpheum Theater in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Rod Stewart performed at the Hollywood Sportatorium in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
- Anne Murray received the Country Music Association's Album of the Year award for A Little Good News, becoming the first woman to receive the honor, despite her success on the pop charts already beginning to decline.
- The Grateful Dead performed at the Centrum Arena in Worcester, Massachusetts. The encore was "Revolution" in honor of John Lennon's birthday.
- I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder was the No.1 Billboard Pop hit. The song came from the Gene Wilder film The Woman in Red and won an Academy Award.
- The children's series "Thomas The Tank Engine And Friends" began its run on BBC television, with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr as its original narrator.
- KISS performed at the Gaumont Theatre in Ipswich, England.
- Hall & Oates release their twelfth studio album, Big Bam Boom. It reaches No. 5 on the U.S. albums chart, sells a million copies within a few weeks, and remains on the chart for 51 weeks. It includes “Out of Touch,” which reaches No. 1 in the United States and No. 48 in the UK.
- Prince’s album Purple Rain spent its fifteenth week at number one on the US album chart.
- Stevie Wonder’s self-produced single “I Just Called to Say I Love You” began a three-week run at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. It became one of his biggest hits; the song also topped the US Adult Contemporary and R&B charts, the UK singles chart, and charts in many other countries. It was written for the film The Woman in Red and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
- The album The Unforgettable Fire reached number one on the UK album chart and remained there for two weeks. It became U2’s second album to top the UK chart. It was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois and included the single “Pride (In the Name of Love).”