Events in 1992
- Charlotte Aitchison, known professionally as Charli XCX, was born in Cambridge, England.
- The Beach Boys released their 27th studio album, “Summer in Paradise,” the band’s only studio album without any involvement from Brian Wilson.
- Body Count’s self-titled album was certified Gold in the United States for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
- Jeff Porcaro, a highly sought-after session drummer and member of Toto, died in Los Angeles at the age of 38.
- A joint Guns N' Roses and Metallica concert at Olympic Stadium in Montreal ended in violent riots. James Hetfield suffered severe second- and third-degree burns after being struck by pyrotechnics during the opening song “Fade to Black”, forcing Metallica to end its concert. Guns N' Roses then played for approximately 55 minutes, or about nine songs, before Axl Rose ended the performance because of sound and vocal problems. An enraged crowd of approximately 53,000 fans then vandalized the stadium and surrounding area, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and dozens of people injured and arrested.
- Madness reunited and played the first of two Madstock concerts at Finsbury Park in London. A total of 75,000 fans attended the two concerts, and the reunion led to the group resuming live performances.
- Madonna's “This Used to Be My Playground” became her tenth U.S. No. 1 hit. It reached No. 3 in the UK and was from the film “A League Of Their Own”. The song also reached No. 1 in Canada, Italy, Mexico and Sweden.
- TLC were at No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart with “Baby-Baby-Baby”.
- Def Leppard began the North American leg of their 248-date world tour, Seven Day Weekend, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- Ray Charles performed at the opening of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, singing his famous version of “America The Beautiful.”
- John Cage died in New York from complications following a stroke at the age of 79.
- RCA and the RIAA presented 110 gold and platinum records to the estate of Elvis Presley.
- Neil Diamond performed the first of six sold-out concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York. According to the source, he was expected to earn more than $40 million from his concert tour that year, the second-highest income in the music industry.
- The member of The Platters died in his sleep in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 64 from emphysema. He sang most of the group's hits until 1961, when he was replaced by Sonny Turner. His lead vocals contributed to the success of “Only You (And You Alone)”, “The Great Pretender”, “My Prayer” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”. The Platters had the US and UK number-one single “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” in 1959. In 1990, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Platters.
- With “End of the Road”, Boyz II Men began a thirteen-week run at No. 1 on the US singles chart and broke Elvis Presley's 36-year-old record. TLC's “Baby-Baby-Baby” simultaneously held the No. 2 position.
- Exodus released their fifth studio album, Force of Habit.
- Wayne Newton filed for bankruptcy, stating that he owed approximately $20 million. Much of the debt was related to his lawsuit against NBC for defamation. By 1999, he had recovered financially.
- American pop singer, songwriter and actress Demi Lovato was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She became known, among other things, for her role as Mitchie Torres in the musical television film Camp Rock. In 2009, she had the No. 1 album in the U.S. with Here We Go Again.
- A U.S. doctor filed a $35 million lawsuit against Southwest Bell. He claimed that his wife died because he was unable to get through to the 911 emergency line, as all telephone lines were overloaded by demand for tickets to a Garth Brooks concert.
- During the controversy surrounding the song “Cop Killer”, Ice-T appeared in “Rolling Stone” magazine wearing a police uniform. Inside the magazine was an interview titled “You Gotta Problem With That?”. He had already removed the song from future editions of the “Body Count” album after employees of his record label Warner Bros. had received death threats.
- Boyz II Men reached No. 1 on the R&B chart with “End Of The Road”.
- Genesis returned to No. 1 on the British chart with their fourteenth studio album “We Can’t Dance”. The album also reached No. 1 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Switzerland and was the group's last album with Phil Collins.
- Madonna began filming the music video for “Erotica” at The Kitchen in New York City.
- Sting and Trudie Styler held a wedding reception and church blessing at St. Andrew's Church in Great Durnford, Wiltshire; they had already officially married in a civil ceremony in London on August 20. The Troggs performed at the celebration, and all three members of The Police subsequently came together on stage and played several songs.
- British boy band Take That released their debut album “Take That & Party”, which remained on the UK album chart for more than a year.
- The Wallflowers released their self-titled debut album.
- Alice in Chains' album “Dirt” was released.
- Eric Clapton released “Unplugged”, recorded for the MTV Unplugged television series in January of the same year. The album included “Tears in Heaven” and an acoustic version of “Layla”, helped revive his career and became his best-selling album. It reached number one in the US and number two in the UK and sold 26 million copies worldwide.
- Mary J. Blige released “Real Love”, her first hit to reach the Top 10 of the Hot 100.
- The handwritten lyrics to The Beatles' song “A Day in the Life” from the album “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band”, written by John Lennon, were sold at auction at Sotheby's in London for $100,000. The double-sided manuscript contained spelling mistakes and crossed-out words. It was offered at auction again in 2006, and in 2010 an anonymous American buyer acquired it for $1.2 million.
- German singer and songwriter Kim Petras was born. Her collaboration with Sam Smith on the 2022 single “Unholy” reached No. 1 on both the UK singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100.
- The television drama series “The Heights”, about a group of young people from a working-class background trying to form a rock band, premiered on FOX. The short-lived series gave rise to the song “How Do You Talk To An Angel”, which reached No. 1 on the chart.
- Billy Joel's version of Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" reached No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song came from the soundtrack to the film "Honeymoon in Vegas" and became the lowest-charting single of his career.
- The Smiths reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with the compilation album "Best…I".
- During their sold-out Zoo TV Tour, U2 performed two concerts at Yankee Stadium in New York on August 29 and 30. They became only the second act to perform at the stadium, following Billy Joel.
- Billy Joel’s version of Elvis’s song “All Shook Up” reached No. 92 on the US singles chart. The song came from the soundtrack to the film “Honeymoon in Vegas”.
- Elvis Presley’s “Don't Be Cruel” reached No. 42 on the UK singles chart.
- At that year’s Reading Festival in England, Suede, Ride, Pavement, Public Enemy and Manic Street Preachers performed. Nirvana headlined the festival and played their final UK concert, which became one of their most famous performances. Kurt Cobain came on stage in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True, parodying speculation about his mental state. Manic Street Preachers bassist Nicky Wire smashed a guitar into two pieces and threw it into the audience, hitting a security worker who required 16 stitches. L7 also appeared on the bill, and their singer Donita Sparks threw a used tampon into the audience.
- Prince extended his contract with Warner Bros. in a deal reportedly worth $100 million, although the actual value was significantly lower.
- Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio organized a Miami project to help victims of Hurricane Andrew.
- Singer Jimmy Ferguson of The Irish Rovers died at the age of 57.
- David Bowie appeared on the cover of Architectural Digest magazine. According to the source, he was the first person to appear on the cover in four years.
- The Beach Boys released their 27th studio album, Summer in Paradise. According to the source, it sold poorly, and the group did not release another album of original material until 2012.
- Elvis Presley's five-disc box set The King of Rock 'n' Roll – The Complete 50's Masters reached number 159 on the US chart.
- John Mellencamp married supermodel Elaine Irwin.
- Kylie Minogue reached number one on the UK albums chart with her first greatest-hits compilation, Kylie Greatest Hits. The album contained 22 tracks, including “I Should Be So Lucky,” “It's No Secret” and “The Loco-Motion.”
- A revived production of the musical “Oba Oba '93” was staged.
- ABBA reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with the compilation ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits. Released in September 1992, the album contains the group's greatest hits and later became one of the most successful compilation albums in history. According to the record, it sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and also reached No. 1 in ten other countries. The official UK chart confirms the album's first appearance on October 3, 1992, and its peak at No. 1.
- “End Of The Road” by Boyz II Men spent its eighth week at No. 1 on the US singles chart.
- During her appearance on Saturday Night Live, Sinéad O'Connor sang Bob Marley's “War” a cappella, changing part of the lyrics to refer to child abuse. At the end of the performance, she unexpectedly pulled out a photograph of Pope John Paul II, tore it into pieces and said “Fight the real enemy.” It was an unannounced protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. During rehearsal, she had held a photograph of a child and kept her actual intentions secret from the production team. The studio fell completely silent after her gesture and the broadcast went to commercial. The incident generated thousands of complaints, NBC did not invite O'Connor back to the program, and in some later reruns the footage was replaced with the rehearsal recording. The claim that NBC received a $2.5 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission over the incident is not supported by verified sources.
- American singer Eddie Kendricks of The Temptations died in Birmingham, Alabama, at the age of 52 from lung cancer, a year after having one lung removed. He sang lead vocals on “The Way You Do the Things You Do,” “Get Ready,” and “Just My Imagination.” As a solo artist, he had several hits in the 1970s, including the U.S. No. 1 single “Keep On Truckin’” and the song “Boogie Down.”
- Prince and the New Power Generation released the home video Diamonds and Pearls.
- Spin Doctors released their first single, “Little Miss Can't Be Wrong.”
- Prince and The New Power Generation released the home video “Diamonds and Pearls.”
- The US Postal Service issued a series of commemorative stamps honoring legends of popular music. The stamps featured Elvis Presley, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Ritchie Valens, Clyde McPhatter, and Dinah Washington.
- English singer and songwriter Gabrielle Aplin was born on October 10, 1992. In 2012, she reached number one on the UK chart with a cover of “The Power of Love” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, used in a television advertisement for retailer John Lewis.
- Garth Brooks reached number one on the U.S. album chart, Billboard 200, with his fourth studio album The Chase, knocking Billy Ray Cyrus's Some Gave All from the top after it had spent 17 weeks at number one. The Chase remained at the top for six consecutive weeks.
- Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash married for the first time. He married actress Renee Suran in Marina Del Rey, California. They divorced in 1997, and Slash married again in 2001.
- American rapper, songwriter and actress Cardi B was born in New York City as Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar. She first came to wider public attention through the reality show Love & Hip Hop and broke through with "Bodak Yellow," which reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2017. Her debut studio album, Invasion of Privacy, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2018 and broke several streaming records. She became the first solo woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.
- Linda McCartney published the book Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era, featuring a selection of her photographs of rock musicians. It includes images of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, and Grateful Dead, as well as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Ray Charles, and Otis Redding.
- The US Supreme Court declined to reinstate lawsuits against Ozzy Osbourne alleging that his music had allegedly encouraged two teenagers to die by suicide.
- Patty Smyth and Don Henley, drummer for the Eagles, received a gold record for their duet "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough". The single from Patty Smyth's second solo album spent six weeks at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 22 on the UK chart.
- Prince released an album featuring a graphic symbol on its cover that later became his name.