Events in 1994
- Italian singer and actor Domenico Modugno, whose recording “Volare” topped the North American charts in 1958, died of a heart attack near his home on the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, at the age of 66. During his career, he also appeared in 44 films.
- Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories began a three-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with “Stay (I Missed You).” The song also reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 6 in the UK and appeared in the film “Reality Bites.” It gained prominence after actor Ethan Hawke asked her for a song for the film.
- Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards entered a private clinic for treatment for nervous exhaustion.
- Oasis released “Live Forever” as the third single from their debut album Definitely Maybe. Released on Creation Records on August 8, 1994, it became the band's first UK Top 10 single, reaching No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.
- The Notorious B.I.G. released his debut single "Juicy". The song reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.
- During an Oasis concert at The Riverside in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, a man jumped onto the stage and punched Noel Gallagher in the face. Noel refused to continue performing, and after he left, a crowd of more than 300 people attacked the band’s bus; the musicians were not on board.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd released their eighth album, “Endangered Species”, which featured acoustic reworkings of many of the band’s best-known songs. The album reached No. 115 on the Billboard 200.
- American rapper King Von was born.
- Woodstock '94 began in Saugerties, New York. The festival began exactly 25 years after the original Woodstock Music and Art Fair.
- Woodstock '94 began in Saugerties, New York, with performances by Sheryl Crow, Todd Rundgren and Violent Femmes. The festival was a success, drawing a crowd of about 350,000.
- They performed on the second day of Woodstock '94, playing the forthcoming single “Zombie” and a cover of “(They Long to Be) Close to You” by Carpenters. Joe Cocker, a veteran of the original 1969 Woodstock, performed “With A Little Help From My Friends” again.
- Woodstock '94 began in Saugerties, New York, as a continuation of the legendary 1969 festival held to mark its 25th anniversary. More than 350,000 fans attended, and heavy rain and mud earned the festival the nickname “Mudstock”. Some original 1969 Woodstock performers also appeared, including The Band, Santana, Joe Cocker, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
- After turning down an invitation to the original festival in 1969, he performed on the final day of Woodstock '94. On the main North Stage, he sang “It Ain't Me Babe”, “It's All Over Now, Baby Blue”, “Masters Of War”, “Just Like A Woman” and “Highway 61 Revisited”. Meanwhile, on the South Stage, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong threw handfuls of mud at fans, triggering a massive mud fight. Bassist Mike Dirnt lost his front teeth in the chaos after being struck by a security guard.
- The real-life mountain man from Tennessee who inspired Claude King's 1964 country hit “Wolverton Mountain” died at the age of 101, still living on his mountain. He left behind 15 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
- The English multi-instrumentalist of the indie pop group Blossoms was born.
- Barenaked Ladies released their second studio album, Maybe You Should Drive.
- Neil Young released his 22nd studio album, "Sleeps with Angels," which served as a somber emotional tribute to the late Kurt Cobain. The album was a major success, reaching No. 9 in the US and No. 2 in the UK, earning gold certifications in both countries.
- Singer and songwriter Phoebe Bridgers was born in Pasadena, California. Before beginning her solo career and forming the group boygenius with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, she appeared in television commercials.
- Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories spent their third week at No. 1 with “Stay (I Missed You)”. Boyz II Men surged from No. 31 to No. 2 with “I'll Make Love To You”.
- Oasis’ “Live Forever” entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 10. The single later reached a peak position of No. 8.
- Bob Dylan performed in Columbus, Ohio, at the Ohio State Fair.
- John Denver, who was still on probation for a 1992 drunk-driving conviction, was again charged with driving under the influence after crashing his 1963 Porsche 356 into a tree near his home in Aspen, Colorado. It was his second such case within two years. The first trial ended with a hung jury, and the second trial was still pending at the time of his death on October 12, 1997.
- During her concert at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, Whitney Houston asked for a spotlight to be directed at Justin and Sydney Simpson, whose father O. J. Simpson was at the time on trial for the murder of their mother Nicole.
- Singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Buckley released his first and only studio album, “Grace”, through Columbia Records. The album later sold more than three million copies worldwide and received critical acclaim.
- The soundtrack to the film “Natural Born Killers”, compiled by Trent Reznor, was released. The album combined dialogue from the film with recordings by a very diverse range of artists, including Bob Dylan, Patsy Cline and Dr. Dre.
- Prince released the home video “3 Chains O' Gold”.
- The British duo The KLF burned one million pounds on the Scottish island of Jura for no apparent reason.
- A New York judge officially ended Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley's nine-year marriage. Despite the separation, they remained lifelong friends, and Joel continued to perform the song “Uptown Girl” in concert, which Brinkley had inspired.
- Jimmy Buffett crashed his Grumman G-44 Widgeon seaplane while taking off from Madaket Harbor on Nantucket, Massachusetts. The aircraft struck a large ocean wave, overturned and sank. Buffett escaped from the wreck and two local fishermen pulled him from the water and took him to hospital. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
- Jimmy Page and Robert Plant filmed the concert film No Quarter, documenting their reunion.
- Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin reunited in London studios to record a performance for MTV Unplugged, later released as the television special “Unledded” and the album “No Quarter”. John Paul Jones was excluded from the project and, according to sources, learned about the reunion from the media.
- Take That began a 36-date sold-out UK tour with three concerts at SEC Glasgow; during the tour they played nine sold-out nights at London's Wembley Arena.
- Scottish singer and songwriter Frankie Miller suffered a massive brain hemorrhage in New York while working on material for a new group he had formed with Joe Walsh of the Eagles. He spent five months in a coma and subsequently underwent rehabilitation, during which he relearned how to walk and talk.
- Hole performed at the Reading Festival in England. It was their first concert following two tragic events: the suicide of Kurt Cobain, husband of frontwoman Courtney Love, in April and the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff from a heroin overdose in June. Pfaff was replaced by Melissa Auf der Maur.
- Vocal group Boyz II Men began a fourteen-week run at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 with “I'll Make Love to You”. In the UK, the song reached No. 5. In December, it was replaced at the top by their own single “On Bended Knee”, which added another two weeks at No. 1, giving Boyz II Men a total of 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the US chart.
- Hootie & the Blowfish released their debut album “Cracked Rear View”, which later became one of the best-selling albums of the 1990s.
- Prince reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with his fifteenth studio album “Come”.
- During a Meat Puppets performance, with the band appearing as the opening act for Stone Temple Pilots at the Beacon Theatre in New York, well-known DJ Howard Stern joined them on stage and played the song "Lake of Fire" with them.
- Oasis released their debut album "Definitely Maybe", which immediately reached No. 1 on the UK album chart upon its first release. At the time of its release, it was the fastest-selling debut album in the UK. The album spent 177 weeks on the UK chart and marked the beginning of Oasis's success in the US, where it sold more than one million copies.
- The Cranberries released the album "No Need to Argue" as part of its international release week.
- Jeff Buckley released the album “Grace”.
- Oasis played an unplanned acoustic performance at the Virgin Megastore on Marble Arch in London, where they performed a selection of new songs. Evan Dando of The Lemonheads joined them on stage, and together they performed the new song “Whatever” live for the first time; it was not released as a standalone single until December of that year.
- Oasis released their first studio album “Definitely Maybe”, which later spent 177 weeks on the UK chart. It also became the fastest-selling debut album in the UK, and more than eight million copies were sold worldwide.
- Singer and songwriter Rina Sawayama was born.
- Usher released his self-titled debut studio album.
- Oasis released their debut album, "Definitely Maybe", in the United Kingdom.
- English dancer, singer, television presenter and musician Roy Castle died of lung cancer two days after his 62nd birthday.
- The album After the Storm by Crosby, Stills and Nash was released.
- R&B singer Major Lance died of heart failure at the age of 55. During his career, he placed 19 recordings on the Billboard R&B chart and another 12 on the Hot 100; he was best known for the hits “The Monkey Time” and “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um”.
- Oasis performed at The Hacienda in Manchester to celebrate the release of their debut album Definitely Maybe. The album went on to become the fastest-selling debut album in UK history.
- Rod Stewart and his second wife, model Rachel Hunter, welcomed their son Liam McAlister Stewart.
- Bad Religion released their eighth studio album, "Stranger Than Fiction". It was their only gold-certified album in the United States and their final recording with founding guitarist Brett Gurewitz before his return seven years later.
- English keyboardist, pianist and organist Nicky Hopkins died in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 50 from complications following intestinal surgery. He was one of the most respected session musicians and worked with The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, The Kinks, Jeff Beck, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, John Lennon, George Harrison and the Jerry Garcia Band, among others. The Kinks' song "Session Man" from the album "Face to Face" was dedicated to Hopkins, who also played on it. Hopkins suffered from Crohn's disease throughout his life.
- The Cranberries began releasing material connected with the album "No Need to Argue".
- Fifteen-year-old Brandy released her debut album “Brandy”, which subsequently sold more than 4 million copies and made her an R&B star. The album's hits included “I Wanna Be Down” and “Baby”.
- After Pink Floyd's concert at Prague's Strahov Stadium, attended by 110,000 people, President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel invited the band to dinner.
- Weezer released their breakthrough single “Buddy Holly”, named after the rock'n'roll icon. The song appeared on the band's debut album “Weezer”, also known as “The Blue Album”, and reached No. 6 in Canada and No. 12 in the UK. It was released on the day Buddy Holly would have celebrated his 58th birthday.
- Eric Clapton entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 with his twelfth solo studio album, “From the Cradle”. The album also reached No. 1 in the UK, Austria, and Switzerland. The blues recording followed the success of “Unplugged” and won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album; it was also nominated for Album of the Year.
- Luther Vandross reached No. 1 on the UK album chart with his ninth studio album, “Songs”, which consisted mainly of cover versions of well-known songs.
- Megadeth became the first musical act to launch its own official website on the then newly accessible World Wide Web. The site included a chat, photo gallery, and song samples.
- The British Daily Mirror published a photograph of Michael Jackson wearing a scout leader’s uniform with five young scouts. It was later clarified that the photograph came from a ceremony in Los Angeles in September 1990, where Jackson received the Good Scout Humanitarian Award. A representative of the scouting organization subsequently stated that Jackson had no connection with the organization and had never served as a scout leader.
- The Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center opened in California at California State University, Long Beach.
- At the age of 42, John Mellencamp confirmed that he had recently suffered a mild heart attack, which he attributed to his then consumption of approximately 80 cigarettes a day and a cholesterol level of 300. Following the event, he withdrew from musical activity for nearly 18 months, changed his diet, began exercising regularly, and reduced his smoking to three or four cigarettes a day.
- After performing at the Bridge School benefit concert in Mountain View, California, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers parted ways with their original drummer Stan Lynch. Petty said that Lynch had lost all loyalty to the group and was trying to play with other bands, and that he felt Lynch was staying only for the money. Lynch was replaced by Average White Band drummer Steve Ferrone.
- Guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton died by suicide with a firearm in his garage at his farm in Newburg, Maryland, on October 4, 1994, at the age of 49. He left no note or explanation. He was known for his exceptional mastery of blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 63 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
- Dream Theater released the album Awake.
- Stomach surgery for Eagles singer Glenn Frey caused a delay to the band's long-awaited reunion tour, which was aptly titled Hell Freezes Over.
- Glenn Frey underwent surgery on his colon because of pain caused by inflammation, which forced the Eagles to postpone their reunion tour.
- Jamie Walters, who sang the theme song “How Do You Talk To An Angel?” for the series The Heights, joined Beverly Hills 90210 as Ray Pruit, an aspiring musician. His character began abusing the popular character Donna Martin, which also had a negative impact on Walters' real-life music career.
- Glenn Frey underwent abdominal surgery for diverticulitis, which led to the postponement of the remaining concerts of the Eagles' Hell Freezes Over reunion tour.
- English hip-hop musician Loyle Carner was born.
- The Eagles interrupted their Hell Freezes Over reunion tour after Glenn Frey underwent emergency surgery for diverticulitis in Los Angeles. The health problem temporarily canceled the final 17 concerts of their first tour in 14 years. Frey recovered and the group resumed performing in early 1995.
- Elvis Aaron Presley: The Tribute was broadcast live in the U.S. via pay television from the Pyramid Arena in Memphis. Tony Bennett, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chris Isaak performed Elvis Presley songs, while Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Jackson watched the show from a private box.
- Joe Esposito's book Good Rockin' Tonight: Twenty Years on the Road and on the Town with Elvis was published. In it, he recalls twenty years spent travelling and socialising with Elvis Presley.
- Korn released their self-titled debut album, Korn, whose intense songs explored singer Jonathan Davis's personal demons. This theme would continue to appear frequently in the band's lyrics. The album initially attracted little attention, but after the band built a fan base, it sold more than two million copies.
- During the opening concert of Pink Floyd’s run at London’s Earls Court, a temporary stand holding around 1,200 spectators collapses shortly after “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” begins. Dozens are injured, nearly 100 people require treatment, and 36 are taken to hospital. The concert is cancelled and rescheduled for October 17.
- No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded, documenting a musical performance by former Led Zeppelin members, premieres on MTV. According to the source, it becomes the highest-rated episode of the Unplugged music series.