The database currently contains 5371 historical events.
- Composer and arranger Billy Goldenberg died at the age of 54.
- They released their fifth album, “Dr. Feelgood,” which became their best-selling album and reached No. 1 on the chart. The group drew on their experiences in making the album; the title track deals with their drug dealers, while “Kickstart My Heart” tells the story of Nikki Sixx's near-fatal overdose.
- “Express Yourself” by N.W\.A. debuted at number 45 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and became their second single to enter the chart.
- Ozzy Osbourne was charged with threatening to kill his wife Sharon after attempting to strangle her at their home in Buckinghamshire. He later said he had no memory of the attack. He was released on condition that he immediately enter detoxification, and the case was later dropped after the couple reconciled.
- Paula Abdul reached her third US number-one single of the year with “Cold Hearted”. She had previously reached the top with “Straight Up” and “Forever Your Girl”. The song also reached number one in the US and peaked at number 46 in the UK.
- Ric Ocasek of The Cars and Paulina Porizkova were married.
- With the album “Repeat Offender”, Richard Marx achieved his first and only number-one album on the US Billboard 200.
- Soundgarden released their second studio album, Louder Than Love, on A&M Records. It was their major-label debut, reached number 108 on the US Billboard 200 and included the singles “Loud Love” and “Hands All Over.” The source describes it as the first grunge album released by major label A&M.
- Lenny Kravitz made his debut with the album "Let Love Rule", released through Virgin Records. He created almost the entire album himself – writing and producing all the songs and playing most of the instruments. At a time when mainstream pop was beginning to embrace grunge with its dark guitar sound and bleak view of society, Kravitz offered a simple message rooted in funk: "Let Love Rule".
- One week after beginning their stint as the opening act on The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels tour, Living Colour won awards at the MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video, Best Stage Performance and Best New Artist. Mick Jagger presented them with the trophies backstage after their concert in Pittsburgh.
- At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, a number of artists received awards. Neil Young won Video of the Year for "This Note's for You", whose video had previously been briefly banned by MTV. Other winners included Elvis Costello, U2, Living Colour and Guns N' Roses. Performers included Bon Jovi, The Rolling Stones, Def Leppard and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with guest Axl Rose.
- Neil Young won Video of the Year at the sixth MTV Video Music Awards for "This Note's For You". It marked a significant turnaround for the song criticizing commercialization, whose video had previously been briefly banned by MTV because of legal concerns over its direct references to corporate sponsors and its parody of Michael Jackson's Pepsi commercial accident.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers could not fully use their home stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, because The Rolling Stones were rehearsing and preparing their Steel Wheels tour concert there.
- Backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards, Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe punched Izzy Stradlin in the face. According to contemporary reports, it was retaliation for an incident several weeks earlier in which Stradlin had punched Neil's then-wife at a Los Angeles club.
- On July 29, 1990, Elton John officially registered and was admitted to Parkside Lutheran Hospital in Chicago.
- Mariah Carey began a four-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with “Vision of Love.” It was her debut single and first U.S. No. 1 hit.
- Janet Jackson was scheduled to perform at St. Louis Arena, but the concert was postponed until the following day because of her health problems. At the rescheduled show on August 5, she performed three songs before collapsing backstage and being taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with an acute viral infection.
- Madonna concluded her Blond Ambition Tour with a performance in Nice, France. The concert was broadcast on HBO with a time delay.
- Anglický zpěvák a skladatel Josh Franceschi, frontman skupiny You Me at Six, se narodil. Jejich čtvrté studiové album „Cavalier Youth“ se dostalo na první místo britského žebříčku.
- While warming up before an outdoor concert at Wingate Field in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, a stage lighting structure collapsed due to strong winds and landed on his back. The accident paralyzed him from the neck down; he lived with the effects of his injuries until his death in 1999.
- George Michael released the single “Praying for Time”, the first single from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.
- Tenor singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of The Statler Brothers Lew DeWitt died at the age of 52 from heart and kidney disease. He wrote their hit “Flowers on the Wall”, which reached No. 4.
- Singer and actress Pearl Bailey died in Philadelphia at the age of 72 from arteriosclerotic coronary artery disease. In 1952, she had a Top 10 hit with the song “Takes Two to Tango”.
- The film Wild at Heart was released in North America. Nicolas Cage portrayed a character who was partly inspired by Elvis Presley.
- Jimmy Page joined Aerosmith on stage during the Monsters of Rock festival at Castle Donington in the UK, and together they performed two songs.
- Leonard Bernstein conducted his final concert. At Tanglewood in Massachusetts, he led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in performances of Benjamin Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes” and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
- Aerosmith performed at The Marquee club in London. During the concert, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page joined the band on stage and played five songs with Aerosmith: “I Ain't Got You”, “Think About It”, “Red House”, “Immigrant Song” and “The Train Kept A-Rollin'”.
- Black Sabbath released the album Tyr. It was the band's thirteenth studio album, with Tony Martin, Tony Iommi, Cozy Powell and other musicians in the lineup at the time. The album followed the band's previous work but featured a significant amount of keyboards while retaining its heavy sound.
- Living Colour released their second studio album, Time's Up. The album followed the success of their debut Vivid and continued to combine hard rock and heavy metal with elements of funk, punk, hip-hop and jazz. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200, the song “Type” reached the Top 5 of the Mainstream Rock chart, and the album later won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for the title track.
- Prince released his twelfth studio album, “Graffiti Bridge”, which includes the songs “Thieves in the Temple” and “New Power Generation”. The album reached No. 1 in Britain and also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, in which Prince starred.
- Alice in Chains released their debut album “Facelift”, one of the early grunge albums to achieve widespread popularity. The album was among the recordings released on August 21, 1990 that combined hard rock with alternative rock.
- Anthrax released the album “Persistence of Time”, which ranks among their most successful recordings.
- B.B. King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Firehouse released their debut album “Firehouse”. During the hair metal boom, the album went on to achieve double-platinum certification, largely thanks to the power ballad “Love of a Lifetime”.
- Jane's Addiction released their second studio album “Ritual de lo Habitual”, a significant alternative rock album that singer Perry Farrell described as being filled with “sex and violence and joy and happiness”. The album later sold more than two million copies and reached No. 19 in the US.
- Prince released the soundtrack to the film “Graffiti Bridge”.
- Ratt released the album “Detonator”, which marked the end of their most successful period. It was their fifth album in six years.
- American composer, orchestra leader, pianist, arranger and conductor David Rose, leader of David Rose & His Orchestra, died in Burbank, California, of natural causes at the age of 80. He was best known for the compositions “Holiday for Strings” and “The Stripper”.
- Donald Fagen of Steely Dan and his girlfriend Libby Titus organized the first „New York Rock & Soul Revue“ in Southampton, New York. The second revue later led to the creation of the live album „The New York Rock and Soul Revue: Live at the Beacon“.
- Judas Priest were cleared of liability in Reno, Nevada, in a civil case concerning the suicides of two seventeen-year-old fans who had listened to the album „Stained Class“. The victims' families claimed that the music contained subliminal messages that led to their actions and sought a total of $6.2 million.
- The three-day British Reading Festival began, with Jane's Addiction and Faith No More headlining the first day. Also performing were The Cramps, Inspiral Carpets, Pixies, The Fall, Jesus Jones, Ride, Dinosaur Jr., The Wedding Present, Billy Bragg and others. A three-day ticket cost £35.
- Sinéad O'Connor refused to perform at Garden State Arts Plaza in Holmdel, New Jersey, unless the U.S. national anthem was not played before her concert. She stated that she was protesting a wave of music censorship; the dispute triggered a major media and patriotic reaction, and some radio stations subsequently banned her music.
- “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” by Bombalurina reached number one on the UK singles chart. Bombalurina was a project by children's television presenter Timmy Mallett and was a new version of Brian Hyland's 1960 hit.
- “Come Back To Me” by Janet Jackson was a new song at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart.