Music History

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.

Sting married Trudie Styler at his estate in Wiltshire, England. They first met in 1977, when Sting was an aspiring musician and Trudie was trying to establish herself as an actress.

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.

Singer and guitarist Mary Ford, partner of Les Paul, died at the age of 53.

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.

Nirvana won the Best New Artist and Best Alternative Video awards at the MTV Video Music Awards for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

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.”

PolyGram purchased Motown Records from investment company Boston Ventures for $301 million.

Sheryl Crow released her debut album, “Tuesday Night Music Club,” on A&M Records.

Randy Jo Hobbs, bassist for The McCoys and Edgar Winter Group, was found dead in a hotel room in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 45.

Hip-hop group Cypress Hill's second studio album “Black Sunday”, led by the single “Insane In The Brain”, debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart. The album featured their signature song “Insane In The Brain”.

Pete Townshend performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music during his Psychoderelict tour.

Lionel Richie divorced his first wife, Brenda Harvey.

Billy Joel released “River of Dreams,” his final album of pop songs.

The Dave Matthews Band performed at the Flood Zone in Richmond, Virginia. The concert was recorded, and some of the songs later appeared on the band's debut album “Remember Two Things”.

Soundgarden performed at the Civic Auditorium in Rapid City, South Dakota, on the first show of an eight-date tour headlined by Neil Young with Blind Melon as the opening act. These concerts were Soundgarden's only live performances of 1993.

Red Hot Chili Peppers replaced guitarist Arik Marshall with Jesse Tobias.

The fantasy comedy film Heart and Souls premiered in US cinemas. Robert Downey Jr. sings the US national anthem in the film accompanied by B.B. King, who also performs “The Thrill Is Gone”.

The group, which had split in 1981, reunited and began a US tour with a concert at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Posthumously scored his first solo number-one hit on the UK chart with a remix of “Living On My Own”, originally released in 1985 on his solo album Mr. Bad Guy. The song was a minor hit in its original version in 1985 and was later re-released in a remixed version, leading to major chart success.

Ed Roberts of Ruby And The Romantics died at the age of 57 from cancer. The Akron vocal group had three Top 40 hits, the biggest being “Our Day Will Come”, which reached No. 1 in 1963.

Jeff Buckley performed at the Sin-é café in New York. Several months later, recordings from this performance became his first released material in the form of the EP Live at Sin-é.

Los Angeles police began investigating allegations of child abuse made against Michael Jackson. No criminal charges were ultimately filed, and the civil lawsuit was settled out of court in January 1994.

Type O Negative released their fifth studio album, Bloody Kisses, one of the few gothic metal albums to receive platinum certification.

Longtime Elton John lyricist Bernie Taupin married his third wife, Stephanie Haymes.