1991 part two

Oasis plays their first gig in August. A few months later, Noel quits his job as roadie for Inspiral Carpets to join the band alongside brother, Liam. [Check out this nifty acoustic version of “Live Forever”.]


Kiss drummer Eric Carr dies from leukemia in November.

“Wicked Game”, originally released in 1989, became a Top 10 hit in January after being used prominently (as an instrumental) in the David Lynch film “Wild At Heart”. An Atlanta DJ, enamored with the song’s use in the film, began playing the original album version. Other stations followed suit, giving the song a new lease on life.

After growing rumors that he was suffering from AIDS, Queen’s Freddie Mercury dies of complications from the disease in November. [Check out “Bohemian Rhapsody/Radio Ga-Ga” and “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions” from Live Aid.]

Rage Against The Machine forms in Los Angeles. [Check out this live version of "Autologic" from one of their first gigs.]

Big Audio Dynamite II, with only ex-Clash guitarist Mick Jones as a holdover from the original line-up, scores a Modern Rock #1 hit with the single “Rush” from the album “The Globe”.


Garth Brooks releases “Ropin’ The Wind”, which becomes the first album in history to debut at #1 on the country and pop charts in the U.S., going on to sell over nine million copies.


Pat Benatar releases “True Love”, a blues album featuring members of Roomful Of Blues. It is the last Top 40 album of her career.

The Smithereens released their sixth studio album, “Blow Up”. Despite scoring a Top 40 single with the song “Too Much Passion”, the album failed to dent the Top 100.

Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell organizes the first Lollapalooza festival, featuring main stage acts Jane's Addiction, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Ice T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, Violent Femmes, and Fishbone. [Check out Jane’s Addiction performing “Been Caught Stealing”.]

Crowded House, now a foursome with the addition of Neil Finn’s brother Tim (also ex-Split Enz), release their fourth album, “Woodface”. While a huge UK hit, the album fared only moderately in the States despite featuring perennial fan favorites “Weather With You” and “Fall At Your Feet”.

U2 release “Achtung Baby” in November, scoring an immediate Top 10 hit with the song “Mysterious Ways”. The album would go on to outsell all previous U2 releases on the strength of subsequent hit singles “One”, “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?”. The album’s title was borrowed from a line in the Mel Brooks movie, “The Producers”.


Madonna’s “Truth or Dare” tour film – most notable for scenes that include her performing fellatio on an empty bottle and visibly losing interest in then-boyfriend Warren Beatty, is released to theatres in May.


Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark dies in January from a lethal mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol. [Check out "Run Riot" 1988 live soundcheck.]

As perhaps the first major casualty of the growing digital recording boom that gave birth to smaller project studios capable of creating album-quality results, the legendary Record Plant recording studio (most notable for being the studio in which the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” were recorded) goes out of business.


Legendary new York Dolls guitarist Johnny Thunders dies in April under mysterious circumstances. While not the cause of death, an autopsy reportedly revealed Thunders to have been suffering from advanced leukemia.

Eric Clapton’s 4-year-old son Conor dies in a fall from the 53rd story of a New York apartment building in March. A devastated Clapton writes and records the song “Tears In Heaven” in tribute to Conor. The song would appear on the soundtrack for the movie “Rush”. Clapton would stop performing the song in 2004, citing that he was done grieving and had no further emotional attachment to the feelings that had inspired the song.


In October, the Pixies release their fourth (and final) studio album, “Trompe le Monde”. While a Top 10 hit in the UK, the album barely reaches the Top 100 in America. [Check out "Tame" - an amazing live version from '91.]

Van Halen enjoys a huge hit single with the song “Right Now”, which is propelled by a popular music video that gains heavy MTV rotation. The song is later used in ads to promote the colorless soda Crystal Pepsi.


Australia’s Divinyls reach #4 on the U.S. singles charts with the provocative “I Touch Myself”.

Color Me Badd hit #2 in the U.S. with the unprovocative “I Wanna Sex U Up”.

UK group On A Friday sign a six-album deal with EMI. At the label’s urging, the band changes their name to Radiohead (taken from a Talking Heads song).