This is a list of notable events in music that occurred in 1996.
Specific locations 1996 in British music 1996 in Norwegian music 1996 in Scandinavian music 1996 in South Korean music
Specific genres 1996 in classical music 1996 in country music 1996 in heavy metal music 1996 in hip-hop 1996 in jazz 1996 in Latin music 1996 in progressive rock
Events January January 8 – Robert Hoskins is convicted on five charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill Madonna. January 16 Two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, are tried for the murder of Bassett's parents and younger brother. At the trial, defense lawyers attempt to blame the murders on the fact the pair had been listening to "Israel's Son" by Silverchair before the crimes. The murders are dubbed the "Israel's Son Murders". Murmur Records releases an official response, stating that the members of Silverchair do not condone violence of any kind, and that the song "seeks to criticize violence and war by portraying them in all their horror". Jamaican authorities open fire on Jimmy Buffett's seaplane, Hemisphere Dancer, mistaking it for a drug trafficker's plane. U2 singer Bono and Island Records executive Chris Blackwell are also on the plane during the incident. No one is injured. January 18 – Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson. The two were wed on May 26, 1994. January 19–February 4 – The Big Day Out festival takes place in Australia and New Zealand, headlined by Porno for Pyros and Rage Against the Machine. January 25 – Madonna receives death threats from Argentine Peronists, who are enraged and insulted that she was playing Eva Peron in Evita. After she arrives in Argentina, over 50 walls throughout the city are spray-painted with the words: ¡Viva Evita! ¡Fuera Madonna! (Long Live Evita! Get Out, Madonna!). January 26 – The first public performance of the controversial musical Rent takes place at the New York Theatre Workshop, a day after the death of its creator, Jonathan Larson.Creative Team – Jonathan Larson January 28 – Chris Isaak makes a guest appearance on the television show Friends. January 29 La Fenice opera house in Venice, Italy, is destroyed by fire. Garth Brooks refuses to accept his American Music Award for Favorite Overall Artist, briefly explaining his belief that all music is "made up of a lot of people".
February February 8 – The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is signed into law in the United States, deregulating the number of radio and TV stations that any one broadcaster can own. February 4 – Former Milli Vanilli band member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized after being hit over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood while attempting to steal a man's car. February 13 Tupac Shakur releases the first ever rap double album, All Eyez on Me, one of the most influential albums in hip-hop history. All Eyez on Me quickly achieves platinum sales and reaches No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts. Take That formally announces that they are disbanding. February 14 – The artist formerly known as Prince marries backup dancer Mayte Garcia, who is fifteen years his junior. February 19 – Jarvis Cocker disrupts a performance by Michael Jackson at the BRIT Awards. During an elaborate staging of "Earth Song", Cocker crashes the stage, lifts his shirt, and points his bottom in Jackson's direction before getting into a scuffle with security. Cocker later states that his actions were "a form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing". February 20 Sepultura releases their album Roots. Snoop Dogg and his bodyguard are acquitted of first-degree murder. The jury deadlocks on voluntary manslaughter charges, and a mistrial is declared. Storytellers premieres on VH1. The first episode features Ray Davies. February 22 – MCA Records buys half of Interscope Records. Time Warner had owned half of Interscope until September 1995, when it sold off its share due to political pressure over the label's gangsta rap artists' explicit lyrics. February 28 – The 38th Annual Grammy Awards are presented in Los Angeles, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Alanis Morissette wins four awards, including Album of the Year for Jagged Little Pill, while Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" wins both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Hootie & the Blowfish win Best New Artist. The ceremony also notably features the reunion of the original lineup of Kiss, introduced by Tupac Shakur, for their first appearance in full makeup and outfits since 1979. Frank Sinatra wins the award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance for "Duets II", his first win since 1966.
March March 4 – The Beatles' second reunion song is released as part of their first reunion since the band's breakup 26 years earlier. The song is a finished version of "Real Love", a John Lennon demo from 1980. March 13 – Ramones fans riot in Buenos Aires, Argentina after waiting all night for concert tickets, only to find the show is sold out. March 16 – Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men's 16th consecutive week stay at No. 1 in the American charts with "One Sweet Day" ends when Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" reaches No. 1. "One Sweet Day" enjoyed the longest consecutive stay at No. 1 in the Billboard Hot 100's history. March 18 – The Sex Pistols announce they will reunite for a 20th anniversary tour. March 28 – Phil Collins announces he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.
April April 1 Roberto Alagna marries Angela Gheorghiu backstage at the New York Metropolitan Opera.Martha Duffy, "So Happy Together", Time magazine, April 29, 1996 John Squire announces his departure from The Stone Roses. April 3 – M.C. Hammer files for bankruptcy. April 4 – The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia's widow, Deborah, scatter part of Garcia's ashes in the Ganges River in India. April 10 – Alice in Chains plays at Majestic Theatre in New York City for an MTV unplugged record and video to be released in July. April 15 – The remainder of Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. April 16 Madonna announces she is four months pregnant by Carlos Leon, her then-boyfriend and trainer. Rage Against the Machine releases their second studio album, Evil Empire. April 17 – Carlo Bergonzi gives his American farewell concert at Carnegie Hall. April 24 – This Train, Rick Elias, Jimmy A, Phil Keaggy, Carolyn Arends, Third Day and Ashley Cleveland perform a tribute concert for Rich Mullins at Nashville's Cafe Milano. Speakers include Reunion Records executive Terry Hemmings, record producer Reed Arvin, disc jockey Jon Rivers, and author Brennan Manning. April 28 – Oasis play the second of two gigs in Maine Road, home of Manchester City F.C., featured on the video "...There and Then".
May May 8 The Galway Early Music Festival is launched in Ireland. A judge rules against Tommy Lee and wife, actress Pamela Anderson Lee, in their attempt to keep Penthouse from publishing still photos taken from an X-rated home movie that was stolen from their home in Los Angeles. May 11 – A 17-year-old fan is crushed in the festival seating section at a concert by The Smashing Pumpkins in Dublin, Ireland, despite the presence of 110 security guards and repeated admonishments from the band telling the crowd to stop surging towards the stage. The fan dies of her injuries the next day, and the band cancels that night's show in Belfast as a result. May 18 – The 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, Norway, is won by Irish singer Eimear Quinn, with the song "The Voice". It is Ireland's record seventh, and most recent, win at Eurovision. May 25 – Sublime lead singer Bradley Nowell dies of a heroin overdose at age 28. May 30 – Depeche Mode leader Dave Gahan is arrested upon his release from hospital, having overdosed on a heroin and cocaine 'speedball' in a Los Angeles hotel room and been pronounced clinically dead for two minutes in an ambulance. Gahan is ordered by the court to complete a nine-month rehabilitation.
June June 2 – Alice Cooper performs at Sammy Hagar's club, Cabo Wabo, in Mexico. It will be recorded and released, the following year, as a live album. June 8 – Tracy Bonham becomes the first female solo artist to reach number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart with the single "Mother Mother". June 12 – Julia Fischer, the German violinist and pianist, wins the final of the Eurovision Young Musicians 1996 competition in Lisbon, Portugal. June 15–16 – San Francisco holds the first Tibetan Freedom Concerts. June 19 – Japanese duo Chage and Aska become the first Asian group to participate in MTV Unplugged. June 21 – The Sex Pistols start their reunion tour in Lahti, Finland. June 25 – Jay-Z releases his debut album Reasonable Doubt. June 26 – Sammy Hagar leaves Van Halen. June 27 – DJ Screw, creator of chopped and screwed rap and leader of Screwed Up Click, records the 35 minute long June 27 freestyle with Houston rappers Big Moe, Bird, Key-C, Yungstar, Big Pokey, DeMo, Haircut Joe and Kay-Luv. June 28 – Kiss kicks off the Alive/Worldwide reunion tour at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, the first tour by the original lineup of the band since 1979.
July July 3 This World release their first album since 1986. Alice in Chains perform their last concert with lead singer Layne Staley in Kansas City, Missouri while touring with Kiss. July 8 – The Spice Girls release their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number 1 in 31 countries and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group, but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time. July 11 – Robert Simpson's second string quintet receives its première at the Cheltenham International Festival by the Maggini Quartet with Pal Banda, cellist. July 13 – Phil Anselmo of Pantera overdoses on heroin after a Texas homecoming gig. Anselmo went into cardiac arrest but was revived after about five minutes by paramedics. July 16 – Michael Jackson performs a concert for Hassanal Bolkiah's 50th birthday at the Jerudong Park Amphitheater. July 19 – The Proms in the Park event is launched in London, UK. July 27 – Adrian Erlandsson & Patrik Jensen form The Haunted.The Haunted – No false pride, no fashion, no fake set of values
August August 1 – MTV2 is launched. The first video is "Where It's At" by Beck. August 6 – Punk rock group The Ramones play their final show at "The Palace" in Hollywood. August 10–11 – Oasis play the largest free-standing gigs in British history at Knebworth House, Stevenage. 2.7 million people apply for tickets and a sold-out crowd of 350,000 attend the concerts; 175,000 each night. Stone Roses guitarist John Squire joins the band onstage to play guitar to Champagne Supernova. August 15–16 – Phish hosts The Clifford Ball at Plattsburgh Air Force Base. The event is the first of their festivals, currently totaling ten. 70,000 people show up. Some say the event is considered a precursor to the large-scale music festivals of today. August 27 – Aaliyah releases her album One in a Million.
September September 4 – At the MTV Video Music Awards, Van Halen makes a surprise appearance with original singer David Lee Roth. September 7 Rapper Tupac Shakur is shot several times in a drive-by shooting, while being driven from the MGM Grand Hotel along Sunset Strip in Las Vegas after seeing the Mike Tyson versus Bruce Seldon boxing match. He dies six days later. Michael Jackson starts the HIStory World Tour. September 10 – Wal-Mart announces it will not carry Sheryl Crow's upcoming self-titled album, because of the lyric "Watch out, sister, watch out, brother/watch our children while they kill each other/with a gun they bought at Wal-Mart Discount Stores."