Monday 6pm: MaxMusic 20th Century – 1996 (Part 1)

Robert Hoskins

January 8 – Robert Hoskins is found guilty and convicted on five charges of assault, stalking, and threatening to kill Madonna.
January 16
At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett’s parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact the pair had been listening to “Israel’s Son” by Silverchair prior to the crimes, which are dubbed the “Israel’s Son Murders”. Murmur Records released an official response, stating that 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; no-one is injured.
January 18 – Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce from Michael Jackson.
January 25 – Madonna receives death threats from Argentine Peronists who are enraged and insulted that she is playing Eva Peron in Evita. After she arrives in Argentina, over 50 walls throughout the city have been spray-painted with the words: ¡Viva Evita! ¡Fuera Madonna! (Long Live Evita! Get Out, Madonna!).
January 26 – The controversial musical Rent is given its first public performance at the New York Theatre Workshop, a day after the death of its creator, 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.
Kiss reveals that they have reunited with original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, with a surprise appearance on the American Music Awards. The band took to the podium in full makeup and costume for the first time since 1983.
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 4 – Former Milli-Vanilli band member Rob Pilatus is hospitalized when a man hits him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood, while Pilatus is attempting to steal the 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 achieves platinum sales in just four hours and reaches No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts.
Take That formally announce that they are splitting up.
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 crashed the stage, lifted his shirt and pointed his bottom in Jackson’s direction before getting into a scuffle with security. Cocker later stated 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
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 episodes 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 for the explicit lyrics of the label’s gangsta rap artists.
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 out that the show had been 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 #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 that they will be reuniting for a 20th anniversary tour.
March 28 – Phil Collins announces that he is leaving Genesis to focus on his solo career.
April 1
Roberto Alagna marries Angela Gheorghiu backstage at the New York Metropolitan Opera.
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 a MTV unplugged record and video to be released in July.
April 15 – The remaining part of Jerry Garcia’s ashes are scattered near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
April 16 – Madonna announces that she is four months pregnant by Carlos Leon, her then boyfriend and trainer.
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 included 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”.

Friday 1pm: MaxMusic 20th Century – 1995 (Part 3)

We continue our spot light on the music of 1995.

July 3 – The members of TLC file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, declaring debts of over $3.5 million.
July 9 – The Grateful Dead performs its final show with Jerry Garcia at Soldier Field in Chicago he dies one month later of a heart attack at the age of 53.
July 14 – George Michael and Sony Music complete their acrimonious split. In 1994 Michael lost a lawsuit seeking to be released from his Sony contract, but he vowed to never sing for the company again. Michael will now record for the new label DreamWorks Records.
July 17 – Robbie Williams announces he is quitting Take That.
July 18 – Selena becomes the first Hispanic singer to have an album debut and peak at number-one on the US Billboard 200 chart. She also becomes the first and only female singer to place five albums simultaneously on the Billboard 200 chart.
August 9
Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead passes away of a heart attack at age 53. In cities all over the United States, deadheads spontaneously gather to mourn his death and celebrate his life.
Kiss performs on MTV Unplugged. The band’s current lineup is joined by original members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, setting the stage for the band’s reunion tour the following year.
August 12 – The Offspring’s Dexter Holland marries hairstylist Kristine Luna, who co-wrote one of the band’s songs “Session”.
August 22 – Rancid release their third studio album …And Out Come the Wolves. Along with Green Day’s Dookie and The Offspring’s Smash (both released a year before), this album helped revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the mid-1990s, and becomes one of the best-selling independent records of all time. …And Out Come the Wolves eventually goes platinum.
August 28
Oingo Boingo announce that they will break up following a series of Halloween shows in Los Angeles, California, USA. Lead singer Danny Elfman has established a career scoring motion pictures.
The official end of Sarah Records is marked with a farewell party featuring live sets by many of the label’s acts. It was the last live appearance by The Orchids before they split up.[citation needed]
August 29 – Al Jourgensen and Mike Scaccia of Ministry are arrested for heroin possession in two separate incidents in Texas.
September 1 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opens in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
September 5 – The Luminiş Villa, George Enescu Memorial House, becomes an official memorial to the composer.
September 8 – For Squirrels vocalist Jack Vigliatura, bassist Bill White and manager Tim Bender are all killed in a van accident near Savannah, Georgia.
September 15 – Alternative-country magazine No Depression publishes its first issue, with Son Volt on the cover.
September 27 – Time Warner agrees to sell back its 50 percent share of Interscope Records. The media giant had come under intense fire for the explicit lyrics of rap artists on the label.
October 2
The first International Guitar Festival is held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Oasis release their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. The album spawns several number one singles around the world and eventually becomes the third best-selling album in the UK ever.
October 10 – Mariah Carey performed at Madison Square Garden to promote her album Daydream.
October 11 – Tupac Shakur is released from Clinton Correctional Facility, New York, USA, on US$1.4 million bail which was posted by Suge Knight. In return Tupac signed a three-album deal with Knight’s Death Row Records.
October 21 – Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon is found dead of a cocaine overdose at the age of 28.
October 23 – Def Leppard enters the Guinness Book of World Records by performing three shows in three continents in the same day, playing Tangier, Morocco, London, England and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
October 24 – The Smashing Pumpkins released their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
October 30 – Oasis released their single Wonderwall

Wednesday 6pm: MaxMusic 20th Century – 1995 (Part 2)

January 1 – Mo Ostin steps down as chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group.
January 8 – Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder hosts “Self-Pollution Radio”, a four-and-a-half hour radio broadcast with live performances by Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and others. Any station with a satellite receiver could pick up and carry the program.
January 14 – Perry Farrell is arrested for cocaine possession, being under the influence and possession of a syringe at a Los Angeles hotel.
January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident.
January 27 – Live from the House of Blues premieres on TBS.
February 1 – Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers band member Richey James Edwards goes missing after leaving the London Embassy Hotel, UK at 7 am.
February 7 – Rapper Tupac Shakur is sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual abuse charge. He was later released on appeal.
February 12 – Iron Butterfly bassist Philip Taylor Kramer disappeared from Highway 101, USA as he tried to get back home from the Los Angeles International Airport. He tried calling his family and 911 for help, but received none.
February 14 – Richey Edwards’ Vauxhall Cavalier is found abandoned in a service station on the Bristol side of the Severn Bridge in the UK, with evidence that he had been living in it. Although he was near a notorious suicide spot, there is still no evidence to suggest he committed suicide.
February 19 – Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee marries Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson on a beach in Cancún, Mexico.
February 25 – Lyle Lovett suffers a broken collarbone in an accident while riding his motorcycle in Mexico. The accident prevented Lovett from attending the Grammy Awards (he ended up winning two awards).
March 1 – R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry leaves the stage during a concert in Switzerland after suffering a brain aneurysm. He undergoes successful brain surgery two days later in Switzerland.
March 8 – Former Helloween drummer, Ingo Schwichtenberg, commits suicide by jumping under a subway train.
March 13 – Radiohead album The Bends is released.
March 14 – With the release of Me Against the World, Tupac Shakur became the first male solo artist to have a number one album on the American Billboard 200 chart while in prison. The album remained at the top of the charts for four weeks.
March 26 – Rapper Eric Lynn Wright, better known as Eazy-E, dies of complications from AIDS.
March 28 – Lyle Lovett and actress Julia Roberts announce their separation after 21 months of marriage.
March 31
Tejano singer Selena is shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, her former personal assistant and former fan club president, who had recently been fired for embezzling money from the fan club. The event was called “Black Friday” by Hispanics worldwide.
During a performance in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA, Jimmy Page narrowly escapes being stabbed by a man who rushes the stage with a knife. The man was tackled by security guards who were injured in the brawl.
April 17 – Ed Rosenblatt replaces David Geffen as chairman and CEO of Geffen Records.
April 29 – Tupac Shakur marries Keisha Morris inside the Clinton Correctional Facility, New York, USA. Shakur was serving a four-and-a-half year jail term on sexual assault charges. They would later divorce.

Wednesday 1am: Feature LP: Avicii – Tim (2019)

Tim (stylised as TIM) is the posthumous third studio album by Swedish producer Tim Bergling, known by the stage name Avicii, released on 6 June 2019. It is his first album release following his death on 20 April 2018. It includes the single “SOS”, which was released on 10 April 2019. It is his third studio album, serving as the follow-up to his 2015 album Stories. All profits from sales of the album will go towards the Tim Bergling Foundation, set up following Avicii’s suicide, for mental health awareness.

1. “Peace of Mind” (featuring Vargas & Lagola) 3:00
2. “Heaven” 4:37
3. “SOS” (featuring Aloe Blacc) 2:37
4. “Tough Love” (featuring Agnes and Vargas & Lagola) 3:11
5. “Bad Reputation” (featuring Joe Janiak) 3:25
6. “Ain’t a Thing” (featuring Bonn) 3:03
7. “Hold the Line” (featuring A R I Z O N A) 2:51
8. “Freak” (featuring Bonn) 2:59
9. “Excuse Me Mr. Sir” (featuring Vargas & Lagola) 3:07
10. “Heart Upon My Sleeve” (with Imagine Dragons) 4:14
11. “Never Leave Me” (featuring Joe Janiak) 2:51
12. “Fades Away” (featuring Noonie Bao) 2:58

Wednesday 12am: Feature LP: Santana Feat. Buika – Africa Speaks (2019)

Africa Speaks is the twenty-fifth studio album (thirty ninth album overall) by the band Santana, released on Concord Records on June 7, 2019.

The album was produced during a 10-day recording session by Rick Rubin at Rubin’s Shangri La Studios in Malibu, during which they recorded 49 songs. Rubin and Carlos Santana used an eight-piece band (which included Santana’s wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on drums).

The first track from the album, “Breaking Down the Door”, was released on April 19, 2019. In January 2019, Santana released the EP In Search of Mona Lisa, which served as a preamble to the LP.

1. “Africa Speaks” 4:47
2. “Batonga” 5:43
3. “Oye Este Mi Canto” 5:58
4. “Yo Me Lo Merezco” 6:12
5. “Blue Skies” 9:08
6. “Paraísos Quemados” 5:59
7. “Breaking Down the Door” 4:30
8. “Los Invisibles” 5:54
9. “Luna Hechicera” 4:47
10. “Bambele” 5:51
11. “Candombe Cumbele” 5:36

Friday 12am: Feature LP: Duff McKagan – Tenderness (2019)

Tenderness is the third solo album by Duff McKagan, released on May 31, 2019.

The album was inspired by McKagan’s global travels on Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lifetime… Tour and is considered a musical follow up to his 2015 How to be a Man book. The recording of the album began in-between McKagan’s tour with Guns N’ Roses and featured collaborations with Shooter Jennings, The Waters and The Suicide Horn Section, amongst others.

The song “Last September” was written as a warning in support of Me Too movement with its lyrics detailing an unwanted sexual encounter.

“Tenderness” – 4:03
“It’s Not Too Late” – 4:09
“Wasted Heart” – 4:41
“Falling Down” – 3:10
“Last September” – 6:21
“Chip Away” – 3:21
“Cold Outside” – 4:42
“Feel” – 4:38
“Breaking Rocks” – 3:02
“Parkland” – 3:34
“Don’t Look Behind You” – 6:14

Thursday 11pm: Feature LP: England Dan and John Ford Coley – Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive (1979)

Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive is the seventh album by the pop rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley release in March 1979. The single “Love Is the Answer” was an American hit, reaching #10. Two other songs on the album later became country and pop hits for other artists: “Broken Hearted Me” was a success for Anne Murray in 1979, and Michael Martin Murphey scored a hit with “What’s Forever For” in 1982.

“Hollywood Heckle and Jive”
“What Can I Do With This Broken Heart”
“Another Golden Oldie Night For Wendy”
“Broken Hearted Me”
“Children of the Half-Light”
“Rolling Fever”
“Love Is the Answer”
“Only A Matter of Time”
“Caught Up In The Middle”
“Running After You”
“What’s Forever For”