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Remember 1996? Nintendo 64 and Sony’s PlayStation ushered in the era of true 3D gaming. Saturday Night Live's Adam Sandler teed up his movie career with Happy Gilmore. Bill Clinton was re-elected for a second term as the incumbent US president. The Macarena was unavoidable, MTV remained the pulse of pop culture, and Friends and Seinfeld were “Must-See TV.”
And through it all, there was the unforgettable music that defined the moment and became the soundtrack to our lives.
Adult-contemporary artists like Mariah Carey and Celine Dion delivered massive hits. The airwaves opened to alternative rock, with the lasting post-grunge success of Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Bush, as well as newly-minted one-hit wonders such as Nerf Herder and Local H. Hip-hop sizzled with major releases from 2Pac and Snoop Doggy Dogg and the rising influence of the Roots and Jay-Z; the simmering East Coast-West Coast rivalry boiled over, culminating in the tragic murder of Tupac Shakur.
In On Record "Vol. 12: 1996"—the newest title in his award-winning series—acclaimed music journalist G. Brown transports readers back to one of the most vibrant years in music history. Through vivid storytelling and striking imagery, Brown shares his decades of exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and an archive of nearly 15,000 rare editorial photographs. Drawing on his incisive writing and historical perspective, On Record “Vol 12: 1996” captures the energy, innovation and cultural shifts that defined the era.
Explore On Record "Vol. 12: 1996" for a comprehensive record of musical legacies:
- Pop music’s Celine Dion, Kenny G, and the Artist Formerly Known as Prince
- Defining records from Beck, Weezer, Sublime and Rage Against the Machine
- A wealth of up-and comers such as Dave Matthews Band, Matchbox 20 and Wilco
- The year’s top releases in hip-hop, classic rock, country, jazz and new age genres
Meticulously edited and beautifully designed, this oversized edition is printed to the highest standards, making it a stunning gift or centerpiece for your living room, music room, man cave or creative space—wherever the soundtrack to your life plays loudest.
“In his On Record series, G. Brown makes stories of recorded music come alive by digging into the experiences of the artists—and through his writing, he reveals their humanity. What a gift these books are to music lovers.”
–JESSE COLIN YOUNG, singer, songwriter and founding member of the Youngbloods
G. Brown has navigated the Rocky Mountain musical landscape for decades, both as a journalist and as a radio personality. He covered popular music at the Denver Post for 26 years, interviewing well over 2,500 musicians, from Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen to Bono and Kurt Cobain. Published in numerous national magazines, including Rolling Stone and National Lampoon, Brown also covered music news and hosted and programmed for a myriad of Denver-based radio stations.
He is the author of four other books, including the award-winning Red Rocks: The Concert Years, Colorado Rock Chronicles, and Telluride Bluegrass Festival: The First Forty Years. And he is the founding director of Colorado Music Experience, a nonprofit cultural and educational organization established to preserve the legacies of Colorado music.
G. currenty lives in Colorado.
FB: @colomusic.org
IG: @onrecordbooks
007 INTRODUCTION
008 CELINE DION
010 KENNY G
012 NEIL DIAMOND
014 BUSH
016 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS
018 SOUNDGARDEN
020 THREE FISH
022 METALLICA
024 MATCHBOX 20
026 THE WALLFLOWERS
028 COUNTING CROWS
030 CRASH TEST DUMMIES
032 WILCO
034 HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
036 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
038 PHISH
040 BECK
042 TORI AMOS
044 PAULA COLE
046 FIONA APPLE
048 MARILYN MANSON
050 THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE
052 TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS
054 JOHN MELLENCAMP
056 STING
058 THE HEADS
060 LOU REED
062 STEVE EARLE
064 LYLE LOVETT
066 JUNIOR BROWN
068 JOHN WESLEY HARDING
070 BOB MOULD
072 FRANK BLACK
074 LOS LOBOS
076 THE ROOTS
078 GIN BLOSSOMS
080 THE REFRESHMENTS
082 THE VERVE PIPE
084 THE SAMPLES
086 THE WHY STORE
088 THE BLACK CROWES
090 MICKEY HART’S MYSTERY BOX
092 PANTERA
094 CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
096 GRAVITY KILLS
098 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
100 TOOL
102 PORNO FOR PYROS
104 MINISTRY
106 SOCIAL DISTORTION
108 GOLDFINGER
110 NEW EDITION
112 THE SUBDUDES
114 JACKOPIERCE
116 SHAWN COLVIN
118 RICHARD THOMPSON
120 DUNCAN SHEIK
122 DONNA LEWIS
124 TRACY BONHAM
126 BETTER THAN EZRA
128 CRACKER
130 THE AFGHAN WHIGS
132 COWBOY JUNKIES
134 LUSCIOUS JACKSON
136 CIBO MATTO
138 THE CARDIGANS
140 JAMIROQUAI
142 KULA SHAKER
144 SPACE
146 REPUBLICA
148 EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL
150 MAZZY STAR
152 SNEAKER PIMPS
154 STEVEN CURTIS CHAPMAN
156 NEWSBOYS
158 THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT
160 SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS
162 SEBADOH
164 THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
166 PRIMITIVE RADIO GODS
168 OMC
170 SIXTEEN HORSEPOWER
172 THE CURE
174 DEF LEPPARD
176 KISS
178 RUSH
180 ZZ TOP
182 DONOVAN
184 BUTTHOLE SURFERS
186 LOCAL H
188 BLOODHOUND GANG
190 WEEZER
192 NERF HERDER
194 WEEN
196 EELS
198 WESLEY WILLIS
200 ADAM SANDLER
202 “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC
204 TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA
206 CARL PERKINS
208 THE BEATLES
210 FUGEES
210 NAS
210 AALIYAH
214 JAY-Z
214 2PAC
214 EAZY-E
218 SNOOP DOGGY DOGG
218 WESTSIDE CONNECTION
218 MOBB DEEP
222 SPICE GIRLS
222 MADONNA
222 TRISHA YEARWOOD
226 SHERYL CROW
226 R.E.M.
226 THE CRANBERRIES
230 PEARL JAM
230 ALICE IN CHAINS
230 SCREAMING TREES
234 TONI BRAXTON
234 SWV
234 MONIFAH
238 MC LYTE
238 DA BRAT
238 NONCHALANT
242 BLACKSTREET
242 THE TONY RICH PROJECT
242 TONY TONI TONÉ
246 BABYFACE
246 AZ YET
246 THE ISLEY BROTHERS
250 GINUWINE
250 MAXWELL
250 KRIS KROSS
254 TONIC
254 KORN
254 STABBING WESTWARD
258 CAKE
258 GEGGY TAH
258 NADA SURF
262 DIAMOND RIO
262 VINCE GILL
262 TRAVIS TRITT
266 ALAN JACKSON
266 GEORGE STRAIT
266 BRYAN WHITE
270 JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY
270 KENNY CHESNEY
270 KEVIN SHARP
274 TOBY KEITH
274 TRACY LAWRENCE
274 TRACE ADKINS
278 LEANN RIMES
278 DEANA CARTER
278 MINDY MCCREADY
282 REBA MCENTIRE
282 PATTY LOVELESS
282 WYNONNA
286 JOHNNY GILL
286 702
286 DRU HILL
290 A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
290 BUSTA RHYMES
290 DE LA SOUL
294 CRUCIAL CONFLICT
294 DO OR DIE
294 LOST BOYZ
298 BARENAKED LADIES
298 BODEANS
298 UGLY AMERICANS
302 BRYAN ADAMS
302 CHRIS ISAAK
302 PHIL COLLINS
306 GLORIA ESTEFAN
306 GEORGE MICHAEL
306 LIONEL RICHIE
310 LUTHER VANDROSS
310 NATALIE COLE
310 MONTELL JORDAN
314 PET SHOP BOYS
314 MAXI PRIEST
314 TRICKY
318 SUZANNE VEGA
318 ANI DIFRANCO
318 MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
322 MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD
322 RUSTED ROOT
322 ROBERT BRADLEY’S BLACKWATER SURPRISE
326 GUIDED BY VOICES
326 SOUL COUGHING
326 QKUMBA ZOO
330 MICHAEL HEDGES
330 STEVE VAI
330 ERIC JOHNSON
334 KEB’ MO’
334 HARRY CONNICK, JR.
334 GEORGE WINSTON
338 COCTEAU TWINS
338 K’S CHOICE
338 NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS
342 SUBLIME
342 REEL BIG FISH
342 BAD RELIGION
346 QUAD CITY DJ’S
346 KRISTINE W
346 BILLIE RAY MARTIN
350 JOHNNY CASH
350 JOHN MCEUEN
350 CURTIS MAYFIELD
354 JOURNEY
354 YES
354 ENIGMA
355 JIMMY BUFFETT
355 BROOKS & DUNN
355 ROBERT MILES
356 MAKEVELI
356 MASTER P
356 E-40
357 LIL’ KIM
357 TOTAL
357 112
358 OUTKAST
358 MO THUGS
358 FLESH-N-BONE
359 GETO BOYS
359 FOXY BROWN
359 PLANET SOUL
360 KEITH SWEAT
360 NO MERCY
360 GHOST TOWN DJ’S
361 DANZIG
361 THE JAZZ PASSENGERS
361 THE ZAMBONIS
362 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS