1995 Playboy Music

In 1994 rock and roll took a ride on the information highway. The way artists communicate with fans has probably changed forever. We still went to record stores and concerts, but CD-ROM now makes it possible to interact in the virtual world of the musicians we admire. The Rolling Stones broadcast part of a live show on the Internet. Rock stars advertised their wares on the World Wide Web and, taking heed of digital pioneer Peter Gabriel, musicians including Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Yes, David Bowie, the Residents and Alice in Chains brought out interactive CD-ROMs. So far, the best-seller has been Interactive by the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. It allow the user to go to his house, jam with him in a music video, visit his dance club and poke around in his creative life. CD-ROMs can also let the user experience events in the past. Haight-Ashbury in the Sixties (with music by the Grateful Dead and the Jefferson Airplane) includes artwork, articles, poetry, animation, interviews and video clips. Now users can do the Sixties without any of the bad acid.

A lot of old bands lit up stadiums and arenas in 1994, including the Eagles, Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. The Stones kicked butt, making more than $120 million in the U.S. alone, proving that consumers will pay big for what they know will be a spectacular event. But music also became more intimate last year. Nirvana's Unplugged in New York set made the passing of Kurt Cobain more painful, and more poignant. MTV also featured Rod Stewart, Aerosmith and Tony Bennett, who, thanks to his Unplugged showcase, has a new generation of fans.

Musically, it was a strong year for women. Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow, Courtney Love, Liz Phair and Veruca Salt all had something interesting to say and their own way of saying it. Salt-N-Pepa's success blew out all previous notions about women rappers' commercial appeal. Those artificial boundaries may have come down for good.

Pearl Jam suggested that Ticketmaster had a monopoly, sought intervention from the Department of Justice's antitrust division and showed again how to rock without forsaking the fans.

Taking heart from Pearl Jam's protest, Green Day decided to look for alternative ways to sell tickets when they tour this summer.

The 13-month investigation of Michael Jackson's personal behavior came to an end when his teenage accuser accepted a cash settlement. Jackson married Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie, and now will try to reinvent himself. Serious legal problems followed rappers from the streets to the courtroom: Both Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur faced the law. The old rock-and-roll adage Don't Believe the Hype tripped up both rap stars in real life. The contradiction remains. Rap is a multimillion-dollar business that thrives on the strange harmony of an American wake-up chant and a money-counting machine.

Country music, no longer viewed by either listeners or by the industry as cowboy music, continued to break old barriers. Mary Chapin Carpenter, Trisha Yearwood and Johnny Cash may be called country artists, but their appeal is universal. In fact, Garth Brooks' Hits was number one on the Billboard chart for weeks.

We celebrated both sanctioned and alternative concerts for the 25th anniversary of Woodstock in 1994. Barbra Streisand returned to the stage for her first tour in more than 25 years, and 250,000 tickets to 18 concerts were sold in one hour. The Fillmore reopened in San Francisco, with the Smashing Pumpkins on top of the bill. Guest musicians showed up just as they had when Bill Graham was in charge. Roger Daltrey celebrated his 50th birthday at Carnegie Hall by gathering the Chieftains, Lou Reed, Sinéad O'Connor and Eddie Vedder, among others, to honor the music of Pete Townshend. Pete even showed up and sang Who Are You?

While Wynton Marsalis and others may argue in the pages of The New York Times about what is real jazz and who is or isn't plying it, fans have their own points of view. And once again we are reminded that Frank Sinatra is quite a canny man. His greatest jazz records are being reissued on CD while his two recent duet albums have been commercially successful in tapping the talents of singers such as Bono, Natalie Cole and Jimmy Buffett. Oh, and by the way, don't try to tell Kenny G or Sade they aren't jazz--they won't want to hear it.

Smooth grooves again propel R&B, from balladeers to harmony groups. Maybe the Motown reissues of Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and Smokey Robinson have been an inspiration to Babyface, Toni Braxton, Seal and Boyz II Men. And Luther Vandross still understands the worst-kept secret: When people get romantic, they want the music to slow down.

Green Day, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, Offspring, Weezer and Live don't want to make love. They want to make noise. The new bands are loud and proud. They sell CDs, concerts, soundtrack albums and attitude. No doubt Aerosmith would like to be included in this category. Can they get an honorable mention?

The members of Aerosmith make the best kind of rock-and-roll saga: On top, crashed and burned, then on top again. They battled drugs and burnout. Now they have embraced new technology, won awards (including ours) and sold millions of records. Their shows sell out, but they haven't.

One thing we like about music in the Nineties is how varied it is. Benedictine monks chant their way to double platinum. Elton John writes for Disney's Lion King. R.E.M. makes a vigorous comeback. Eric Clapton reinvents the wheel every year and plays blues clubs. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant go from Unleded to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to a summer tour. Shaquille O'Neal plays for the Orlando Magic and is the first professional athlete to receive a platinum album award. Juliana Hatfield could be seen and heard on TV's My So-Called Life. The Bodyguard soundtrack has sold 13 million and counting. TLC and the Tractors share the same music charts.

This year, more than 18,000 of Playboy's readers ventured their opinions on popular music by filling out ballots. What they got was the pleasure of being heard. Playboy did its first jazz poll almost 40 years ago. We think it's safe to say that the evolution of popular music continues. If you don't like some of it, wait a year, it will be gone. If you like old stuff, don't worry--it will recycle. Comebacks are always in vogue.

Music Poll Results

Our Readers Call the Shots

Music VideoCrazyAerosmith

SoundtrackThe Crow

Concert of the yearThe Rolling Stones

UJDaisy FuentesMTU

Albums of the year*Rock Voodoo LoungeThe Rolling Stones

Country American RecordingsJohnny Cash

JazzMTU UnpluggedTony Bennett

R&BIIBoyz II Men

Hall of Fame • Steven Tyler

His band was born in 1970, playing gratis on the streets outside Boston University as well as in a New Hampshire club called the Barn for $30 a night. By 1972 Aerosmith had a record contract, and lead singer Steven Tyler had created the band's persona. Tyler was originally the group's drummer, but if ever a man was destined to be up front, it was he. Long, lean and sexy, Tyler wrapped himself in scarves and jewelry while he howled at, teased and seduced his audience. Too much high living brought on the bad years, and some band members were nearly consumed by wretched excess. But then Tyler, and they, rose again to even greater acclaim. We salute Tyler--and Aerosmith--for 25 years of raucous rocking.