1938 : Country singer-songwriter Red Steagall is born Russell Steagall in Gainesville, Texas. Discovered Reba McEntire in 1975.

1969 : John Lennon and Yoko Ono meet with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Minister of Health John Munro to discuss drug abuse.

1989 : Jordin Sparks is born in Phoenix, Arizona. At age 17, she would win the sixth season of American Idol (2007).

2001 : T.I. is arrested in his native Atlanta for illegal gun possession. He allegedly tells police that his name is Douglas Morgan rather than his real name, Clifford Harris. The rapper is released without serious conviction.

2002 : Joe Strummer of The Clash dies of a heart attack at age 50. The Clash are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few months later.

2012 : Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood marries his girlfriend Sally Humphreys; Wood at age 65 and Humphreys at 34. Coincidentally, the world did not end on the day before, as proponents of the Mayan calendar would have it. Perhaps this bolstered their optimism?