Norah Jones

This Day in Music History — December 11

1957 : In what remains one of the most shocking celebrity scandals, Jerry Lee Lewis marries 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, who was the daughter of his cousin (and bass player), J.W. Brown. The marriage lasts 14 years but seriously damages Lewis’ career.

1964 : Sam Cooke is killed at age 33 when the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles (where rooms cost $3 a night) shoots him three times. The manager claims that Cooke assaulted her and that he tried to rape his companion. The incident was ruled a justifiable homicide.

2012 : It is announced that Public Enemy is the fourth hip-hop act overall to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the others that preceded PE into the Hall were Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys). Other 2013 inductees were Rush, Heart, Albert King, Donna Summer, and Randy Newman.

2012 : Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar dies during surgery for a heart valve replacement in San Diego, California, at age 92. He was survived by two daughters, Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar. His son, musician Shubhendra Shankar, died in 1992.

This Day in Music History — October 12

1978 : Sid Vicious of The Sex Pistols is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who he found dead in the bathroom of their hotel room with a stab wound to her abdomen. Vicious died of a heroin overdose before he could be tried for the murder.

1997 : John Denver, an avid amateur pilot who loves flying experimental aircraft, is the victim of a fatal plane crash. The airplane he flies has a fuel selection valve behind the pilot’s head, forcing him to balance on the right rudder in order to switch tanks. That day, Denver leaves the airport with less fuel than he should have. He hits the right rudder when attempting to switch tanks, causing him to plow into the Pacific Ocean.

2003 : Rapper 50 Cent takes home all five trophies for which he is nominated at the World Music Awards, held in Monaco. Russian teen duo t.A.T.u. picks up three awards, while Norah Jones and Eminem win two.

2013 : Pharrell Williams marries the model Helen Lasichanh. She would inspire several tracks on his 2014 album G I R L, including the song “It Girl.”