Yoko Ono

This Day in Music History — December 22

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?

This Day in Music History — December 14

1977 : At the peak of the Disco era, the film Saturday Night Fever opens in New York City. The soundtrack contains five #1 hits, including “Stayin’ Alive.”

1980 : At widow Yoko Ono’s request, a ten-minute worldwide silent vigil is held at 2:00 PM EST for John Lennon, who had been shot down just six days earlier. Over 100,000 observe the vigil in New York’s Central Park alone, while 30,000 observe the vigil in Liverpool.

1999 : In a much-publicized show, Paul McCartney returns to play the Cavern Club in Liverpool for the first time since 1963. Joining him are Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice.

2012 : Stalker Jacob Nicholas Kulke is arrested outside a residence belonging to Taylor Swift and is charged with trespassing. Kulke claims that he had been in touch with Swift through social media and had been planning to show up and “surprise her for her birthday.” Though the singer had just had her birthday the previous day, she’d been overseas at the time and likely wouldn’t be too happy with Kulke scaling her fence.

This Day in Music — August 22

1968 : Having come home from vacation to find her husband in bed with Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s first wife Cynthia files for divorce — one day before their sixth anniversary.

1970 : Derek and the Dominoes begin recording their famous album, Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs. The band features Eric Clapton, who in an attempt to lay low, downplays his involvement in the band.

1998 : With Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley in the audience, Jim Carrey joins Elton John on stage at a show in Anaheim, California, where the pair duet on “Rocket Man.” After a reasonably straight rendition, Carrey sits at the piano and smashes his head into the keys.

2012 : Presidential candidate Mitt Romney becomes yet another Republican candidate banned from playing any cool bands at his events, after Dee Snider of Twisted Sister protests his using the band’s songs. There is a long history of bands squaring off against Republican campaigns appropriating their music.

2012 : Rap star LL Cool J hears his alarm go off one night in his Los Angeles home and rushes downstairs to confront an alleged burglar, name of Jonathan Kirby. One broken nose, jaw, and rib later, Cool J has subdued the intruder and police are on their way to take the suspect into custody. No word on whether Cool quoted one of his own songs, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” during the altercation.