1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in a 10-minute ceremony in Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on Spain's south coast. The duo wanted to get married in France, at first, but were unsuccessful. These events were documented in The Beatles song "The Ballad of John and Yoko," where he wrote:
"Finally made the plane into Paris / Honeymooning down by the Seine / Peter Brown called to say / You can make it OK / You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain."
They spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam campaigning for an international "Bed-In" for peace.
1970 - David Bowie and Angela Bowie were married at Beckenham Registry Office, London. The couple had one child, film director Duncan Jones. They divorced in 1980.
Bowie would later say, "I married her because she was one of the few women that I was capable of living with for more than a week." Although it has often been rumored that she was the subject of The Rolling Stones' song, "Angie", both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have denied it.
1977 - Lou Reed was banned from appearing The London Palladium because of his punk image. Reed told British music publication Melody Maker the venue pulled his show because they had lumped him in with the most controversial band in the UK, The Sex Pistols. Due to his influence, he was deemed punk by association. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images)
1990 - Sinead O'Connor releases her second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. The single "Nothing Compares 2 U," written by Prince, propels her to stardom.
But even its remarkable intimacy wasn't adequate preparation for the harrowing confessionals that composed the majority of the album. The songs mostly address relationships through which O'Connor weaves a stubborn refusal to be defined by anyone but herself.
1991 - Eric Clapton's 4-year-old son Conor died after falling out of a window at his mother's apartment. Clapton later wrote "Tears In Heaven" about Conor.
2009 - The quirky garden store Fountains Of Wayne, which provided the moniker for the band of that name, closes shop after more than 40 years in business. The Wayne, New Jersey, landmark was a Christmas hotspot, as giant Santa’s and holiday displays appeared every season. It was also the backdrop for some scenes from the HBO series The Sopranos.
Birthdays:
Lee 'Scratch' Perry was born on this day in 1936. A notoriously eccentric figure, Lee "Scratch" Perry is unquestionably one of reggae's most innovative, influential artists. His recording techniques, from his early use of samples to hallucinatory echo and reverb effects, set the stage for generations of musical experimentation, particularly throughout electronic music and alternative/post-punk, and his free-association vocal style is a clear precedent for rap.
He’s the Salvador Dali of music. He’s a mystery. He knows how to inspire the artist’s soul. Scratch is a shaman.” - Keith Richards
Jimmie Vaughan is 72. Helped in opening up the national market for roadhouse blues and R&B during the late 20th century. With his tough, lean style, he co-led the Fabulous Thunderbirds with vocalist Kim Wilson between 1979 and 1987. In 1990, he and younger brother Stevie Ray Vaughan cut Family Style.
Carl Palmer, drummer for Emerson, Lake and Palmer (and let's not forget Asia), is 73. At age 20, he gets the gig with Greg Lake and Keith Emerson, who choose him over Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience) for their band Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
On This Day In Music History was sourced from This Day in Music, Mental Floss, Allmusic, Song Facts and Wikipedia.