Pick a Day

Music History Events: Marriages

March 20, 1969 John Lennon marries Yoko Ono at the Rock of Gibraltar in Spain, which is still owned by Britain. The Beatles song "The Ballad of John and Yoko" describes their ordeal finding a location for the nuptials.

March 12, 1969 Paul McCartney marries Linda Eastman at the register office in Marylebone, London, and again at the Anglican church in St. John's Wood. None of his Beatles bandmates attend.

July 19, 1966 Doing it his way, the 50-year-old Frank Sinatra marries the 20-year-old actress Mia Farrow in New York, causing a predictable media event. The marriage lasts just two years.

May 30, 1966 Dolly Parton marries Carl Thomas Dean, the owner of a Nashville asphalt road-paving business. The long-lasting pair celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2016.

January 21, 1966 George Harrison marries Pattie Boyd in Surrey, England, with Paul McCartney as best man. The couple met on the set of The Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night. Eric Clapton would later fall in love with Pattie, inspiring the song "Layla."

November 22, 1965 Bob Dylan marries his first wife, Sara Lownds, in Nassau County, New York; as she is already pregnant with his first child, the marriage is kept a secret for the next two months. The couple would divorce in 1977.

December 29, 1957 Pop singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé get married at the El Rancho Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. They remain married until Eydie's death in 2013.More

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.More

September 5, 1945 Boudleaux Bryant and Felice Scaduto get married. The couple become one of the most successful songwriting teams in pop music, with over 700 songs published, including "Wake Up Little Susie" and "Bye Bye Love."

November 30, 1940 Desi Arnaz marries Lucille Ball. The pair met on the set of the RKO musical Too Many Girls and eloped less than two months after the film's release.

February 11, 2024 Usher, at times shirtless and other times on roller skates, pulls off a Vegas-worthy halftime show at the Super Bowl between the 49ers and Chiefs. Guests include Alicia Keys, H.E.R., and of course, Lil Jon and Ludacris for "Yeah!." After the show, he heads to a Vegas wedding chapel and marries his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea.

October 7, 2023 Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, marries Riley Hawk, son of skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, in a ceremony officiated by Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Frances' godfather.

June 28, 2019 Singer/actress Katharine McPhee, 35, marries the 69-year-old super-producer David Foster. They met in 2006 when Foster mentored McPhee on American Idol, and started dating in 2017.

November 2, 2013 'N Sync reunites for Chris Kirkpatrick's wedding, as his four bandmates serve as groomsmen for his nuptials to Karly Skladany.

October 20, 2013 Kelly Clarkson marries Brandon Blackstock, Reba McEntire's stepson. They have two children before splitting up in 2020.

September 14, 2013 John Legend marries the model Chrissy Teigen in Lake Como, Italy. She often serves as his muse, including on his songs "All Of Me" and "You & I (Nobody in the World)." They started dating in 2006.

January 15, 2011 Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian marries Meat Loaf's daughter, Pearl Aday.

October 23, 2010 Katy Perry and Russell Brand get married in Rajasthan, India.More

September 17, 2009 Avril Lavigne and Sum 41's Deryck Whibley go their separate ways after being married since 2006.

March 10, 2009 Ryan Adams marries the singer/actress Mandy Moore at a quiet ceremony in Savannah, Georgia. They split six years later; in 2019, Moore joins several other women in accusing Adams of mistreating them.

January 10, 2009 Fergie marries actor Josh Duhamel in Malibu, California. They split up eight years later.

May 17, 2008 The Brothers Four's Bob Flick marries his third wife, actress Loni Anderson.

April 30, 2008 Mariah Carey marries rapper and TV personality Nick Cannon at a secret ceremony in the Bahamas. They separate in 2014 and divorce in 2016.

April 12, 2008 Lou Reed marries his third wife, the conceptual artist Laurie Anderson. The couple, who have been together since the early '90s, decided to get married the previous day, so they meet at a friend's house in Boulder, Colorado, and hold the ceremony in the backyard.

September 22, 2007 Paul Rodgers (lead singer for Free and Bad Company) marries Cynthia Kereluk, former Miss Canada.

June 21, 2007 After dating for 18 years, Tony Bennett marries teacher Susan Crow.

June 16, 2007 61-year-old Rod Stewart marries his third wife, 35-year-old model Penny Lancaster, on board the yacht Lady Ann Magee in Portofino, Italy.

December 3, 2005 Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age marries Brody Dalle of The Distillers. They have three children before splitting up in 2019; much of the 2023 QOTSA album In Times New Roman... deals with their messy divorce.

June 1, 2005 White Stripes singer Jack White marries his girlfriend, British model Karen Elson, in a canoe on the Amazon in Brazil.

October 2, 2004 55-year-old Billy Joel marries Katie Lee, his third wife. She becomes a writer and TV personality while married to Joel, a union that lasts five years.