Pick a Day

Music History Events: On The Sly

April 4, 2008 After years of quiet courtship, Jay-Z and Beyoncé get married in a secret ceremony, becoming the most powerful couple in entertainment.More

April 17, 2006 A big-budget Coke commercial with a new song by Jack White called "Love Is The Truth" hits YouTube, then quickly goes away.More

March 30, 2001 The Detroit Free Press breaks the news that Jack and Meg White of The White Stripes are not siblings as they claim, but former husband and wife. Court records show they were married in 1996 and divorced in 2000. Rolling Stone and the New York Times are among the publications previously reporting them as brother and sister, a believable claim because they look alike.

May 26, 1994 Michael Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, the child of Elvis, in a secret ceremony held in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorce 20 months later, citing irreconcilable differences.More

November 15, 1993 A mysterious act called The Fireman releases an album called Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest in the UK. The cover is a red square with just a touch of text, and the music is mellow electronica. It is later revealed that The Fireman is a Paul McCartney side project.More

February 9, 1972 Beginning a covert university tour where Paul McCartney can play to small audiences, Wings play their first show: an unannounced concert at Nottingham University in England.

January 1, 2002 56-year-old Eric Clapton marries the 25-year-old American graphic designer Melia McEnery, who will be the mother to three of his children: Julie Rose, Ella, and Sophie. It's a surprise wedding that takes place at St. Mary Magdalen church near London, where his 16-year-old daughter Ruth and 6-month-old Julie Rose are getting baptized. After the baptism, the vicar turns around and marries the couple to the astonishment of the 20 guests.

October 2, 1998 Paul McCartney does an anonymous Q&A on the official site of his ambient duo The Fireman to promote their new album, Rushes.

April 12, 1995 Dave Grohl's new band Foo Fighters starts a club tour in Tempe, Arizona, opening for Mike Watt. Grohl is also Watt's drummer for the tour, and an incognito Eddie Vedder is his guitarist.

August 15, 1980 An unknown rock band called Black Rose open for Hall & Oates at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland. Audience members slowly realize that the lead singer is, in fact, Cher. Black Rose play a few more shows and release an album, but call it quits by the end of the year.

December 15, 1977 The Who perform a secret concert for fan club members at London's Shepperton Studios. The show is filmed for Jeff Stein's upcoming Who documentary The Kids Are Alright.

January 26, 2019 Miranda Lambert gets married for a second time, tying the knot with police officer Brendan Mcloughlin in a secret ceremony. Lambert, whose first marriage was to Blake Shelton, breaks the news on social media on February 16.

September 13, 2018 Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin get married at a New York City courthouse. They keep it a secret for months, and don't have a ceremony until September 30, 2019.

August 25, 2018 Neil Young and Daryl Hannah get married in a secret ceremony in Atascadero, California. It's Young's third marriage, her first.

February 24, 2013 Janet Jackson reveals that she and Wissam Al Mana, a billionaire investor from Qatar, got married in a quiet, secret ceremony sometime in 2012. It is Jackson's third marriage; her first two husbands were the singer James DeBarge and the director René Elizondo, Jr.

May 18, 2007 Amy Winehouse marries Blake Fielder at a secret ceremony in Miami.

August 10, 2005 The Rolling Stones build a buzz for their A Bigger Bang tour with a surprise warm-up show at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto, which holds about 1,000 people. Tickets are just $10, but many had to wait in line many hours to get them after hearing rumors of the show.

July 19, 1997 Performing as Nimrod (the name of their upcoming album), Green Day play a secret show at The Viper Room in Los Angeles, where they premiere their song "Hitchin' A Ride."

July 11, 1995 Richard Ashcroft of The Verve marries Kate Radley of Spiritualized. They keep it quiet for two years, as Radley's bandmate, Jason Pierce, is also her ex-boyfriend.

August 12, 1989 The Rolling Stones play a surprise set at the 700-capacity Toad's Place in New Haven, Connecticut, 19 days before the official start of their Steel Wheels Tour.More

August 20, 1987 Metallica play a secret show at The 100 Club in London. Two days later, they play Donington Park at Castle Donington as part of the massive Monsters of Rock Festival, headlined by Bon Jovi.

October 9, 1986 Little-known Kenny G makes his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, but instead of playing his cover of Junior Walker's "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" as agreed, he goes off script and plays his own composition, "Songbird." Impressed by the reaction, Arista Records issues the song as a single and it becomes a hit, setting the stage for more instrumental sax songs from Kenny G and the emergence of the Smooth Jazz format.

September 7, 1984 With most of her family (including her parents) on the road with The Jacksons' Victory tour, 18-year-old Janet Jackson elopes with James DeBarge from the group DeBarge. The marriage ends eight months later.

April 24, 1983 With Los Angeles punk rock running afoul of authorities, the Minutemen play a guerilla concert in the Mojave desert, where fans are bussed in. It's the first of a series of "Desolation Center" concerts that are the precursor to Burning Man and other desert music festivals.More