John Lennon Changes His Name, Grace Slick Is Invited To The White House & More [This Week In Music History]

April 28, 1968:  The Broadway musical "Hair" opens in New York for its first performance.

The show features several memorable songs,  including "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "Good Morning Starshine", "Easy to be Hard" and the title song, but everyone knows people went to the show to see naked people.

April 22, 1969:  John Winston Lennon legally changes his name to John Winston Ono Lennon during a short ceremony on the roof of the Apple Records building in London.  

John always hated his middle name, given to him by his mother in honor of Winston Churchill, but British law did not allow him to change it.

Of course, Yoko is blamed.

April 24, 1970:  Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane is mistakenly invited to Tricia Nixon's White House party.  Guards stop her escort, Yippie leader Abbie Hoffman, and both leave without incident.

This is roughly the equivalent of Ted Nugent being invited to a joint fundraiser for Barack Obama and PeTA, and escorted by Sarah Palin.

April 26, 1971:  John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison officially end their plans to appeal Paul McCartney's efforts to legally dissolve The Beatles.

In a twist you didn't see coming, Yoko is not blamed.

April 24, 1972:  One of John Lennon's most controversial singles, "Woman is the Nigger of the World", is released in the U.S.

The song reaches #57 on Billboard's Hot 100, despite virtually every radio station in the country refusing to play it.

The phrase was originally uttered by Yoko during an interview and John would later explain that he was making a point that women deserved higher status in society.

Yoko is utterly blamed.

There is direct proof she was behind it.

April 24, 1976:  Saturday Night Live Producer Lorne Michaels makes an offer to pay The Beatles $3,000 to reunite on the show.

Lennon and McCartney are apparently watching the show together in New York and briefly consider walking down to the studio to accept the check, but of course they don't go.

Once again, Yoko is blamed.

But only $3,000?  Really?

I blame Lorne.