Pick a Day

Music History Events: Legal Issues

May 10, 1979 A judge rules in favor of Peter Frampton in the lawsuit brought against him by Penny McCall, his live-in girlfriend from 1973-1978 and the inspiration behind songs like "Show Me The Way" and "Baby, I Love Your Way." She wanted half of his earnings from their time together, but they were never married and never had a formal agreement. The case sets a legal precedent for cohabitating couples.

November 4, 1978 Former Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young bassist Greg Reeves sues the group for a million dollars in alleged unpaid royalties from sales of the hit 1970 album Déjà Vu.

October 24, 1978 The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards pleads guilty to heroin possession in Toronto, Canada, and is given a one-year suspended sentence. The Stones are also ordered to play a gig for charity.

October 3, 1978 At an Aerosmith show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, cops arrest fans for smoking marijuana, prompting Steven Tyler to chastise them Jim Morrison-style from the stage. Tyler announces that the band will bail out anyone who is arrested that night, and the next day they do just that. Understandably, memories of the event are hazy, and the number arrested has been reported at anywhere from 28-58.

March 4, 1978 The IRS raids Jerry Lee Lewis' home at dawn and repossesses $170,000 worth of automobiles to pay off his tax debt.

November 5, 1977 A record store manager in Nottingham, England, is arrested for displaying a poster promoting The Sex Pistols' album Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols.

August 24, 1977 Country legend Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession in New York City by federal agents, an event which will inspire his song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?" The charges are later dropped.

July 23, 1977 Before taking the stage at Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, along with their manager, Peter Grant, beat up a member of promoter Bill Graham's staff. They are later arrested and hit with a lawsuit, which is settled out of court.

May 28, 1977 Bruce Springsteen is finally free to record after a legal battle with his former manager Mike Appel kept him out of the studio for two years. Springsteen learns that it's not a good idea to sign a contract on the hood of a car.

May 23, 1977 When San Francisco outlaws "electronic instruments" in public, a free Jefferson Airplane concert in Golden Gate Park is canceled.

February 27, 1977 Keith Richards is arrested for heroin possession in Toronto.

February 23, 1977 A federal jury rules that The Isley Brothers recorded "It's Your Thing" after leaving Motown Records and the label is not entitled to royalties.

December 22, 1976 Isaac Hayes files for bankruptcy.

September 28, 1976 George Harrison, ill with hepatitis, is sued by his American label, A&M, for failing to deliver his latest album, 33 1/3, on time.

July 27, 1976 John Lennon ends his four-year fight to stay in the US as a special government hearing grants him a green card (Number A-17-597-321).

July 27, 1976 Bruce Springsteen sues his manager Mike Appel for fraud and mismanagement. Appel counter-sues, and the legal action keeps Springsteen from recording for about 15 months, a time Springsteen spends touring. The case eventually settles out of court.

June 30, 1976 Police raid Neil Diamond's house and find less than an ounce of marijuana. The arrest is struck from his record when he agrees to attend a drug aversion program.

June 27, 1976 John Lennon receives his "green card" from the US Department of Naturalization.

May 28, 1976 Gregg Allman testifies against The Allman Brothers Band's road manager/bodyguard Scooter Herring in a deal to avoid drug charges after a drug-trafficking sting. This causes tensions in the band, who take two years off before re-forming.

March 21, 1976 The French actress Claudine Longet, ex-wife of Andy Williams, shoots her live-in lover, the famed skier Spider Sabich, at his home in Aspen, Colorado. The shooting is ruled an accident, and Longet is sentenced to 30 days in jail for criminal negligence. Her case inspires the Rolling Stones song "Claudine."

March 21, 1976 After playing a show in Rochester, New York, David Bowie is arrested on charges of marijuana possession when police raid his hotel room. Iggy Pop and two others are also arrested. His hearing takes place on April 20 (4/20!), and the charges are dropped.

February 19, 1976 Tower of Power lead singer Rick Stevens is arrested after killing three men in a botched drug deal. He is found guilty and initially sentenced to death, but given a life sentence when the death penalty is ruled unconstitutional in California. He is released 36 years later, and in 2016 joins Tower of Power to play a prison concert.

January 27, 1976 David Bowie sues his former attorney, Michael Lippan, for unfair business practices and withholding of funds. Bowie claims Lippan took a 15% fee instead of the customary 10% and adds that after his dismissal, Lippan withheld $475,000 from the musician.

January 13, 1976 Seven employees of Brunswick Records and Dakar Records are tried on charges of withholding more than $184,000 in artist royalties. The case is eventually thrown out, but the reputations of the defendants are irreparably damaged.

October 7, 1975 The US Court of Appeals overturns the longstanding deportation order for John Lennon, ruling that Lennon, in being held accountable for violating a foreign law (a 1968 rap for possession of marijuana in England), had been denied due process.

July 25, 1975 A California federal judge rules that San Francisco had a right to arrest Miracles singer Smokey Robinson the previous year, even though his name only matched the alias of the criminal he was confused with.

July 3, 1975 Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron is arrested in his hotel room and charged with cocaine possession on the opening night of a tour.

June 16, 1975 John Lennon sues US Attorneys General John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst for alleged harassment during his recent deportation investigation.

March 15, 1975 Mick Jagger settles his paternity suit with singer Marsha Hunt out of court.

January 2, 1975 US District Court judge Richard Owen allows John Lennon and his counsel access to his FBI files in his ongoing deportation case, on Lennon's suspicion that the deportation attempt is politically motivated.