Pick a Day

Music History Events: Legal Issues

July 18, 1974 Reinforcing his anti-establishment beliefs, the US denies renewal of John Lennon's visa based on a drug possession conviction in England four years earlier. The matter is sorted out and an international incident averted.

June 18, 1974 Rare Earth's drummer Peter Hoorelbeke is arrested after tossing his drumsticks into a concert crowd.

January 17, 1974 Singer Dino Martin (not to be confused with his more famous father, Dean) is arrested on suspicion of possession and sale of firearms. He is arraigned and released the next day on $5,000 bail.

December 2, 1973 The Who and their companions are jailed overnight in Montreal following $6,000 worth of hotel destruction inflicted after their show at the Forum.

October 24, 1973 John Lennon sues the US Government alleging that he and his lawyer were bugged and wiretapped while he was fighting deportation and during the government's investigation of "radical" antiwar elements in society.

October 15, 1973 The US Supreme Court upholds, by a 7-2 vote, the 1971 FCC directive that bans radio DJs from playing songs that glorify drugs.

October 15, 1973 Stones guitarist Keith Richards is banned from entering France for two years when he is found guilty by a Nice court of using, supplying and trafficking cannabis.

August 2, 1973 "Papa" John Phillips of The Mamas & The Papas files suit against his former label, Dunhill, alleging $60 million in unpaid royalties.

June 26, 1973 A model files an unsuccessful paternity suit against Mick Jagger.

March 8, 1973 Paul McCartney is fined 100 pounds for growing cannabis on his farm in Campbeltown, Scotland.

December 23, 1972 At the Grand Funk Railroad concert in Madison Square Garden, the group's former manager, Terry Knight, brings a court order allowing him to confiscate the group's equipment, which he does at the end of the show.

October 14, 1972 Joe Cocker and six members of his touring band are arrested after a concert in Adelaide, Australia, when police allegedly discover marijuana and heroin in their hotel rooms. The group are not charged but instead given four hours to leave the country.

September 20, 1972 Paul McCartney is arrested for growing marijuana on his farm in Scotland. The judge in his case has never seen a cannabis plant, so he takes a good look at it and fines McCartney 100 pounds.

July 18, 1972 All six members of Sly & the Family Stone are arrested in Hollywood after police search their tour bus and find two pounds of marijuana and two vials of cocaine.

March 27, 1972 Grand Funk fire their manager/producer, Terry Knight, accusing him of taking more than his share of royalties. Knight sues, and in December confiscates the band's equipment via a court order.

February 29, 1972 John Lennon's US visa expires, sparking a four-year fight for immigrant status.

February 15, 1972 The US government's new anti-piracy laws are enacted, a response to widespread bootlegging of major artists.

December 14, 1971 Radical John Sinclair, who was arrested for marijuana possession in 1969 and given a 10-year prison sentence, is released from prison thanks to high-profile supporters such as John Lennon.

October 14, 1971 Little Richard's publisher sues Creedence Clearwater Revival, claiming "Travelin' Band" is too similar to Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly." A settlement is eventually reached.

September 2, 1971 Grateful Dead have their former manager, Lenny Hart, arrested for embezzling $70,000 from the group's coffers.

August 31, 1971 Seeking payment of back royalties, The Rolling Stones sue both their former manager Andrew Loog Oldham and their ex-publisher, Allen Klein.

March 12, 1971 Paul McCartney wins his lawsuit to dissolve The Beatles and turn their affairs over to a receiver - not Allen Klein, who is managing the other members.

February 19, 1971 In London's Royal Courts of Justice, Paul McCartney's lawsuit against his fellow ex-Beatles begins. McCartney's suit seeks to remove Allen Klein as manager of the group's financial affairs.

December 31, 1970 Paul McCartney sues to dissolve The Beatles partnership and breaks ties with Allen Klein, whom the other three members have chosen to manage their affairs. The case drags on for years until the partnership is finally dissolved in a 1975 private agreement.

October 26, 1970 Mrs. Alta Mae Anderson, mother of Meredith Hunter, The Rolling Stones concertgoer murdered by Hells Angels at their Altamont show, sues the band for hiring the infamous biker club as security.

September 20, 1970 A Miami judge finds Jim Morrison guilty of indecent exposure after The Doors singer dropped his pants onstage at a concert in March.

June 23, 1970 Chubby Checker and three passengers are arrested in Niagara Falls after police discover marijuana and other unidentified capsules in the rocker's car. The charges are later dropped, however.

May 16, 1970 Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane is arrested on charges of drug possession in his Bloomington, Minnesota, hotel room after police find him smoking pot. His eventual punishment is a $100 fine.

April 30, 1970 Allman Brothers tour manager Twiggs Lyndon is arrested for stabbing a club manager to death over a contract dispute. Incredibly, Lyndon gets off by pleading temporary insanity caused by being the tour manager for The Allman Brothers Band.

April 27, 1970 John Lennon's explicit "Bag One" lithographs are returned to the London Arts Gallery exhibition after a High Court judge rules them "unlikely to deprave or corrupt."