It’s January 16th and here are some reasons why this day matters in rock history:

In 1973, Bruce Springsteen played a gig at Villanova University outside of Philadelphia. There were just 25 people in the audience.

In 1980, Paul McCartney was jailed for nine days in Tokyo for marijuana possession after being found with 219 grams of the drug upon his arrival at Narita Airport.

In 1984, Paul and Linda McCartney were arrested in Barbados for drug possession and were each fined two-hundred dollars.

In 1992, Eric Clapton recorded his unplugged session for MTV. The set earned six GRAMMY Awards for the album including Record of the Year.

In 1996, Jamaican authorities shot at Jimmy Buffett’s plane, thinking it belonged to a drug trafficker. Bono was on board during the incident, which inspired Jimmy’s song “Jamaica Mistaica.”

In 1978, Sex Pistol Sid Vicious fell through a glass door at a San Francisco hotel then took a drug overdose and had to be rushed to the hospital.

And in 1987, the Beastie Boys became the first act censored on American Bandstand. The guys performed their hit party anthem “Fight for your Right” as they goofed around on the stage.

And that’s what happened today in rock history.

(H/T This Day in Music)

Dickerman