5 All-Time Controversial Music Moments in August

Well, it’s the tail-end of the summer and things are finally cooling down. However, in the music world, August tends to be the month where a lot of drama happens and things start to really heat up. Let’s take a walk through music history and explore five of the most controversial music-related incidents that happened during the month of August!

1. Keith Moon of the Who Trashes Hotel Room and Has To Be Hospitalized in 1976

Keith Moon was known for trashing quite a few hotel rooms in his heyday. However, one incident that took place on August 11, 1976 was a little bit too rowdy. The Who drummer was hospitalized after tearing apart his hotel room in Miami and subsequently collapsing. This instance of fainting was the second time in less than five months. Moon said that he didn’t remember the incident at all once he recovered, but fans and his fellow band members were very concerned.

2. Sinead O’Connor Refuses Performance, Demands They Stop Playing the National Anthem in 1990

Sinead O’Connor always considered herself a protest musician before a pop star. That much was evident when on August 24, 1990, she refused to perform her set at Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey, unless they agreed not to play the National Anthem before her show. O’Connor refused to have any country’s national anthem played at her concerts, and she once said that they “have nothing to do with music in general”. 

The venue accommodated O’Connor, but a lot of patriotic individuals were mad about it. Radio stations banned her songs, a state senator suggested boycotting her, and a worker at a Beverly Hills grocery store mocked O’Connor as she shopped there.

3. James Hetfield of Metallica Gets Seriously Injured on Stage in 1992

August 8, 1992 was almost a very tragic day for Metallica’s James Hetfield. During a Montreal concert, Hetfield was severely burned during a pyrotechnic machine accident. Hetfield was quickly taken away by medics. The legendary metal guitarist and vocalist sustained second and third-degree burns, mainly on his arm. Luckily, he made a full recovery. 

According to bassist Jason Newsted in an interview with Steffan Chirazi, the band was distraught and had to wait hours before learning of Hetfield’s fate.

“That accident brought us together to a place that I don’t think would have ever happened unless an incident like that…” said Newsted. “It really is a moment that somehow saved and refueled our band.”

[See Metallica Live In Concert]

4. Police Attack Vietnam War Protestors and Inspired a Few Huge Musicians in 1968

In August of 1968, one of the most controversial moments in music and political history in the US occurred. At the DNC in Chicago, police showed up in riot gear to brutally beat protestors who were demonstrating against the Vietnam War. It was one of the clearest cases of police brutality in the country’s history. It also inspired a number of musicians.

Specifically, The Doors, Chicago, and Graham Nash all wrote songs about the incident. Jim Morrison wrote “Peace Frog” about the event, and Graham Nash wrote the track “Chicago (We Can Change The World)” about it, too. Chicago wrote the song “Someday (August 29, 1968)” about it. That song includes the famous chant that rang out from the protestors as they were being attacked: “The whole world is watching.” Haunting.

5. George Harrison Found Guilty of “Subconscious Plagiarism” in 1976

This controversial music moment in August has to be one of the silliest. Plenty of musicians get sued for plagiarism, but few are found guilty of “subconscious” plagiarism. That’s precisely what happened to former Beatle George Harrison in 1976. A judge ruled that Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” was too musically similar to “He’s So Fine” by The Chiffons. He was ordered to pay over $1.6 million in respective damages.

So, what the heck is “subconscious plagiarism”? Basically, Harrison did plagiarize the song; but the judge admitted that Harrison probably didn’t do it on purpose. Still, he made a lot of money on a song that sounded very similar to one that already existed, so Harrison had to pay up. He thought it was ridiculous and mocked the suit in “This Song” from 1976, and many fans also believed the case to have been unfair.

Photo by Steve Morley

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