Asbury Park’s Sunshine In hosted huge rockers, but getting paid was iffy

Black Sabbath was playing at a new nightclub in town — the Sunshine In — and Andrew Molteni had to be there.

It was the fall of 1970, and Molteni had moved out of his Wall home in the late summer, at 17, because of ongoing issues with his father. He rented a room in the Pierpont Hotel on Second Avenue, a block from the Sunshine In, which had just opened at First Avenue and Kingsley Street.

When Black Sabbath came to the club in November, Molteni knew he had to go. One problem: he didn’t have the $4.50 to buy a ticket. So he went around the back of the building and, sure enough, found a door that was falling out of its frame, leaving a hole big enough for him to squeeze through… read more >