The Story Behind The Festival That Saw Van Halen Net A Cool $1.5 Million For A Single Performance

By 1983, all-day rock festivals were nothing new within the US, as evidenced by such massively-attended events as the California Jam, Texxas Jam, Day on the Green, Monterey Pop Festival, and of course, Woodstock, among many others. But the US had yet to host an all-day festival comprised solely of heavy metal artists.

However, this was not the case across the pond, in the UK. The first few Monsters of Rock Festivals at Castle Donington had already taken place by this time, which featured solely headbanger-friendly artists, including Rainbow, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Scorpions, Blue Öyster Cult, etc.

So when the second-ever US Festival was being assembled for Memorial Day Weekend in 1983, its organizers, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and promoter Bill Graham, very wisely decided to assign one day, Sunday, May 29th, to satisfy the needs of heavy metallists.

The line-up was stellar: headlined by Van Halen, supported by the Scorpions, Triumph, Judas Priest, and Ozzy, and introducing the metal masses to a then largely unknown Mötley Crüe and Quiet Riot. Interestingly, early promotion for the event also listed Joe Walsh for that day, but it was ultimately decided he would perform 24 hours later on “Rock Day,” headlined by David Bowie… read more >