Song of the day for March 7, 2024
Adam Yauch (left) with the Beastie Boys in 1987. The gruff-voiced rapper known as MCA died Friday after a battle with cancer.
(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) by the Beastie Boys is today’s featured song.
On this day in music, March 7, 1987, Beastie Boys made the pop history books by becoming the first hip-hop act to have a No.1 album with their Columbia/Def Jam debut, Licensed To Ill. Featuring the Top 10 hit “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!), plus enduring favorites like “Brass Monkey” and “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn,” the album proved to be one of Columbia’s fastest-selling debuts and made the young New York City trio global stars. By 2015, Licensed To Ill received a rare Diamond certification by the RIAA, marking 10 million copies sold.
The band took the Licensed to Ill tour around the world the following year. The tour was troubled by lawsuits and arrests, with the band accused of provoking the crowd. This culminated in a notorious gig at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, England, on May 30, 1987, that erupted into a riot approximately 10 minutes after the group hit the stage and the arrest of Adam Horovitz by Merseyside Police. He was charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm.
