John Mellencamp was originally scheduled to play on day three. However, he dropped out due to a dispute with the festival's promoters over the video rights. He also demanded to be booked under his real name instead of the "John Cougar" moniker, which his then manager forced him to adopt. Because of this, Joe Walsh was moved from day two (Heavy Metal Sunday) to day three. This opened up a spot for another band, which was filled by Quiet Riot who wound up becoming stars as a result of their appearance.
This was Mick Jones' final appearance with The Clash. The band threatened to drop out of the festival unless some of the proceeds were donated to charity.
Van Halen was initially offered $1 million for their performance at the festival. However, when they found out that David Bowie was offered the same amount, they demanded that they get $500,000 extra.
Oingo Boingo and the The Beat are the only bands to appear at both the 1982 version of the festival - which took place on Labor Day weekend - as well as the Memorial Day weekend 1983 version. Also, Stevie Nicks also performed at both, but the Labor Day appearance was with Fleetwood Mac.
This was also one of the last gigs for The Beat. The band broke up shortly after their performance at the festival.