I've heard various interpretations of this event from people around Columbus, but here are the details on the infamous incident involving Elvis Costello in 1979:
It started out with slight insults between bands. Members of the old rock guard (the Stephen Stills Band) and the new wave (Elvis Costello and the Attractions) converged in the Holiday Inn bar in Columbus, Ohio, after playing separate gigs on March 15, 1979.
Costello was already drunk when Stills and friends walked in. As he got drunker, his words got nastier in a desperate attempt to inflame the sensibilities of his elders. Stills soon left to go to his room. Backing singer Bonnie Bramlett (of Delaney & Bonnie fame) continued to engage Costello, who kept disparaging America and its most hallowed rock stars. After 2AM he described James Brown as a “jive-arsed n------” and Ray Charles as a “blind, ignorant n------.” In response, Bramlett backhanded the 24-year-old up-and-comer. It all ended in a brawl, quickly broken up by the bartender.
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