Top 5 WILDEST Myths About Rock N' Roll Legends
These are the weird and wild stories which continue to have legs year after year. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Myths […].
In today's installment we'll be counting down 5 Myths About Rock 'n Roll Legends that gave us stage fright.
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Top 5 Myths About Rock 'n Roll Legends
RIP Aaron Carter | Reacting to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2022 | Lindsey Sterling Interview
These are the weird and wild stories which continue to have legs year after year. Welcome to WatchMojo's Top 5 Myths the series that […], In today's installment we'll be counting down 5 Myths About Rock 'n Roll Legends that gave us stage fright.
#5: Jimi Hendrix put acid in his headband
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If you grew up during the Swinging Sixties, then it could be forgiven to have believed this popular myth about guitar legend Jimi Hendrix. Rumors abounded that Hendrix would place tabs of acid in his headband, cut his forehead and allow the LSD to flow into his bloodstream while playing. Although there are plenty of stories about Hendrix recreational and creative drug use, but there is no proof that this behavior ever took place on stage. Jim Fricke of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, a well-known rock museum, has even gone on record stating that there's no evidence Jimi ever possessed an "acid headband." Sure, Hendrix might have dropped some tabs prior to hitting the stage, but it was most likely in the traditional way of placing it on the tongue, rather than utilizing his extravagant wardrobe.
#4: Marilyn Manson, the Missing Rib and Situation Comedy
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The shock rock group took the underground music world by storm back in the late nineties, with the band's namesake and front man earning a particularly hot spot in the media crosshairs. So popular was Manson that a bevy of rumors began to fly around the singer’s alleged tainted love with his own genitals. Namely that he had the bottom two ribs removed, so that he could perform oral sex on himself. Some say that this rumor was actually once attached to Prince, while Manson himself has no idea how this crazy rumor was started in the first place. Another myth which has persistently followed the shock rocker is that Manson, born Brian Hugh Warner, once starred on sitcoms "The Wonder Years" and "Mr. Belvedere." Both of these claims were also proven false when the respective actors on those shows, Josh Saviano and Rob Stone revealed that...well, they weren't Marilyn Manson.
#3: "Stairway to Heaven" played backwards reveals satanic messages
Myths surrounding the supposed backwards messages within vinyl record grooves have been a fixture for years within the dark underbelly of rock 'n roll. The hard rock legends, Led Zeppelin, were one of the most high profile groups accused of such satanic shenanigans, when it was rumored that their classic song "Stairway to Heaven," revealed creepy, occult messages when played in reverse. This claim was first started in 1982 by a televangelist named Paul Crouch, who claimed that the Zep track proclaimed, in part, the glory of "My Sweet Satan" and "666." Although Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page did possess a noted interest in occult studies and imagery, the band have laughed off these accusations, despite "Stairway's" coincidental similarities to Crouch's lyrical claims. Singer Robert Plant was even quoted as saying, "who on Earth would've thought of doing that?"
#2: Phil Collins witnessed a murder
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This myth might have the most staying power out of all the popular tall tales on our list. The story here is connected with former Genesis drummer and front man Phil Collins, whose 1981 solo track "In the Air Tonight" was said to be an auto-biographical account of the time when Collins was witness to a murder. The song was widely believed to describe how Collins saw one man fail to help another from drowning. Collins then invited the first man for a front row seat at his concert, whereupon he debuted the song with one shining, solitary spotlight on the guilty party. Other variations up the fictional ante considerably, sometimes even involving Collins witnessing a sexual assault. The truth is that "In the Air Tonight" IS an autobiographical tune, but the subject deals instead with the singer's failing marriage and subsequent divorce.
#1: "Paul is dead"
Wintersleep On Meeting Paul McCartney, Origins, Evolution
Backwards messages and more return here for our number one rock 'n roll myth, this time about one of the most popular musical acts of all time. The Fab Four known as The Beatles may have lost their first member early on, according to the myth which theorizes that the band's bassist Paul McCartney actually died back in 1966. The conspiracy theory goes on to state that the remaining three Beatles covered up his death, hired a "secret" fourth member named Billy Shears, and hid messages about the truth within their lyrics and album art. Thankfully, Paul McCartney is very much alive, having enjoyed a thriving musical career after The Beatles, including a string of solo hits and chart-toppers with the band Wings. So, how many of these myths did you believe? For more rockin’ top tens and top fives with backwards messages, please subscribe to WatchMojo.com!
