STORIES FROM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY

SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY

Way before Eminem, however, there was “Paul is dead,” an

urban legend and conspiracy theory suggesting that

Paul McCartney of the Beatles died in 1966 and was secretly

replaced by a look-alike. In September 1969, American

college students published articles claiming that clues to

McCartney’s supposed death could be found in the lyrics

and artwork of the Beatles’ recordings. Despite this being one

of the most popular conspiracy theories in popular music

history, it has receded to the dark corners of the Internet,

disregarded as nothing more than a silly conspiracy.

ROBERT JOHNSON’S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

The story of Johnson meeting the devil at a crossroads on the

outskirts of some unknown town is one of the most famous

stories in Blues history. It was believed he exchanged his soul

in order to become a great Blues performer and Johnson did

indeed become legendary, but not until long after his death at

twenty-seven, which occurred, of course, at a crossroads.

Some think Johnson’s song “Crossroads” is cursed, as many

artists who have covered it, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd and the

Allman Brothers, have had tragedy befall them.

ROY ORBISON WAS BLIND

The singer known as “The Big O” usually wore perfectly normal

glasses but left them behind when he went to support the

Beatles on a tour in the mid-sixties and so had to wear

sunglasses onstage. The dark, oversize shades quickly

became Roy Orbison’s gimmick, leading to the widespread

and completely false rumour that he was blind.

LED ZEPPELIN’S CONTRACT WITH THE DEVIL

According to rumours similar to that surrounding Delta bluesman

Robert Johnson, the band made a deal with the devil to

ensure its success, especially that of the most overplayed

song in rock history, “Stairway to Heaven.” The only member

not to have taken part in the pact was bassist John Paul Jones,

who thus far has avoided major hardships.

GENE SIMMONS’S UNUSUALLY LONG TONGUE

There was a myth going around in the 1970s that Gene Simmons

had a cow’s tongue surgically grafted onto his own. Rumours

said Simmons had had this procedure to help him develop

the character of the “Demon” that he portrayed onstage.

The rumours continued for years but in reality Gene just has

a long tongue for a human. There’s nothing more to it.

A RIHANNA VIDEO PREDICTED

WHITNEY HOUSTON’S DEATH

In the “We Found Love” video, there are shots of prescription

pills falling down the screen, bouncing around, driving home the

reasons for the character’s descent into a drug-induced safe-haven

relationship. The bathtub scene is quite chilling, and it is easy to

imagine Whitney Houston replacing Rihanna in the scene. Sure,

Rihanna has long been targeted as a possible Illuminati-controlled

figure but her predicting the future is a new one.

FLEETWOOD MAC’S GUITARIST CURSE

Much has been made of the “curse” on Fleetwood Mac’s guitarists.

Following Peter Green’s departure, Jeremy Spencer went

AWOL in LA in 1971, he was eventually found among the

Children of God cult. Another guitarist, Danny Kirwan, was fired

in 1972 after a drink-fuelled episode that saw him bashing

his head against a bathroom wall and smashing up his guitar.

And then the curse struck again: Mick Fleetwood’s wife,

Jenny Boyd, had an affair with guitarist Bob Weston.

He was also fired, in 1973. Mick and Jenny would divorce,

remarry, and divorce again.

THE CURSED “27 CLUB”

Created by superstitious fans, the “27 Club” is a “club” that

includes great musicians who died at age twenty-seven but

managed to achieve so much in their short lives. To get an

idea of the magnitude of the artists in this group, members

include Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones

and Kurt Cobain, whose death became the reason the “27 Club”

began to gain wide notoriety.