STORIES FROM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
Added on: 4th Jun 2016
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.
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