Musician Rumors That Turned Out To Be True

There are plenty of crazy stories out there about musicians. Since they live lives full of money, fame, groupies, and a what-happens-on-tour-stays-on-tour mentality, it's not surprising that normal people with far less exciting existences will believe pretty much any rumor that starts going around about a performer. There's almost nothing we won't believe about the behavior of musicians. But so often the tales of reckless hedonism, diva antics, or random weirdness end up being untrue.

Fortunately, that isn't always the case. There are plenty of seemingly unbelievable rumors floating around that really have their basis in facts. Whether it's the more traditional old school craziness from members of bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who, terrible decisions by legends like Elvis and Little Richard, or the acts of modern divas like Rihanna and Ariana Grande, the world is made more interesting by ridiculous events from these extremely talented people's lives.

One of the stories that goes around about Elvis Presley is called the "Catfish Incident." And it turns out to be true, a sad reflection of what he could be like in the drug-addled later part of his life.

According to the book What the Great Ate, Elvis absolutely hated seafood, especially the smell. He thought it was so bad that he asked his wife never to eat fish when they were together. This dislike became key on July 20, 1975, during a concert in Virginia. That night, Elvis "was in a dangerous mood for someone armed with a microphone." Virginia Living says he proceeded to have "a meltdown."

First, he complained that 12,000 people were breathing on him. Then he whined he could smell green peppers and onions. But the final straw was when he turned and accused his four backup singers of eating catfish. No one knew exactly what he meant by it, but it was obviously hostile. He'd taken to lobbing insults at the women ever since he broke up with one of them. They thought there was "an ugly undertone" not just to the catfish comment but "his whole demeanor." Three of the backup singers walked off stage.

The catfish incident was "arguably the lowest point in Elvis' career." A review of the concert reported "tension among the fans was noticeable." A lot of people think there was a racial undercurrent to the insult. Elvis' only explanation for the outburst was, "I thought it was funny."

You might have seen a meme asking whether you knew that Billy Joel doesn't sell tickets for the front row of his concerts, instead giving them away to "real fans" who can only afford the cheap seats. Since memes aren't famous for their accuracy, you'd be forgiven for thinking that's too good to be true. But according to Joel himself, he actually does this.

In an interview with Billboard in 2014, he explained his logic. Joel said that for years, scalpers would get their hands on the front row seats, which were originally pretty reasonably priced, and sell them at a huge markup. This meant when Joel was looking out at the audience members closest to him, all he'd see was rich people. He didn't think they had the right attitude. Instead of standing up and cheering and getting into the music, the fat cats would just sit there as if saying "entertain me, piano man." Joel says he finally got sick of it and wanted to know where the real fans were.

It turned out they were in the cheap seats. The younger, enthusiastic people who "make the most noise" could only afford to be way in the back. So according to Joel, they hold the front row seats now and when the audience starts coming in, the road crew goes to the worst seats and brings people forward. He says that way "you've got people in the front row that are really happy to be there, real fans."

Most people hide behind the curtains when Jehovah's Witnesses show up at their door, but at one point there was a chance the person proselytizing was Prince. While often passed off as just a rumor (would such a successful musician really mix with normies?) Prince did participate in the door-to-door evangelism of his faith.

According to Entertainment Weekly, despite his rather steamy lyrics and lifestyle, Prince became a decidedly non-hedonistic Jehovah's Witness in 2001. Two years later, a woman in Minnesota answered a knock at the door to discover the pop star and another musician standing there. He introduced himself as "Prince Nelson" (his real name), came inside, and started talking about Jehovah. After listening to them read the Bible for a bit, the Jewish homeowner told them she was "not interested," so they gave her a pamphlet and left. Apparently, Prince was "very kind," although the woman found the event "so bizarre."

This was far from the only time he went door-to-door over the years. The LA Times reports Prince would sometimes disguise himself and that the people he preached to "never called him out on it. They listened to his message and respected his opinion." Prince himself said (via Billboard) that while "sometimes people act surprised ... mostly they're really cool." However, one reporter who interviewed the musician in 2004 didn't appreciate the proselytizing he received very much. Calling the situation "a little uncomfortable," he said Prince got "pretty intense." But he fulfilled his religious obligation, despite his fame.

Jimi Hendrix and Little Richard were both electric front men from slightly different eras, but amazingly they overlapped a bit. There are people out there who might unknowingly have seen both perform at the same time. But putting them on the same stage was apparently a disaster.

According to Hendrix's brother (via Ultimate Guitar), they first met Little Richard when they were just teenagers, and they "sat there in awe." After that, Hendrix had an unsuccessful stint in the military. When he got out, he started playing backup guitar for established artists, including some big names like the Isley Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner. Eventually, he ended up in Little Richard's backup band, the Upsetters. Hendrix would take that name and run with it.

Hendrix was apparently not a good team player. Backup musicians are supposed to just stand there and strum, but the legendary showman was already trying out some of his famous tricks, like playing behind his head or with his teeth. This caused "multiple clashes with Richard." The more famous musician wanted to be the only conspicuous entertainer during his performances. He "felt nothing should distract attention away from his star power."

So the flamboyant guitarist had to go. Little Richard's brother claims Hendrix was fired because "he was always late for the bus and flirting with all the girls and stuff like that." It's a fair assumption "stuff like that" included outshining his boss. Sadly, there are only two known recordings that both artists contributed to.

The biggest rumor about Mama Cass' death is that she died from choking on a ham sandwich. The book Beautiful Idiots and Brilliant Lunatics (via Flashbak) says this is a complete myth. But the rumor persists, even when there is a much crazier story about her demise, and that of The Who drummer Keith Moon. Both died at 32. Both had unhealthy lifestyles that contributed to their deaths. And, weirdest of all, they both died in exactly the same room.

The singer Harry Nilsson purchased a flat in London and loaned it out to friends when he was out of town. Cass Elliot, formerly of the Mamas and the Papas, borrowed it during a run of performances at the London Palladium. After her last show she came home, had some champagne, and went to bed. But years of crash diets had weakened her heart, and that night it gave up. She died in bed of a heart attack.

Four years later, Nilsson lent the flat to Moon. One morning Moon woke up, ate a steak while watching a movie, and took 32 Heminevrin tablets. The drummer was a raging alcoholic and the pills were supposed to stop his cravings. But the recommended dosage was just three pills a day. The quantity was fatal, and his girlfriend found Moon's body in bed in the same room Mama Cass had died in.

This was too much for Nilsson, who believed the flat was cursed. He sold it and moved to Los Angeles.

"Tour riders" are instructions from a musician to concert promoters to ensure that the show goes off without a hitch and that the musician remains happy. (For example, at a 1965 tour stop, the Beatles requested a security detail, a nice platform for Ringo Starr's drum kit, and a portable TV and some clean towels backstage.) Probably the most famous rider request of all-time comes from Van Halen. On the ninth page of its 11-page 1982 tour rider, there's a note that reads: "M&M's (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)." Is this some over-the-top diva behavior?

"The reality is quite different," Van Halen singer David Lee Roth said in a 2012 video. In 1982, Roth claimed, Van Halen's touring show was "the biggest production ever" and it proved tough to set up and tear down the stage in a timely fashion. "A lot of that was because the crew was unfamiliar with this size of a production," Roth added. And so, Roth had band management place in the rider a clause declaring that "there will be no brown M&M's in the backstage area or the promoter will forfeit the show at full price." That was a test. If Roth "saw brown M&M's on the catering table, then guaranteed the promoter had not read the contract rider and we had to do a serious line check" to ensure that all the stage equipment was safely installed.

While not the most interesting or provocative music either one of them would make, David Bowie and Mick Jagger's cover of Martha and the Vandellas' 1964 hit "Dancing in the Street" was nonetheless a musical event. Music buyers couldn't resist Ziggy Stardust and the Rolling Stones frontman together, especially since proceeds from the song benefited famine relief efforts in Africa. The video for the song is notable for the singers' electric chemistry, and according to Christopher Andersen's book Mick: The Wild Life and Mad Genius of Jagger, the rock legends didn't fake that connection.

In October 1973, Bowie's wife, Angie, returned to the couple's London home one day, whereupon the maid announced that "Someone ... is in your bed." Angie went upstairs to investigate, and that's when she discovered her husband and Jagger "naked in bed together, sleeping." Then they all had coffee and orange juice together. Angie said that while she hadn't exactly interrupted anything, she was certain that some kind of something had taken place. Andersen corroborated the Jagger-Bowie tryst idea with a story from backup singer Ava Cherry, who lived in the Bowie residence in the early '70s. The author says she once told a pal that she would get in bed with (David) Bowie and Jagger, but "ended up just watching them" go dancing in the sheets.

Ozzy Osbourne is single-handedly responsible for some of the most sordid stories in rock history. In Motley Crüe's memoir The Dirt, Osbourne is famously depicted snorting a line of ants, although his guitarist Jake E. Lee told Tone-Talk that Ozzy actually inhaled a spider. Then there are the bird stories.

In January 20 1982, Osbourne played a show in Des Moines, Iowa, during which he bit the head off of a bat that a fan had thrown onto the stage. (According to Mick Wall's Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe, Osbourne thought the bat was a toy, up until he placed it in his feedhole "and its wings started flapping." An attendee named Mark Neal claimed credit for providing the bat snack, although he told the Des Moines Register that the bat was already dead. Nevertheless, Osbourne still had to go get checked out for rabies after the concert.

Osbourne apparently has a taste for flying meat. In 1981, Ozzy attended a meeting of CBS Record executives and bit the heads off two live doves. According to Wall's book, Osbourne had wanted to end the meeting in a spectacular fashion, releasing three white doves into the air. Instead, Osbourne said he got a bit too drunk before the meeting began, got mad at the label's public relations representative, and chomped down on two of the doves' heads "just to shut her up."