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tired Perhaps the most famous rock legend of all, and one against which all rock and roll debauchery has since been measured, is the 1969 incident during which the members of Led Zeppelin reportedly raped a groupie using a live shark.
The Edgewater Inn in Seattle, Washington, the hotel at which the band was staying one night during a concert on their U.S. tour, is strategically located near the harbor and boasts the opportunity for guests to fish directly from their rooms. According to legend, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and road manager Richard Cole were fishing from balcony of their room, using sirloin steaks as bait. After catching an abundant supply of small sharks, often called mud sharks, a red-headed, 17-year-old fan came into the room, presumably for partying and sex. She was subsequently tied to a bed while members of the band inserted one of the small, live sharks repeatedly into her vagina and rectum, ignoring her screams and pleas for help.
Different accounts over the years have Cole and Bonham as sole perpetrators, while others claim Robert Plant and Jimmy Page were also present. Further variations state that Plant's and Bonham's wives also silently witnessed the event, and still others say members of the band Vanilla Fudge were not only present and watched, but captured everything on film. One contradictory version of the story states that an actual shark wasn't used; a large bag of fish guts and entrails were dumped on the girl, with various pieces being inserted into her orifices.
While outlandish and unbelievable at first, this particular story illustrates a rare occurrence in urban legend folklore: it's basically true.
The facts have been somewhat distorted over the years, but several things are clear: the fan/groupie was a willing participant, the fish (a red snapper, not a shark -- Cole was said to be giving her a "red snapper for your red snapper") was dead, not live, and Cole and Bonham were the only ones present, with Bonham being just an observer while Cole did the dastardly deeds.
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In 1967, police raided Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards' home, the Redlands, in West Sussex, England. Four amphetamine tablets in a coat belonging to Mick Jagger's then-girlfriend, Marianne Faithfull, were found, along with some resin and ash thought to be cannabis. Jagger claimed the tablets were his and Faithfull was not charged. But facts surfaced alleging that police first discovered Marianne Faithfull wearing nothing but a fur rug, prompting a field day for the tabloids.
No one is sure how the rest of the story mutated, but this particular urban legend now states that upon entering the Redlands, police found Jagger with his head buried between Faithfull's legs, munching on a Mars candy bar that had been stuffed into her vagina. Everyone involved denied the story, and no record exists of a candy bar or wrapper being found at the time of the raid.
"I still don't like that story," Faithfull recounted in her autobiography. "I never will find it funny. I went into complete insanity trying to figure out who started the rumor."
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The chain of events on March 1, 1969, which lead up to the infamous concert where the Doors' Jim Morrison allegedly exposed himself onstage, should have signaled impending trouble. First, Morrison missed his initial flight to Miami, where the band was scheduled to play that night. He spent his time drinking at the airport bar while waiting for the next plane, and continued to drink after boarding. During a stopover in New Orleans where he again missed the flight, Morrison drank even more while waiting for the next flight. By the time he reached the stage in Miami he was extremely drunk, almost to the point of falling down.
Morrison's behavior that night at the show has been described as abusive towards the audience, and his performance was disjointed; he would sing a few lines, then stop the song. At one point he asked the crowd, "Do you wanna see my cock?" before allegedly exposing himself, then continued with the concert. Four days later, the state attorney's office issued a warrant for Morrison's arrest, charging him with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure and open profanity. Morrison turned himself in to Miami authorities on April 4, then entered a plea of not guilty in November. The trial began almost a year later, during which contradictory accounts of that fateful night were given. It was never proven that anyone actually saw Morrison's genitals, or that he did, in fact, expose himself to the audience.
Morrison was ultimately found guilty on the misdemeanor charges of indecent exposure and profanity, but not guilty on the felony charge and misdemeanor for drunkenness. He died before his sentences could be carried out.
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Not necessarily the most notorious, but arguably the most retold of rock's urban legends, this one has been around for decades and has been attributed to just about every performer. However the original legend, as heard back in the early 70s, involves Rod Stewart.
Stewart reportedly collapsed at a party and was subsequently taken to the emergency room of a hospital, where upon pumping his stomach a gallon of semen was extracted. The amount varies from story to story. Some outlandish versions claim that whale sperm was discovered in his stomach.
Many others have been the focal point of this legend over the years, including Richard Gere, Mick Jagger, Elton John, David Bowie, members of New Kids on the Block, and most recently Alanis Morisette (who is supposedly addicted to semen) and Hip-Hop'er Lil Kim.
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Perhaps the most disgusting of all is the legend that rock satirist Frank Zappa once ate his own excrement on stage. Variations include Zappa partaking in a "gross-out contest" between himself and Captain Beefheart, where both dined on their respective feces, and another between Zappa and Alice Cooper, where Zappa ate the foul stuff while Cooper stomped baby chickens.
In his autobiography, "Real Frank Zappa Book," he vehemently denies that any of the incidents ever took place.
Zappa wrote, "For the record, folks: I never took a shit on stage, and the closest I ever came to eating shit anywhere was at a Holiday Inn buffet in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1973."
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Keith Richards' drug and alcohol addiction became the fodder upon which rock and roll legends were born. An outlandish rumor that has been circulating for years claims that in order to cure his heroin addiction, Richards flew to Switzerland for a blood transfusion to completely replace the heroin-laced blood in his body.
According to the Rolling Stones FAQ:
"It was a widely circulated rumor that to cure himself of an addiction to heroin, Keith Richards flew to the Swiss chalet of an exclusive physician who had a method for replacing all of a patient's nasty addicted blood with good clean blood.
Great gossip. Bad science.
While it has been claimed in print by at least one biographer, this author was also Keith's dealer for several years. It is widely considered to be little more than another colorful urban legend."
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It became rumored in the early 90s that David Bowie and Mick Jagger had once been sexual partners. This particular legend gained credence when Bowie's ex-wife published a tell-all, "Backstage Pass," where she claimed to have come home one day to find Jagger and Bowie asleep in the same bed. Fans drew their own conclusion, and Angie Bowie used the publicity to sell more copies of the book.
It was only after the rumor became widespread that she recanted, stating that yes, she did find them in bed together, but "I never said they were having sex. They were just passed out drunk on the bed."
Some have speculated that Angie Bowie withdrew her previous statements under threat of legal action by her ex-husband. The truth remains unclear, however Bowie's bisexuality in the 70s was common knowledge, and Jagger was also rumored to have occasionally had sexual encounters with men during that time.
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"Mama" Cass Elliot's death has been reported over the years as having been caused by "choking on a sandwich while in bed and from inhaling her own vomit." The true cause of death, a heart attack, was not determined until an autopsy was performed a week later, but by that time it was too late. Another of rock's urban legends was born.
At 5'5" and 238 lbs., Mama Cass was twice the normal weight for a woman her age and height. The effects of long-term obesity, drug abuse and crash diets had weakened her heart to the point of failure. Because she was a large woman, and there was a sandwich on the nightstand when her body was found, an irreversible connection was made. That it was a ham sandwich (an obvious commentary on her weight) was added after the fact. However, no traces of food were found blocking her trachea, and there was never any indication that food played a role in her death.
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The most recent rumor to surface revolves around the final resting place of Jim Morrison. Reports in the past two years have indicated that Morrison's body will be "evicted" from Pere Lachaise cemetary in Paris when the 30-year lease on the gravesite expires at the end of July, 2001. Initial news stories claimed that cemetary officials were fed up with the beer bottles, graffiti and half-smoked joints left at the monument by well-meaning fans who make the pilgrimage to France. Relatives of those laid to rest near Morrison's grave had also petitioned the cemetery to remove Morrison's remains.
Speculation abounded on where Morrison would go, since he had a strained relationship with his parents. Some suggested that the remains be creamated and scattered, while one claimed that Morrison's family should auction his remains to attract bids by cities that need a tourism boost.
However, an official from Pere Lachaise ultimately confirmed that Morrison would stay put. "There are those who would like him to be [moved], but Morrison's grave is on a perpetual lease. His body is there, and it will stay there." In addition Ray Manzarek, the Doors' keyboard player, told fans at a reunion that the grave was the fourth most popular attraction in Paris, and was unlikely to be moved by the French government. He expected French officials "to supersede" any petition by disgruntled families.
August 19 2005, 18:42:27 UTC 6 years ago