Speaking of Zappa, there was a rumor that he was the son of Mr. Green Jeans of Captain Kangaroo fame. It’s not true.
Speaking of Ozzy, I have my own ‘true’ Ozzy story, but could be considered a rumor since I heard it second-hand. It’s not nearly as crazy as biting off bat heads, though…
A couple Summers ago my wife and I were hitting some yard sales, as we do in the warm months. We were at the house of a woman who was selling a large amount of professional catering equipment. I asked her about it, and she said she used to be a professional caterer for rock stars when they came into town for concerts. I asked her who was the biggest rock star pain in the ass to work for, and she said without hesitation ‘Ozzy Ozbourne’.
I made the obvious joke “what, did he demand fried bat for dinner, harhar?” She said actually he loved baked potatoes, and always asked for baked potatoes to eat after a show. Didn’t seem too high-maintenance to me, and I wish I had had more time to ask her why she considered him the biggest pain in the ass, but my wife was ready to go on to the next sale…
Jayne Mansfield was decapitated. Not true, but: Her wig did come off, and her skull was more or less ‘crunched in’ with a partial scalping.
But one rumor about her was recently confirmed: That Nelson Sardelli was indeed Mariska’s bio-dad.
Buckwheat Thomas of “Our Gang” died flying an airplane in Biafra (Nigerian Civil War of late 1960s)
But… he clearly lived into the 1980s, and was eventually assassinated by Alfalfa. I’ve seen the footage!
Cotton was a monkey.
Nope!
Most likely due to this.
Once again, Cecil to the rescue:
It might also be noted that “Son of Mr. Green Genes,” from the album Hot Rats, is a reworking of the song “Mr. Green Genes,” found on the earlier album Uncle Meat.
The one about Phil Collins’ song “In the Air Tonight”
An urban legend has arisen about “In the Air Tonight”, according to which the lyrics are based on a drowning incident in which someone who was close enough to save the victim did not help them, while Collins, who was too far away to help, looked on. Increasingly embellished variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert.
I’ve never heard the Motley thing, but as a kid in the 80s I’d heard that Ozzy would throw a puppy into the audience when he came onstage and would refuse to perform until it came back dead 
Oswald acted alone.
…because that’s all Jackie could afford
I briefly dated Willa Doolin, one of the Frito-Lay ‘heirs’ and she claimed her father (Elmer) and Walt Disney were friends and were both cryogenically frozen in the same facility. I know this is nutty (she had way more money than brains) but she swore on her life to me this was true.
When I ask her for proof she knew Walt, she showed me Christmas cards he supposedly sent her (along with a little Mickey drawn next to his signature).
The one I’d heard is that he became Alice Cooper.
Ahh, Disney on Ice.
mmm
The first time I heard that rumor was when a local DJ on the radio station I was playing in my car dramatically told it as if it were the Gospel truth as an intro to playing the song. I think it was a couple years before I learned it was a total myth.
Ozzy also reportedly snorted a line of ants on a dare. The truth with this guy is probably odder than the rumors.
Which reminds me: I saw an interview with Kurt Loder, where he was asked what the weirdest interview was that he ever did, whether for MTV, Rolling Stone, etc.
Ozzy?
No.
Marilyn Manson?
No.
The answer: Ross Perot, during the 1992 presidential campaign.
Not my favorite, but…
Mama Cass Elliot died from choking on a ham sandwich.
Very bad joke: If only Mama Cass had given that ham sandwich to Karen Carpenter, two lives would have been saved.
I like eclipses (see my profile pic), so when I hear You’re So Vain I wonder if Carly Simon was really referring to Warren Beatty taking his Learjet to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun. If not, who was it?
That Prince’s secret vault of unreleased songs was mostly 300 hours of “disappointing” Billy Joel covers.