# Who best epitomized the out-of-control lifestyle of rock and roll? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677 "2015-01-01T14:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/21 "2015-01-01T20:33:10Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Obviously Justin Bieber. I didn’t realize Bieber was a rock & roll performer. ---
**Author:** ![FeAudrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FeAudrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FeAudrey)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/22 "2015-01-01T20:49:45Z")
Another vote here for Jim Morrison. “property damage” rules out most women, and “self destruction”, as noted by previous posters, excludes Keith Richards and also Jerry Lee Lewis. Maybe a few more qualifiers are needed to, er, cut down the candidate list. I’d suggest “arrested or deported”. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/23 "2015-01-01T21:06:45Z")
:: proudly :: I got it just reading the thread topic. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/24 "2015-01-01T21:51:41Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > :: proudly :: I got it just reading the thread topic. Me too. No question about it, Moon the Loon. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/25 "2015-01-01T22:34:01Z")
Same here. When I read the topic, all I could think of was “Keith Moon.” Nobody could trash a hotel room like he could. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/26 "2015-01-01T23:03:54Z")
I thought “Keith Moon” right after reading the title. And the amazing thing is that, despite no lack of competition, probably about 20% of everyone who has read this thread did the same thing. There are a lot of crazy rock stars out there, but Moonie was in a class by himself. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/27 "2015-01-01T23:06:19Z")
Wayne’s World 2 was mostly rubbish, but Del the Roadie was awesome: > [@](#): > > So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o’clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn’t go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there’s a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it’s closed. So there’s me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they’ve got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopowner and his son… that’s a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really. But, sure enough, I got the M&Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show. And this may be the reason Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/28 "2015-01-01T23:07:59Z")
Makes me wonder what rock star is the polar opposite of the “out-of-control rock and roller”? The anti-Keith Moon? Charlie Watts with his lifelong monogamy and quiet sketches of hotel rooms? Kind of the opposite of Moon as a drummer as well. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/29 "2015-01-01T23:19:16Z")
Not one vote for Sid Vicious? The fucker snuffed his girlfriend! If that wasn’t a short, crazy, and sad spin out of control I don’t know who’s life was. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/30 "2015-01-01T23:19:36Z")
G.G. Allin? Charlie Watts was still a heavy drinker and drug user; he just didn’t do any whoring. > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I remembered a scene from The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years with a guy in a pool drinking vodka while being interviewed… That guy was nuts. > > [YouTube link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8X5qDARiA). The scene I was talking about starts at about 1:40. Chris Holmes of W.A.S.P. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/31 "2015-01-01T23:39:43Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Not one vote for Sid Vicious? The fucker snuffed his girlfriend! If that wasn’t a short, crazy, and sad spin out of control I don’t know who’s life was. And that was probably a mistake; Sid was just a stupid loser. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/32 "2015-01-02T00:06:13Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Some of what Moon did seems to be an act. A kind of “Well I’m Keith fucking Moon aren’t I? This is how I’m supposed to act.” Not all, but some… > I guess I’d still give the top spot to Moon. Moon’s death is puzzling. he took 32 tablets of a sedative when he was told not to take more than three in one day. There’s thinking you’re invulnerable but that’s beyond the pale. I disagree. After reading one of the KM biographies, I think he had serious mental illness, and 60’s-style rock stardom was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. FWIW, I also think he was a brilliant drummer. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/33 "2015-01-02T00:35:28Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I remembered a scene from The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years with a guy in a pool drinking vodka while being interviewed… That guy was nuts. > > [YouTube link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV8X5qDARiA). The scene I was talking about starts at about 1:40. And his mother is sitting on the pool deck. If you really watch it, he’s actually pouring most of it into the pool. BTW, even though Elvis lived 15 years too long to be in Club 27, I’d nominate him too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/34 "2015-01-02T00:42:34Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Makes me wonder what rock star is the polar opposite of the “out-of-control rock and roller”? The anti-Keith Moon? > > Charlie Watts with his lifelong monogamy and quiet sketches of hotel rooms? Kind of the opposite of Moon as a drummer as well. In this movie, Gene Simmons says, “One of the great things about rock’n’roll is that even an ugly (bleeped) like me can get laid, and I just never saw ANY of them do that.” > **[Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010) ⭐ 8.4 | Documentary, Biography, Music](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1545103/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)** > > 1h 47m | Not Rated They performed in my city when I was in high school but hadn’t discovered them yet (late 1970s), and one of the cheerleaders went around bragging that she Did It with the band’s lead singer. Someone brought a magazine or album cover to school, showed her a picture of said singer, and asked her, “You had sex with THIS GUY?!?!?” and she stammered and replied, “Um, no, it might have been someone else.” Other people have suggested that it might have been “a skank-assed roadie”, but I personally think the answer was nobody at all. In the early 1990s, I had a pen pal who was a big hair band fan, and early in their career, Bon Jovi had played in her area, which was the rural South, and a local TV station did a live broadcast from the hotel where they stayed, wanting to know how many thousands of dollars of damage they had caused. The head of housekeeping looked at the reporter like he was nuts, and said they didn’t even leave their towels on the floor. 😛 And around that same time, someone I worked with asked me if any of the guys in R.E.M. had kids, and I made him and a lot of other people squirm by replying, “They probably all have kids they don’t know about.” :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/35 "2015-01-02T00:46:48Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I disagree. After reading one of the KM biographies, I think he had serious mental illness, and 60’s-style rock stardom was one of the worst things that could have happened to him. > FWIW, I also think he was a brilliant drummer. Was it the book “Moon”? I’ve read it myself. It’s really obvious that he did have severe mental illness, and I personally think he would have died 10 or 15 years sooner had he not been a musician. As for Motley Crue, I finally read their group autobiography “The Dirt” a couple years ago, and it’s really, really obvious that at least two of them (Vince and Nikki) were horribly abused as children. It was one of the saddest books I have ever read, and not just because Vince’s daughter died and Nikki’s sister was a big family secret. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/36 "2015-01-02T00:46:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Jimmy Page. Includes whips and underage girls. Yeah, I’m going with Page. Touring with your 14 year old sex toy, without really caring what society thinks. Plus, the occult stuff and all that. When Jerry Lee Lewis married his 13 year old cousin he was coming from a culture where marrying a 13 year old girl (even a cousin) wasn’t that uncommon. Page…pure rock and roll decadence. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/37 "2015-01-02T01:44:42Z")
Before there was Rock, there was Rhythm and Blues. [Sam Cooke:](http://randb.about.com/od/classicartistbios/p/About-Sam-Cooke.htm) > [@](#): > > Cooke had angrily gone to the manager’s office wearing nothing but a sport jacket and shoes because a woman he had taken to his room had left while he was in the bathroom, taking his clothes with her. He thought the female manager may have known where the woman was and grabbed her in an attempt to gain some information. The motel employee, in fear of her life, broke free, grabbed a gun she kept for protection, and shot Sam once in the torso. Police later ruled the killing justifiable homicide. [Frankie Lyman:](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20126294,00.html) The 27 Club? Lyman died of a heroin overdose at 25. He was married three times – and apparently neglected to divorce any of his wives. [Marvin Gaye:](http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/marvin_gaye/index.html) Told an interviewer “You’d have to call me a drug addict and a sex freak,” ended up in a cocaine and PCP-fueld rage, shot to death by his own father. [Screamin’ Jay Hawkins:](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=94216&page=1&singlePage=true) Opened his act arising from a coffin and other stunts that Ozzie and Alice Cooper would be proud to have thought of, six wives, [somewhere between 50 and 75 illegitimate children](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/WolfFiles/story?id=94216&page=1&singlePage=true). He died of natural causes, but not for lack of trying. One of his girlfriends, who happened also to be one of his backup singers, stabbed him because he was cheating on her. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/38 "2015-01-02T02:15:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Was it the book “Moon”? I’ve read it myself. It’s really obvious that he did have severe mental illness, and I personally think he would have died 10 or 15 years sooner had he not been a musician. I don’t remember which one I read. Sorry. I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Are you making a distinction between a) his being a musician and b) his being part of the rock star royalty wicked excess lifestyle? I can see (a) perhaps being good for him, but not (b). I’m genuinely interested. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/39 "2015-01-02T04:36:55Z")
> [@FeAudrey](#): > > Another vote here for Jim Morrison. > > “property damage” rules out most women, and “self destruction”, as noted by previous posters, excludes Keith Richards and also Jerry Lee Lewis. > > … Keith Richards was a serious heroin addict back in the 70s and frequently looked worse than many corpses of junkies. Anyone who remembers Rolling Stone’s Keith Richards had Keith number one in their not yet invented dead pools. I’m still stunned he didn’t od during the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677/40 "2015-01-02T04:53:20Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Moonie is definitely the poster boy for Rock ‘n’ Roll excess, but Harry Nilsson was no slouch either. [Here they are enjoying a night on the town](http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lny6uz0cdY1qh96ylo1_500.jpg). Good Lord. Who is that on the far right? His head looks _huge_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-best-epitomized-the-out-of-control-lifestyle-of-rock-and-roll/708677.md?page=3)