The old adage is that rock ‘n’ roll goes hand in hand with drugs, drinking, and partying like peas go with carrots.
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But more and more, those lavish, reckless lifestyles seem to be something of the past for many, including some of the biggest names in music. The old ways are being left behind for a new understanding of addiction and mental health.
And that’s a good thing. Some of the artists who have made these choices have been vocal about them, from Eminem and Ed Sheeran to Paul McCartney and P!nk.
Below, we’ve highlighted 12 songwriters and performers and their stories of sobriety.
1. Paul McCartney
A few years ago, McCartney told the British GQ about his struggles with alcohol while with the Beatles, saying, “In truth, I just took to booze. There wasn’t much time to have mental health issues, it was just, f*** it, it’s boozing or sleeping. But I’m sure it did, as they were very depressing times.” But he’s since put down the alcohol.
2. Macklemore
The Seattle rapper has talked a lot about addiction and becoming sober, including going into detail recently about a relapse he had during the pandemic when his recovery meetings and other aspects of his day-to-day life shifted dramatically. Today, the “Thrift Shop” rapper is sober again.
3. Eminem
There was a time in the early 2000s when Eminem almost died from an overdose. He got sober in 2008 and began working on a new album in 2009. At the time, with clarity, he talked about the fun he had making music again. He said, “I remember when I first got sober and all the shit was out of my system, I remember just being, like, really happy and everything was fucking new to me again. It was the first album and the first time that I had fun recording in a long time.”
4. Jason Isbell
It got so bad for roots rocker Jason Isbell that his wife, manager, and musician Ryan Adams initiated an intervention for his health and safety. He checked into a rehab program in Nashville. Since then, he’s been open about drug and alcohol use while with the band Drive-By Truckers. Isbell’s 2013 LP, Southeastern, highlights his sobriety.
5. Ed Sheeran
In 2015, the “Shape of You” songwriter said he dealt with eating disorders and alcohol abuse. “I have a very addictive personality,” Sheeran said. “I would stay up and drink all night. The buses would park underneath arenas and I’d sleep on the bus all day and then wake up and then come out, do the show, drink, and get back on the bus. I didn’t see sunlight for maybe four months.” Thankfully, Sheeran’s wife, Cherry Seaborn, helped. He said, “She exercises a lot, so I went and started going on runs with her. She doesn’t drink that much, so I wasn’t drinking. I think that all changed things.”
6. Elton John
Speaking of Sheeran, it was talking with Elton John, who also has a bad addictive personality, that also helped. Sheeran said, “[Elton] would be like, ‘I would just go on an ice cream binge and eat four fucking desserts until I threw it up,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve done that before.’ Or his martini binges, where he sees how many martinis he can drink. And I’m like, ‘I’ve done that before, too.’” Elton spoke to Variety in the outlet’s recovery issue about going sober and playing the first show without the help of drugs. “I was terrified,” he said. He’s been sober now for over 20 years.
7. P!nk
“I have a problem with my vices,” said the pop star, I’ve kicked the drugs, but every now and then I have to go out and get completely wasted on alcohol. For me, it’s about losing control. I’m such a control freak it’s very hard for me to lose my inhibitions without something chemical inside me. How do you really have fun if there isn’t a little drink in you? I don’t actually know.” But realizing she had what could be an issue, P!nk checked herself into a clinic. She’s even released a song about being sober.
8. Katy Perry
In a new interview, Katy Perry has admitted to getting sober. She also has a new line of non-alcohol drinks. “I’ve been sober for five weeks today… I’ve been doing a pact with my partner [fiancé Orlando Bloom] and I want to quit,” said Perry. Whether the pact will last forever is yet to be seen, but it’s a start!
9. Mike McCready
The grunge era in Seattle is over-saturated with sad stories. The city lost many artists to drugs and drinking, from Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood to Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain to Alice in Chains Layne Staley. Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, seeing he was in danger of drugs taking over his life, checked himself into rehab and has been sober ever since. His rehab also led to him founding the side project, Mad Season. He was also recently honored for his recovery work in Seattle.
10. Anthony Kiedis
Anthony Kiedis is the life of the party no matter what’s in his system and thankfully the artist has been sober now for several decades. But when that was not the case, he talked about there being a “dark energy” in the band. “When you’re following that lifestyle, instead of a magical energy, there’s a very discernible dark energy,” said the Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman. “But I didn’t realize it was dangerous.”
11. Keith Urban
The country star says he almost lost it all before getting sober. The artist, who relapsed just after getting married in 2006, told The New York Post he’s grateful that alcoholism didn’t ruin his music career. Said Urban, “I had to find a way to be different in this world… I’m glad it didn’t change anything about my music. I wrote plenty of hit songs while drunk. I wrote plenty sober. I feel lucky it hasn’t defined my creativity.”
12. K.Flay
On March 20, the Grammy-nominated rapper, songwriter, and producer K.Flay tweeted about her sobriety, saying, “the paparazzi thought they caught me slipping with this @LiquidDeath but i’m actually 3 years no alcohol today and this is water.” .
(Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images
