Classic rock conspiracy theories have come to light on many occasions through the years, both through word of mouth in the 20th century and on many internet forums in the 21st century. Most of those theories, of course, are absolute nonsense. Some, though, have a bit of truth to them. Let’s look at a handful of classic rock conspiracy theories that ended up being true in the end.
Angus Young of AC/DC’s Amp Caught on Fire During a Recording (and Fans Could Hear It)
If you’re a diehard AC/DC fan, you’ve got a copy of Let There Be Rock from 1977 in your collection. The title track is one of the most popular songs from that very album. And those with a trained ear might have picked up that there is something going on with the tone of Angus Young’s guitar. Many theorized that the guitar god’s axe actually caught on fire during recording.
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That actually kind of happened; though, it was Young’s amp, not his guitar, that almost went up in flames. By the time he got to that killer solo in “Let There Be Rock”, his amp began to smoke up the studio, and the channels began to overheat because of the volume. Young apparently continued to play the solo until the end. We don’t know what happened after the tape cut, but we know nobody died, so…
Black Sabbath Dabbled With the Occult
Black Sabbath was surrounded by rumors in their early years that asserted a connection to the occult, as if the name wasn’t obvious enough. While nobody in the band was doing human sacrifices, they did get involved with the occult to some degree ahead of recording their famous self-titled song.
According to Geezer Butler, he was given a book about the occult that he kept in his room. One night, he woke to see a cloaked, demon-like figure by his bed, crooked finger pointed directly at him. Instead of calling for a priest, Butler wrote “Black Sabbath” about the experience, tossed out the book, and the rest is history. Butler would later dispel any “Satanist” accusations.
Keith Richards Snorted His Father’s Ashes
I’ve heard this one through the years, and The Rolling Stones’ guitarist confirmed this entry on our list of classic rock conspiracy theories that are actually true. Though, we can only hang on to the words of Keith Richards for this one, so take this with a grain of salt.
Rumors once spread that the ever-impulsive Stones guitarist once snorted his own father’s ashes in lieu of c*caine. According to Richards, that actually did happen. And, no, he didn’t get high off of it. Richards would go on to bounce back and forth on this story, saying there is “no denying, no admitting” that he actually snorted Pop Pop’s remains.
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