No one is born a rock star. While some may have the guts, charisma, and musical chops from the get-go, most of the world’s most well-known rock musicians had humble beginnings. And many of them had day jobs before their music careers took off. Let’s look at just a handful of famous rock stars who had some pretty weird jobs before they became famous.
Serj Tankian
When one thinks of Serj Tankian, one thinks of his ultra-unique singing style and the powerful nu-metal songs that he produced with System Of A Down. One definitely would not think of a software company executive.
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And yet, that’s precisely what Tankian was before SOAD took off. In his early 20s, he managed to set up his own software company, where he took on the “business and marketing” side of the job. According to Tankian, he wasn’t exactly passionate about it, which is likely why he’s known as a rock star today. “I couldn’t think of anything else to do,” he said.
Ozzy Osbourne
It’s not surprising that Ozzy Osbourne had a pretty weird job before he became a famous rock star. However, the nature of that job was brutal, to say the least. Osbourne once worked in an abattoir when he was young.
For the unaware, an abattoir is a farm facility or slaughterhouse, and Ozzy was responsible for doing the slaughtering. Osbourne wasn’t particularly passionate about it, but said that he took on the job because it paid well and he could go home earlier than he would in an office job.
Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart famously worked at a cemetery when he was a kid. There were rumors floating around for a while that he was a professional gravedigger, but the truth isn’t that far off. According to the singer, he was able to earn a modest amount of money by “measuring out plots and marking them off with string.” However, he wasn’t a fan of physical work and moved on to music.
Moby
Can you imagine Moby working as a golf caddy? Me neither. However, he makes it our list of rock stars with weird jobs because that was exactly what he did. Moby’s first job involved being a golf caddy, which he took on so he could save money and start collecting records from his favorite musician, David Bowie. He was a small guy at 13 years old, which made the job difficult, and he was apparently “terrible” at it, per Moby’s own comments.
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