The 3 Craziest Music Myths That Have Since Been Debunked

There are a lot of mysterious and downright crazy myths surrounding the music world. For example, the hoopla that occurred when David Bowie allegedly did a Nazi salute at the train station (a myth long since debunked). Here are three more of the wildest music myths that have been proven false.

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Courtney Love Killed Kurt Cobain

This is a tragic myth that started after Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, perpetuated by a book published four years later titled Who Killed Kurt Cobain? Written in poor taste and essentially based on assumption and suspicion, Ian Halperin’s book posits that Courtney Love may have caused Cobain to overdose on heroin before he shot himself.

Officially, this myth has been debunked by the investigations into Cobain’s death, which was ruled a suicide. However, looking through Reddit threads, it’s clear that people still assume Courtney Love had something to do with her husband’s death. No matter your opinion of Courtney Love, the comments are vile, the claims unfounded, and the implication is cruel.

“Ringo Wasn’t Even the Best Drummer In the Beatles”

There’s a quote that floats around sometimes that’s attributed to John Lennon. The myth claims that he said, “Ringo wasn’t the best drummer in the world […] Let’s face it, he wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles.” While Lennon had a notoriously caustic sense of humor, Beatles fans typically agree that this is a step too far.

And they would be right, if John Lennon actually said those words. “Ringo wasn’t even the best drummer in the Beatles” was allegedly a joke told by British comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983. However, it has also been attributed to an earlier BBC comedy from 1981 called Radio Active.

The Story Behind “In the Air Tonight”

The myth behind Phil Collins’ signature song “In the Air Tonight” is that he wrote it after witnessing a drowning. Allegedly, a young boy was drowning in a lake while Collins and others looked on, unable to help. A tragic story, but is it true?

Collins himself has stated that he doesn’t know what the song is actually about. “When I was writing this I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it’s obviously in anger. It’s the angry side, or the bitter side of a separation,” he said, according to the BBC. This myth has thoroughly been debunked.

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