Who doesn’t love a good ol’ bizarre myth or rumor from the rock music world? Plenty of conspiracy theories have been born through the years, but fortunately, most of them are not rooted in reality. Let’s take a look at some of the weirdest rock music myths that we just can’t get over!
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1. The Paul McCartney Doppelganger
The “Paul is dead” rumor has been around since before the days of the internet. And quite a few people still believe that this myth is true. The rumor goes that back in the 1960s, Paul McCartney of The Beatles died in a car crash. Fearful of losing the band’s traction to international stardom, the Fab Three decided to replace McCartney with a lookalike and attempted to pass him off as the real deal.
Obviously, this rumor is completely false. It started after a university student in America wrote a paper about the myth, and radio stations and fans alike started to add more fuel to the fire by picking apart alleged clues in The Beatles’ music and album art.
2. Jimi Hendrix’s Acid Bandana
It’s no secret that guitar god Jimi Hendrix (and basically every other rock musician from his time) enjoyed doing acid. However, one long-standing rumor asserts that Hendrix would keep squares of LSD tucked in his signature headband so he could absorb the drug through his skin as he sweat through performances. This has never really been proven, but it wouldn’t be super surprising if it were true.
3. Robert Johnson’s Devil Pact
This supernatural rumor is the oldest one on our list. Robert Johnson was a blues musician who recorded a few groundbreaking songs back in the early 20th century. His singing style and guitar works are still revered today. However, the blues master was also the subject of a rumor that he had actually sold his soul to the devil for musical talent.
The legend goes that the King of Mississippi Blues got his skills from Satan himself, which resulted in his very short life and very mysterious death. However, Johnson’s short-lived success was the result of pure talent and hard work. And his death has since been linked to congenital syphilis.
4. Gene Simmons’ Tongue Transplant
Rock music myths come and go, but this weird one about KISS’ famous member Gene Simmons will probably never really go away. The story goes that Simmons, who made a career for himself by having an unusually long tongue that he would wag around on stage, actually opted to have an experimental surgery. That surgery would involve grafting a cow’s tongue onto his own.
The rumor is totally fake and not really physically possible. Plus, if you really look at it (at your discretion), Simmons’ tongue looks absolutely nothing like a cow’s tongue.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation
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