5 Legendary Musicians Who Had the Perfect Life But Also Had a Shady Past
Musicians always give off an air of mystery and appeal, and during their amazing journey, their public lives are closely watched. There is often a curtain of falsehood hiding behind prosperity and popularity, and when it falls, their vulnerabilities are bared to the public. The renowned musicians listed below achieved incredible success but at the expense of their own lives.
1. Frank Sinatra
During his solo career, Frank Sinatra recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles, and more than 150 million records were sold worldwide. However, the iconic musician suffered from violent outbursts throughout his personal life. As per The Telegraph , he ascribed his violent and aggressive outbursts to his “Sicilian temper”. Barbra, his first wife, described Frank as having “a Jekyll and Hyde personality,” while actress Mia Farrow described him as a “24-Carat manic depressive.” Sinatra is known to have thrown a pitcher of water at jazz drummer Buddy Rich following a wild argument during one of his performance. In another harrowing incident, the Fly Me to the Moon hitmaker hated journalist Lee Mortimer of the New York Mirror. In 1948, after the two got into an argument at Ciro’s Nightclub, Sinatra struck him; the incident was described as a “sock on the jaw” by Modern Television & Radio in December 1948, however, Sinatra brushed it off as “a little fracas”. After appearing in court, Sinatra agreed to a confidential settlement to drop Mortimer’s claims of assault and battery against him. His wife Barbra had detailed another violent altercation in her memoir, Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank Sinatra : “He came over and he had been drinking quite a lot. It must have been about 4 a.m. He picked up the clock and I think he wanted to hit me with it. He threw it against the front door and it broke into a thousand pieces.”
2. Elvis Presley
He is credited with selling over one billion records worldwide, however, the ‘King of Rock n Roll’ – Elvis Presley had a colorful life when it came to his dating criteria. As per The Guardian , Presley preferred underage women with tiny feet. As per Grunge , It’s unclear exactly what transpired behind closed doors when Priscilla, the future wife, and Elvis, 24, first met when she was just 14. The fact that he stopped being interested in Pricilla after their daughter Lisa Marie was born and started seeing Reeca Smith, a 14-year-old, is a matter of no dispute. As per The Mirror , author Alanna Nash disclosed in a biography on Elvis Presley’s romantic relationships that Lamar Fike, a former member of the Entourage had revealed: “Elvis was fascinated with the idea of teenage girls, which scared the crap out of all of us.”
3. John Lennon
John Lennon is known to be the vocal peace ambassador throughout his life. However, the prestigious musician had a hideous side, in a Playboy interview from 1980 the Imagine hitmaker had claimed that he occasionally struck the women in his life. As per The Telegraph , he shared a strained relationship with his first son Julian, his son was quoted saying: “Dad was a hypocrite. He could talk about peace and love to the world but he could never show it to his wife and son”. Lennon had essentially erased the child from his memory, leaving Julian’s mother Cynthia with exactly the amount needed for clothes and school. As per Vice , he left narcotics lying around the house and cheated on his wife throughout their marriage. When he inebriatedly revealed to Cynthia his liaison with Japanese artist Yoko Ono, things reached a breaking point. At the end of 1968, Lennon’s divorce was finalized, shortly after Ono made her pregnancy public.
4. Michael Jackson
The ‘King of Pop’ is credited with selling over 500 million records worldwide, however, his journey has been mired with controversies. Numerous allegations of child abuse dating back to 1993 have plagued his illustrious career. Jackson’s lawyers successfully contended at the time of the first claims that he was the victim of an extortion attempt; nevertheless, Jackson was never charged and the case was resolved for an estimated $23 million. Following the 2003 publication of the documentary Living With Michael Jackson , which revealed that Jackson was sharing his bed with youngsters at his home, which he named Neverland— a reference to Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up— further accusations surfaced. Jackson was found not guilty after these claims were heard in court. He was plagued by legal woes until his untimely death in 2009. As per The Guardian , with the publication of Leaving Neverland , which included unique testimony from two individuals who claimed to have been sexually abused by Jackson, new charges came under public scrutiny in 2019.
5. Johnny Cash
In his glorious fifty-year career Johnny Cash sold over 50 million records worldwide, however, the Riders in the Sky hitmaker proved to be a terrible husband. The devastating tell-all memoir I Walked the Line by Vivian Cash described how she loved her husband despite his drug use and extramarital romance with June Carter Cash. As per Esquire , biographer Robert Hilburn described Cash’s life as tragic: “His personal life was darker, darker, darker than you ever imagined. We all knew John took drugs. Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, there was almost something romantic about drugs, Keith Richards taking drugs and stuff. But looking at Cash’s life, all the people he hurt, how much he hurt himself, the guilt he had over that, it’s just staggering how much guilt and suffering he went through in his life.” The author also alleged that the legendary singer cheated on both his wives with several women.