Who are your picks for the three biggest assholes in rock music?

[Archae]

They can be alive or dead.

My three:

1. Axl Rose.
'Nuff said.

2. Jim Morrison.
He was an asshole sober, and got worse when drunk and/or stoned. (Which was often.)

3. John Lennon.
Now wait a minute! Get some booze into John Lennon and he'd start to snarl.
He was even thrown out of a Smothers Brothers concert while drunk.

[Yeshuah Ben Joseph]

1. Ted Nugent definitely has to be on the list.

I'd also agree that Axl Rose belongs there. And Sammy Hagar.

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. Grew up in Nugent's area, saw him several times play to an audience...

.
.
.
.
...of no more than 200 people or so in venues like high
school auditoriums (in between his Amboy Dukes and
Gonzo fames) and was - and still am - fucking AMAZED
at his abilities as a guitarist and a performer.
.
.
.
.
.
.
But he could be all THREE of the biggest assholes in rock
music rolled into one.
.
.
.

[Orrex]

16. Nugent could fill the top three all by himself

[undeterred]

32. Ted Nugent indeed.

[pa28]

2. Number 3.

Read "The Lives of John Lennon". It portrayed him as a serial rapist whose ego became so inflated from adulation and a constant flow of drugs that he actually began to believe he was god.

If any of that is to be believed he achieved a very high state of assholedom.

[tigereye]

30. yeah, but seriously, once he got it together, he improved a lot

and for god's sake, the man wrote amazing music, much better than many of the guys noted in this thread...

[jkirch]

67. That book is not terribly accurate. nt

[The Midway Rebel]

4. My ex bass player, Pete.

That guy was an egotistical jerk and only marginally talented.

Dick Clark.

Dick Clark.

[Richard Steele]

5. Vince Neil has gotta be somewhere in the top 10. nm

[chillspike]

60. agreed

[old mark]

6. Eric Clapton. He is known for giving anti-black and anti immigrant raging rants

(in Britain) and later saying he doesent remember saying anything like that - he must have been drunk or misquoted. Then says the same thing a few weeks later. Since his entire career is based on black music, I feel safe saying Fuck You, Eric Clapton.

Oh, and add David Crosby for being a self righteous asshole windbag egotistical jerk.

mark

[SoxFan]

52. Good call

And he almost always gets a free pass, at least on this side of the pond.

People shit all over Bono and Bob Geldof for being windbags, but at least they have good hearts. Clapton's just a jerk.

[Quantess]

7. Ted Nugent and Gene Simmons.

I'll let you know when I think of #3

[Demoiselle]

26. My choices exactly. And I can't think of a third either.

[tigereye]

31. yeah, Gene SImmons - that's a good one, I totally agree

[jobycom]

8. Gary Glitter, Phil Specter, and Robert Plant.

But Robert Plant is way talented, so at least there is that for him.

[we can do it]

15. why robert plant?

just curious

[NoGOPZone]

19. plant makes my cut for all the lyrics he stole. nt

[jobycom]

40. Check out "Stairway to Gilligan" one day.

You've probably heard it, it's the lyrics to the Gilligan's Island theme played to Stairway to Heaven. It was a joke record that started getting some airplay, and just as it started to actually promise a little money for the band who did it, Led Zepplin came down like a ton of legal bricks on their head, claiming copyright infringement or whatever the proper legal term was. The little band figured it could win the case, but it would have been so expensive to take on one of the world's most successful bands that they decided not to, and pulled the record.

That's not the asshole part. Twenty years or so later, Robert Plant is doing an interview and he's asked his favorite cover of a Zepplin tune. You guessed it, he chose the song that he personally prevented from making the creators any money.

That's one of them. Someone below posted how they steal music and then charge others for the rights. Here's a link:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18500_the-5-most-famous-musicians-who-are-thieving-bastards.html

Nowhere near on the level of Gary Glitter or Phil Specter, but still.

[Art_from_Ark]

57. I heard a joke song set to the music of "Stairway to Heaven" once

on Dr. Demento: "She's Buying at 7-11".

[Bluzmann57]

34. I love Zepplin

But Plant and co. never once gave credit (or money) to the Blues pioneers who wrote some of their early songs. So for that reason and that reason alone, he is an asshole. I know an artist who no longer performs, "When the Levee Breaks" simply because she is tired of paying royalties to Plant and co. every time she performs the song, even though Memphis Minnie wrote it.

[PufPuf23]

44. The riffs from Stairway to Heaven were ripped off from

Spirit and Randy California.

from wiki:

It has been said that Jimmy Page plagiarized Randy's guitar part from "Taurus" on the first Spirit album, when he wrote Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" although this is denied by Page. However, Led Zeppelin was the opening act on the road for Spirit in 1968 which has further fueled this controversy. In 1996, in the liner notes for the reissue of Spirit's first album, Randy California stated "people always ask me why 'Stairway to Heaven' sounds exactly like 'Taurus,' which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played 'Fresh Garbage' in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour".<4> Since "Fresh Garbage" is a song from the same album that includes the song "Taurus", this only adds to the controversy that Led Zeppelin was at least aware of the song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_California

[lovemydog]

9. Ike Turner,

David Lee Roth and anyone who dated Pamela Anderson

[mwb970]

10. Nugent and Simmons are the absolute worst.

I can't think of a third one that I dislike as much as these two jerks.

[qb]

11. Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, & Kirk Hammett

Metallica's war against fans in the digital media debate turned me way off.

[Zavulon]

64. +1. And worse yet, they admitted that they used to

tape each other's records and records of friends, but when someone does it to them, it's unacceptable. I wouldn't pay 25 cents for their entire fucking catalogue.

[Zavulon]

65. Delete

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. Axl Rose was the first that came to my mind. Then Slash. Then probably Gene Simmons.

[JVS]

37. What did Slash do?

[Rabrrrrrr]

54. It's his asshole persona of "I'm the guy with the big hair and the dumb hat and cliche guitar poses"

pisses me off.

As I noted below, though, he seems like an actual decent guy in regular life - I just so hate the cliche metal-rock bullshit, and have hated it since the first moment that the shitty band first arrived in national attention.

He's always bugged me. And I'm sure part of it is also that GNR got so much fucking attention, to the detriment of other, far better bands.

[driver8]

48. I used to work at a studio that Guns n' Roses used to record at.

I got to chat with Slash quite a bit during the three weeks he was working at our studio (on his solo album).

I can honestly say that Slash is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He was always nice to everyone, never pulled the "rock star shit", and would talk to anyone about anything. The last day he was there I held out my hand to shake his and he hugged me and said, "I'm going to miss you guys!"

[Rabrrrrrr]

53. He does seem like an actual nice guy - but plays guitar and poses like such an asshole.

Really bugs me.

I'm not surprised to hear you say he was a good guy - when I've seen him in interviews, he seemed actually pretty cool, especially when he took that goddamn hat and sunglasses off.

[peekaloo]

63. Cut Slash some slack.

the hair and hat were a disguise so that when he was offstage no one would associate him with that asshole Axl Rose. ;-)

[Paladin]

13. Nugent, Nugent, and Nugent.

A 3rd-rate guitar player with a 10th-rate mind.

Maybe I should cut him some slack on the guitar-playing---it couldn't have been easy, since he needs his knuckles to remain upright........

[Cleanelec]

14. Billy Idol....according to an ex who worked with him

She managed a large venue where major concerts were held. She interacted with some of music's biggest names.

She said, when it came to being a total dickhead, Billy Idol won hands down. She told me he was hated by everyone who came in contact with him.

On a side note. Absolute nicest guys she ever dealt with? The guys from ZZ Top. Nice, down to Earth, and real gentlemen towards her.

[A HERETIC I AM]

20. I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Billy Gibbons once....

and he simply could not have been nicer or more gracious.

Never met the other two of ZZ Top but if they are anything like Mr. Gibbons, then you are right.

BTW, welcome to DU.

[WillParkinson]

62. I served dinner to ZZ Top

And I agree with your assessment. They were very polite, respectful and understanding.

[Bennyboy]

17. John Bonham, Ray Davies, Axl Rose, DL Roth, Paul Rogers, Steve Miller

Miller, Steve Perry....all come to mind.

Bonham: big fight at the Oakland Col with Bill Graham and Jim Matsorkis and others. In fact this whole chapter in the Bill Graham book paints Led Zeppelin as not only the biggest assholes in rock history but up there with the all timers.

Ray Davies. Asshole. Onstage fights, uneven performances, petty feuds etc.

Axl. Once chased me and photog friend of mine thru that crowd at Cal Expo for taking his photo. NEWS TO AXL: I never have sold one shot of you, ever. I still sell Jerry all day long though, you fuck.

DL Roth: His rant about money "They (the Clash)are getting a million we want a million too" when he found out they were not the highest paid act on the bill at the US fest in 83 and his refusal to take the stage unless paid the same amount will always remain his signature jack off move. Oh that and he actually believed he had some talent and was bigger than Van Halen. And the ASS PANTS.

Paul Rogers; Saw him in Sac once and he had someone tie his shoes onstage. FUCK YOU, tie your own fucking shoes.

Steve Miller. He just sucks. And is so arrogant about it.

Steve Perry: Ruined a great band, Journey. Once got in an altercation with him at a Record Factory because I was selling photos at a public appearance,signing. NEWS TO STEVE: Never sold one photo of you ever, and that day I sold more Jerry's than I sold anything else.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

23. Totally agree on Bonham and the Bill Graham fracas

It was none of his fucking business. He threw himself into that because he was a drunken thug. Fuck him then, now, and forever.

[HughBeaumont]

41. All that alcohol aged him badly.

29-30 in this photo, I believe.

And from the stories I've read about him, he seemed like he was a law unto himself.

[driver8]

49. I was amazed that he was only 32 when he died.

He looked much older.

[ChoralScholar]

69. I hate to hear that about Steve Perry

I knew he was self-absorbed... but didn't know he was an asshole.

[Bennyboy]

72. Seriously a total fuck head,....

He was yelling at me, saying that I was the reason that he did not make any money. he tried to sue the photog and pull a bunch of legal crap on him. In the end we had to send Journey' management the negatives (Which we sent copy negatives...ha ha ha)with a note explaining that while we had a number of incredible live shots of Journey we had never sold a one of them but at that event I sold five Jerrys.

I hate him for ruining what was once a ferocious band. listen to their first album. There is song called "Topaz" this is IT totally. Steve Perry kept them away from that.

[mix]

18. Phil Spector, Moz, Johnny Ramone nt

[Yeshuah Ben Joseph]

21. I'll give Johnny Ramone credit for one thing though.

He never let his right wing beliefs ruin the music. I didn't even realize he WAS a Repuke until the "God bless Bush" spew in 2002 when the Ramones were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Compare him to someone like Nugent, for example.... I don't see Ted ever playing guitar on a song called "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg".

[Amerigo Vespucci]

22. Kip Winger (cockroach in human form), Vince Neil, Tommy Lee

Winger gets the #1 spot for "Seventeen," because every mom & dad's dream is to have a scumbag "rock star" with a shitty Don Johnson Miami Vice beard licking his greasy lips over their underage daughter.

2). Vince Neil - Self-explanatory.

3). Tommy Lee - Self-explanatory too, but in that homemade porn with Pamela Lee, he spends just as much time marveling over his own unit as he does laying his paws on her. A fucking moron, a guy who never progressed mentally past age 10.

[hippywife]

24. I don't know.

I've never met any of them or gotten to know them personally. :shrug:

[Initech]

25. Axl Rose, Scott Stapp, and Ted Nugent

[XemaSab]

70. Good call on Scott Stapp

n/t

[A-Schwarzenegger]

27. Patience & Prudence.

Oo, they make me sooo mad! They just ran
roughshot over their fans friends and asociates. Oh!
Every time I hear "Got Along Without You
Before I Met You, Gonna Get Along Without
You Now" I see stars and red things. Terriblele!

[A-Schwarzenegger]

28. Oh and the third is Tiny Tim.

Known as a giggling milqutoast ukelelelist in public,
behind the scenes he was ruthless Machaievelilan.
He started a shoplifting gang made up of seniors that
he got hooked on bennies-laced coffeecake. He hired Pellegrino
to find out about Johnny Carson's check-kiting scheme and used
that info to get on his show and marry Susy, one of the Gugenheim
heirs who he had got pregnant by deliberately using a defective rubber.
Awful, awful, awful.

[MorningGlow]

29. I've heard Robert Palmer was a complete dick

Which makes me sad. I was a fan. :(

[Mike 03]

33. Fantastic question

Gene Simmons

Lou Reed

[doc03]

35. Ted Nugent, Ted Nugent and Ted Nugent n/t

[doc03]

36. Delete duplicate post

[JVS]

38. Onstage assholes or offstage assholes?

Because even though I don't like KISS and even though I think of Gene Simmons as one of the most unpleasant douchebags any time he opens his mouth on a talk or reality show, it seems that he performed his gigs in a professional manner and actually had a work ethic about his showmanship.

Axl Rose on the other hand was notorious for failing to perform for his paying audiences.

[unpossibles]

39. Nugent, Nugent, and Nugent

I could probably come up with more if I tried. Axl Rose is a good candidate.

edit:
and Gene Simmons

[HughBeaumont]

42. G G Allin, Lou Reed, Asshole Rose.

[mitchum]

43. Lou Reed, Phil Spector, Jerry Lee Lewis...

but they are all still geniuses

[joeybee12]

45. Ted Nugent, Phil Spector and Ike Turner...n/t

[Initech]

46. I'm surprised no one's said Joe Jackson yet.

[jobycom]

47. Maybe Jackson Browne, maybe not Jackson Browne.

One version of Jackson Browne has him a highly egocentric artiste who cheated so routinely that his first wife committed suicide. After his second wife left him he dated Daryl Hannah, who filed a domestic abuse charge against him, before dropping it later and refuting her charges just so he'd leave her alone. At one point he was rumored to be the subject of "You're so Vain," and of "Poetry Man," by Phoebe Snow, who had been his lover, and who claimed the song was written about a married man she had been having an affair with--right about the time Browne's wife killed herself. Phoebe Snow's later comments were that the subject of the song was a bad man.

The other version of Jackson Browne is that he's a beautiful, tortured artist and an altruistic saint who has lived through Hell because he keeps falling for violent or obsessively depressed women who make false accusations against him. Hannah never was able to prove he beat her and then retracted the charges, there's no proof his wife killed himself over infidelity, and although I swear I remember Casey Kasem once saying that Phoebe Snow admitted "Poetry Man" was about Browne, there doesn't seem to be any verification of that.

So, who knows? You can never really know anyone, you know? Especially from newspaper articles and press releases.

[CBGLuthier]

50. Pretty much all of them. It comes with the job.

[Frank Cannon]

55. Not necessarily. By all accounts, Ronnie James Dio was a really nice guy.

But then, he's no longer with us.

[proteus_lives]

51. Axl Rose is from my town.

His assholeness is still legend around here.

[lunamagica]

56. Wow, I'm surprised to see Lennon on the list (I agree, btw)

He was the first I thought of, but since his untimely and horrific murder, he has been canonized and turned into a martyr-saint who was always right about everything and only cared about peace and love; and didn't care about money or possessions. It doesn't matter that his actions and life didn't mirror this words; the myth stands and is widely believed, esp on this site.

I would also include Ted Nugget

And Axel Rose

[RandomThoughts]

58. Most people don't care about money.

They care about some things money can provide, within a modest fashion. The desire for more and more, is about money, the understanding as money as a tool to achieve things needed in a flawed system is something else.

If he did not care about money, why didn't he give all his away? He did not care about money because he had what he needed with the money he had.

I think people that need basic things that can let them live with the ideas he also had, love, stress free, time to think and feel, and ways to provide for other people, and also to be able to pursue things he enjoyed, was important to him, as it is to most people, most people do not think money is most important.

[chillspike]

59. I'd put

1. Ted Nugent

2. David Lee Roth

3. Gene Simmons

[chillspike]

61. Another is: Kid Rock

[Zavulon]

66. Re: "'Nuff said."

I don't know anything about Rose. I don't doubt you, but would you or anyone else tell me why his inclusion on people's lists goes without saying?

[Shell Beau]

77. I don't know of his assholish behaviors offstage, but he has been

a no-show far too many times. That reason alone would be enough.

[KamaAina]

68. Ringo Starr

he and his thugs entourage got in a fight with New Orleans piano legend James Booker, who lost an eye.

To his dying day, Booker wore an eyepatch shaped like a star, so everyone would remember who did it.

[Enthusiast]

71. Ted Nugent.........nt

[HughBeaumont]

73. Not rock, but according to the people at his museum . .

. . . Liberace was a mean drunk who often had to wholeheartedly apologize the next day to people since he would never remember what was said or done.

[UTUSN]

74. W/o knowing abt this thread, was going to ask whether Elton is on our shit list n/t

[mvd]

75. Courtney Love has got to be mentioned too, even though she used..

to be very good IMO.

[rocktivity]

76. Gee, this didn't take long at all!

Lars Anderson, Drummer, Metallica. Declared war on Napster after building the band by encouraging bootlegging. Followed up with a lousy black album.

Axl Rose, Singer, Guns N Roses. After nearly twenty years, still can't figure out how to get to a gig on time, and still blames everyone else. He should be the poster boy for abusive relationships.

Sharon Osbourne, Manager, Ozzy Osbourne. Shakes down opening acts and pockets the money instead of investing it in tour expenses. Re-recorded an Ozzy album to get out of paying royalties to the original rhythmn section. Cut power to an Iron Maiden set because they criticized reality TV. And The Osbournes reality TV show--why not drop the pretense and just put your husband on a leash?


Honorable Mention:
Dave Mustaine, Singer and Guitarist, Megadeth. After a career-ending arm injury, made a miracle recovery when he got a new guitar endorsement.

Ted Nugent, Singer and Guitarist. Child-molesting right wingnut, enough said.

Phil Spector, Producer: Thank goodness he's finally behind bars where he belongs.


:headbang:
rocktivity

[Shell Beau]

78. I bet Sharon is part of the reason why Ozzie is still alive.

[rocktivity]

79. You're right, of course.

As long as Ozzy's alive, she's got a claim to fame.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Shell Beau]

80. Not anymore. She's made her own name. Off of his of course, but

I truly feel like they love one another. And damn, if she could put up with him....

[rocktivity]

84. CORRECTION: That should be Lars Ulrich, of course

Lars Anderson is a great advertising art director who'd I'd been thinking about.

:blush:
rocktivity

[midnight armadillo]

87. LOL Dave Mustaine

There's a whole Wikipedia article devoted to his feuds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Mustaine_feuds_and_rivalries

[Taverner]

81. (1) Axl Rose, (2) Billy Joel, (3) Lennon during Lost Weekend, (4) Lars Ulrich

[Taverner]

82. Oh and Courtney Love somewhere in there!

[TheMightyFavog]

83. I've heard stories about David Cassidy being quite the asshat.

Is there truth to this?

[mokawanis]

85. Lars Ulrich, Ted Nugent, Graham Nash.

Lars U. for his whining about napster and for generally acting like an asshole whenever he speaks.
Nugent because he's a reactionary fascist idiot.
Nash because he's a mediocre talent who won't shut the fuck up about the mediocre music he recorded 100 yrs ago.

[deutsey]

86. Yeah, I think Lennon pretty much admitted he could be a total asshole

I think he also said that that you had to be a real bastard to achieve the level of success the Beatles had.