CW: domestic violence
Underage sex workers. Murder accusations. Rampant drug use. The '70s were a wild time,
but how far did these stars take the rock 'n' roll lifestyle?
Jackson Browne reached the height of his fame in the mid 1970s and has been nominated for
seven Grammys. His 1972 self-titled debut album made it to No. 53 on the Billboard
top 200. The song "Doctor, My Eyes" became an unexpected hit and topped out at No. 8 on the
singles charts. Browne had four more albums released through the rest of the decade,
and while he's never stopped recording, he has never matched that prolific output.
"I mean, being alone and playing music is probably about the best time I can have.
Or with other people playing music, but that's, you know, that's my life."
While he had success with his guitar, he found trouble in love and had serious
accusations leveled against him by at least one former partner.
Following his split from Hollywood actor Daryl Hannah in 1992, Browne was hit with allegations
that he had been abusive toward her. The accusations followed Browne for years,
but the artist eventually prevailed in a defamation suit in 2003,
putting to rest the long-standing rumors. A statement read from Browne following the suit:
"I never assaulted Daryl Hannah, and this fact was confirmed by
the investigation conducted at the time by the Santa Monica Police Department."
As a result, both a TV movie released by 20th Century Fox and a VH1 documentary
were re-edited to remove scenes which had alluded to the abuse.
Though The Allman Brothers struggled to chart in their first couple of years,
the band had a breakout success with "At Fillmore East," a double live album released in 1971,
turning them from underground rockers to influential stars. Rounding out the group
after the pair of siblings Gregg and Duane Allman were bass guitarist Berry Oakley,
percussionists Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson, and guitarist Dickey Betts.
The rock icons went on to release 12 studio albums and even more live albums. As with
most musicians in the 1970s, members of the group were heavily involved in drug use,
but that's not what earns Betts a spot on this list. Instead,
it's his arrest for trespassing and indecent acts while at a strip club in Sarasota, Florida.
As a report stated in the Tampa Bay Times, Betts was accused of "acting obscenely" at the club.
Though as a legendary rocker you might think this incident occurred while on tour in the 1970s,
it instead occurred in 1997, when Betts was 53 years old. According to the report,
Betts refused to leave the establishment and was arrested. He was later
released after being fingerprinted and photographed by Sarasota County police.
A mix of jazz, pop, blues, and rhythm and blues, the '70s rock group Steely Dan was
formed by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, with some of their hits including "Do It Again" and
"Dirty Work" off of their debut album. They'd survive a decade-plus hiatus throughout the 1980s
and into the '90s, during which Fagen would go solo, releasing a pair of his own albums.
As a part of Steely Dan, Fagen would be elected to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001. He would,
however, also find himself running afoul of the law — and his partner — after being
accused of and charged with domestic assault against his wife, Libby Titus, in 2016.
Police reports indicated that Fagen was alleged to have violently pushed his wife into a window
and knocked her to the ground during an altercation in their Manhattan apartment.
The criminal complaint against Fagen stated that Titus suffered significant injuries,
including "bruising and swelling to her right arm, as well as substantial pain."
Just a few days following the incident, however,
it was reported that Fagen and Titus had reconciled.
Co-founder of '70s band The Who, Pete Townshend has had an extensive and influential career,
both as part of that band and as a solo artist. Among his many accolades,
Townshend received the Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1983 and,
along with the rest of The Who, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
But in 2003, Townshend's life was turned upside-down when he was arrested on suspicion
of possessing child sex abuse material. The accusations stemmed from his connection to
a website that purveyed such content, with Townshend using his credit card to access the
site. He immediately denied the charges. Though he admitted to using the website,
he claimed he did so as part of his research into child abuse for his own autobiography,
saying he was intending to prove how banks played a part in the exploitation of children.
Townshend was ultimately cleared of all charges following an investigation,
although he was placed on a national register of sex offenders. But what makes his story
remarkable is that the star now believes that the incident saved his life. The musician told
The Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine that the duration of the investigation gave him time
to get a much-needed colonoscopy, which revealed malignant polyps:
"The doctor showed me the polyp. He said, 'This would have killed you in six months.'"
Despite the positive outcome, Townshend admits the arrest and charges still trouble him.
Possibly one of the most famous true crime stories in music in the 1970s,
controversial singer/guitarist Sid Vicious was accused of killing his girlfriend,
Nancy Spungen. Their relationship was fueled by
a mutual addiction to hardcore drugs and a risky lifestyle of unpredictable behavior.
"We weren't the nice boys they thought we were. We aren't nice boys."
The two were together when the Sex Pistols broke up in 1978,
after which they began collaborating musically, with Spungen acting as a quasi-manager while
Vicious embarked on a solo career. Sadly, neither Vicious' post-Sex Pistols career,
nor Spungen's vibrant life, would continue much longer after that.
In October of '78, Spungen would be found dead in her room at the Chelsea Hotel,
the result of a stab wound to the stomach. She was just 20 years old. Found stumbling
through the hotel hallways afterwards, Vicious was taken into custody and charged
with her murder. He seemingly confessed to the crime initially but recanted shortly
thereafter. There have been rumors that it may have been an attempt at a murder-suicide,
but the rocker would die of a drug overdose before trial, leaving the truth a mystery.
Clad in over-the-top theatrical costumes and covered in facial make-up,
the rock 'n' roll foursome called KISS took on supernatural identities as "The Starchild," "The
Catman," and "The Spaceman," and became the idol of millions. But leading the crew was
"The Demon," Gene Simmons, with his long black cape and suggestively long, waggling tongue.
"Actually what I am is evil incarnate. And some of those cheeks and necks look really good."
Unfortunately, the sexual innuendo of Simmons-penned KISS songs like
"Nothin' To Lose" became more than lyrics when in 2017 the rocker was
accused of sexual misconduct by a local radio DJ.
Though the disc jockey would go unnamed, she would file suit with the Los Angeles Superior
Court in December of that year. Charges of sexual battery and "unwarranted sexual advances" stemmed
from an on-camera interview that occurred at the San Manuel Casino location of the Rock & Brews
restaurant co-owned by Simmons. The suit alleged that the advances began when Simmons placed the
woman's hand forcefully on his own knee. It went on to state that he then turned innocent interview
questions into "sexual innuendos" before he "forcibly flicked/struck" her in the throat.
The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court,
but in its wake came more allegations of groping and sexual misconduct,
including an accusation from his bandmate Ace Frehley, who claimed Simmons once groped his wife.
Don Henley was the longtime guitarist, singer, and drummer of The Eagles,
a group that successfully straddled the line between pop, rock, and country. Founded in 1971,
the group went on to amass 18 Grammy nominations and six wins, including a nomination for Best New
Artist for their self-titled debut album. Henley boasted a successful solo career as well, with
five studio releases — his latest, 2015's "Cass County," debuted at No. 1 on the Country Billboard
charts. Despite his success though, there's one incident in his career that he'd surely like to
forget. It all originated with a call to 9-1-1 in 1980 placed from Henley's Los Angeles home.
Los Angeles Firefighters responded to the call and discovered a shocking sight:
an unclothed 16-year-old sex worker suffering from
an overdose of cocaine. While it may be tough to believe his story,
Henley insisted he didn't know the girl's age and claimed he never had any sexual contact with her.
Henley blamed his band's roadies for her drug use, but still pleaded no contest to charges of
contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was sentenced to two years of probation.
One of the original Isley Brothers trio that also included his brothers O'Kelly and Rudy,
Ronald Isley would welcome many other members of the family into and out of
the group over the years. Though they entertained audiences with Motown and
doo-wop inspired tunes as early as the 1950s, the Isley Brothers found further success in the '70s,
when they began mixing rock 'n' roll and funk into their repertoire.
As lead singer, Ronald is also the only Isley brother to be a part of the group for their
entire lifetime, from their 1959 album "Shout!" right up until 2022's "Make Me Say It Again,
Girl." His tremendous success with the group led to legal troubles, though, as he amassed a small
fortune in earnings from his musical career and wanted to make sure he kept every cent of it.
Ronald was brought to trial for tax evasion, with $3.1 million in back taxes unpaid and
still owed to the Internal Revenue Service. In 2006 he was sentenced to three years and one
month in prison for his financial crime, Ronald's attorney pleaded for a reduced sentence due to
the artist's deteriorating health following a stroke, but the judge wasn't convinced.
In 2010, Ronald was released from prison and immediately began recording again,
with the album "Mr. I" dropping in November of that year.
As talented and popular as Ike Turner was in the 1970s, dangerous habits and bad
behavior caused legal problems throughout much of his career. Along with his wife,
Tina Turner, Ike was part of one of the most popular double acts of their day. Together
they were The Ike and Tina Turner Revue, but in 1976 it all came crashing down,
thanks entirely to Ike Turner's abuse and unpredictable drug use.
"Then there came the drugs. And it just got crazier and crazier."
After years of violent outbursts aimed squarely at his wife,
a fight in Dallas finally prompted Tina to flee from him.
Over the years, Tina Turner would discuss in great detail the abuse she endured while
in her relationship with Ike, including broken bones from physical altercations,
and fights that left her battered, bruised, and bloody. Ike Turner's
troubles didn't end after Tina left however, with additional drug charges coming in 1985.
He would ultimately die of a cocaine overdose in 2007.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse,
you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233.
You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.