Rock Stars Do The Dumbest Things

by Margaret Moser, Bill Crawford

Aerosmith. Elvis Presley. Michael Jackson. Nine Inch Nails. Ozzy Osbourne. U2. What do all of these artists have in common? They're rich and rowdy rock 'n' roll renegades whose wild stunts, dumb quotes, and out-of-control lifestyles are featured in Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things.

--Where else will you find an explanation (goodness knows, we need one) of the Spice Girls' fourteen and one-half minutes of fame straight from the mouths of babes--Baby Spice, that is? "We're like a religious cult."
--Or where will you learn Izzy Stradlin's (of Guns N' Roses) deep thoughts on the virtues of vomiting out of a bus going sixty-five miles an hour?
--And how live octopuses end up in a bathtub with Led Zepplin's female playmates?

Whether you're a Metallica or Madonna fan, you'll get plenty of jaw-dropping facts and anecdotes, along with biographical and career highlights of over eighty-eight raunchy rock 'n' rollers.

From current stars like Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love, to classic rockers like the Rolling Stones and the Eagles, Rock Stars Do the Dumbest Things is proof that rock music is still crazy after all these years.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 1998

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is retarded, but I have not quit laughing since opening it

[AquaMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was funny, albeit dated. So I didn't get to read about ALL the Rock Star Weirdness I hoped for.

I mean, I really wanted to read about the reasoning behind Lady Gaga's Meat Dress. Like was she trying to outdo Bjork's Swan Dress for wardrobe choice weirdness? Or perhaps try something Madonna never thought to do? The fact that the book was published in 1995, a time when the good Lady was no more than a teen herself (and probably an average one at that, clad in Doc Martins and Oversized Flannel like the rest of us)...that omission is excusable. Ditto for Amy Winehouse and her antics.

But what about Jimi Hendrix? Or Janis Joplin? Or The Doors? Or any of those 60s & 70s rockers who were so hopped up on psychedelics and booze they didn't know up from down. Yeah, there was some old-school rocker Tea, but just the stuff everyone already knew. Like Ozzy and the Bat (insert extraordinarily inappropriate COVID-19 joke here)

Also absent were the likes of Cher, Prince, and a bunch of others who you know got up to WAY more shenanigans than, say, The Carpenters. (The Carpenters?!? Really?!? Weren't they, like, kind of clean for rock & roll? Although I actually would like to check out the Tuba-inspired take on Girl From Ipanema...which is actually a pretty sweet Jazz tune that not every musician is slick enough to pull off, let alone such a creative remix)

And what of Weird Al?? You KNOW there's got to be some fun stories there!!

Anyway...

However, even with the omissions, the book was funny and entertaining.

p.s. The most entertaining chapter for me was the one about G n R, but this is because I recently saw them in concert. Although I gotta say Axl was very well-behaved. He showed up on time, played a full show, didn't try to start s*it with anyone, kept all bodily fluids (and middle fingers and other body parts to himself), and was uncharacteristically gracious with the audience on multiple occasions. Perhaps this was a actually a doppelganger and the real Axl is a prisoner on an alien spaceship. Personally, I was a little disappointed there was no drama. But whatever...

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nasty, horrible, selfish people doing nasty, horrible, selfish things. Does becoming a famous musician drive you insane, just like that? And why were so many of the dumb things so similar? This book made me nauseous. There was the occasional funny moment: "Jim Morrison and his girlfriend Pamela once had a blazing row over the average life expectancy of a golden retriever."
I want to pummel Keith Moon. I know he's dead. Good riddance.

[Mai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review on my blog.

It was something I read during little time slots in my day. A nice read if you’re bored and can get the book for free or dirt cheap. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend. Open Google and save your money.

[Nav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this book's title could replace "dumbest" with most "assh*lish" quite easily. Some of these "dumb" things were simply so stupid (or simply egotisical) that they weren't funny. The layout and inclusion of biographical details made this very similar to a wiki crawl as well. There's likely a Buzzfeed based on this premise that is not only much shorter but is possibly much funnier as well.

[Patricia Atkinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

stories of rock stars their history and the supid stuff that they have done through the years as they were performing talked a lot about the older rock stars and groups and a lot of drug use in the 60s and 70s

[Destiny Pifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book about some dumb stuff that different rock stars did back in the day. I was a little surprised by a few especially Fleetwood Mac. I wish it would have had more info on metal bands but it wasn't a bad book if you want some gossip.

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining read. I had heard of some of these stunts before, but not all of them. Truly Rockstars do some really dumb things.

[Joseph Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rock stars are certainly stupid, but Ms. Moser and Mr. Crawford are anything but!

[Alexa S.]

Sometimes the dumb things are poop jokes and other times its kidnapping and assault

[Jamie Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok, interesting but a bit dated. I'm pretty sure that this type of book will cease to exist given that any kind of misbehaviour lists are covered tenfold on the internet.