The 1970s turned rock stardom into a high-wire act above a pit of lawyers. When backstage shenanigans escalated from smashed guitars to police blotters, fame became dangerous territory where ego cranked the amp to 11 and consequences played out in real time. These aren’t just tales of excess—they’re cautionary symphonies where the music never stopped, but the party definitely got raided.
7. Leif Garrett
Teen heartthrob’s Porsche crash left his best friend paralyzed for life.
Almost a third of all traffic fatalities involve drunk drivers. Leif Garrett, teen idol of Tiger Beat fame, learned this the hard way on the eve of his 18th birthday. In 1979, he crashed his Porsche while driving under the influence, leaving his passenger Roland Winkler permanently paralyzed—a shadow that would eclipse Garrett’s heartthrob image forever.
Both had consumed alcohol and depressants before the accident. Garrett admitted to popping quaaludes, and Winkler sued. A $3.9 million damages award barely covered the emotional wreckage. Overnight, the once-sparkling pop career transformed into a cautionary tale where guilt became his new, unwelcome co-star.
6. Ozzy Osbourne
The Prince of Darkness got banned from an entire city for a decade.
Ozzy’s arrest in 1982 for urinating near the Alamo wasn’t just a boozy prank—it was a middle finger to respectability. Banned from San Antonio for a decade, the chaos didn’t end there. His wife Sharon later admitted he had been violent toward her during his worst days of substance abuse, including a 1989 incident where he tried to strangle her.
Like a phoenix emerging from a dumpster fire, Osbourne eventually got candid about his darker days and the damage they caused. He later reconciled with San Antonio, but it’s clear the guy has seen some serious shit. Fighting to stay standing after all that? That’s metal as hell.
5. David Cassidy
The squeaky-clean Partridge turned his blood alcohol into tabloid headlines.
What’s the fastest way to go from screaming teen idol to tabloid fodder? David Cassidy, the squeaky-clean Keith Partridge, learned it the hard way. Behind the dreamy eyes and perfect hair, he was battling demons that ran in the family—both his grandfather and father reportedly wrestled with alcoholism.
The contrast between Cassidy’s public image and private struggles exploded with multiple DUI arrests. In one instance, his blood alcohol content reportedly tested at nearly twice the legal limit. The court sentenced him to probation, rehab, and mandatory AA meetings. The man who once graced lunchboxes ended up in mugshots.
4. John Phillips
The Mamas & the Papas frontman went from flower power to federal prison.
Some musicians live double lives; John Phillips was a walking case study. The Mamas & the Papas churned out timeless tunes, but Phillips’s personal life was darker than a grunge band’s tour bus. In 1981, he was busted for running a drug ring, pleading guilty to drug trafficking and doing time.
Then came the bombshell allegations from his own daughter, McKenzie, who claimed years of abuse starting when she was barely a teen. Phillips denied it until his death, but the flower-power image wilted faster than a headliner’s career after a messy breakup.
3. David Bowie
Even Ziggy Stardust couldn’t make a drug bust look cooler than this.
In March 1976, David Bowie and Iggy Pop got pinched for marijuana possession in Rochester, New York. Bowie, ever the chameleon, turned his infamous mugshot into a career flex—because when you’re Ziggy Stardust, even getting arrested is performance art. The charges got dropped faster than a mic at a metal show.
Instead of hiding, Bowie doubled down, reinventing music and style like it was just another Tuesday. It’s a masterclass in turning lemons into avant-garde lemonade, proving that for Bowie, even a drug bust was just another layer in the grand performance that was his life.
2. Don Henley
Eagles soared until police raided the nest and found an overdosed teenager.
“Fame is a mask that eats into the face,” John Updike once wrote, and Don Henley’s clean-cut image took a brutal beating in 1980. Police raided his Los Angeles pad after a teenage girl overdosed. Henley pled no contest to contributing to the delinquency of a minor—a PR disaster that made headlines nationwide.
The scene was less “Hotel California,” more “Animal House” gone wrong. Henley copped to the low point, shelling out a fine, probation, and court-ordered therapy. Behind gated communities and platinum records, the rock business can get darker than a Spinal Tap documentary.
1. Ike Turner
One half of the duo served prison time while the other became rock royalty.
Ike and Tina Turner’s story reveals the dark side of rock partnerships. Onstage, they were a powerhouse duo tearing up venues and racking up hits. Behind closed doors, Tina revealed years of abuse in her memoir: Ike, violent and manipulative, addicted to drugs and beating her even before shows.
In 1976, Tina left Ike with just 36 cents and a gas station credit card. One half of the duo later served time in prison on drug charges while the other rebuilt her life, becoming one of the most celebrated solo artists of all time. Tina’s resilience became the ultimate mic drop on a toxic past.
