7 Famous Rock Bands You Didn't Know Were Immersed In Tragedies

Being in a band isn't always a walk in the park. Try asking these bands, who all met untimely ends. Each of these groups has a bloody past that goes beyond stage injuries. Unfortunately, the legacy of these well-known bands has been tarnished by the members' untimely deaths from things like murder, drug overdoses, suicides, motorcycle accidents, and more.
Slipknot may seem like the type of band you'd expect to have a shady history, but groups like The Band, The Allman Brothers, and even the Beach Boys have all had their share of scandals. Several people in these communities have been through hell, whether by their hand or the terrible indifference of the universe. These are some anecdotes of your favorite (or least favorite) rock stars engaging in knife battles, battling demons inside, and causing vehicular mayhem.

1. The Allman Brothers Band

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The Allman Brothers Band would be the epitome of perseverance in adversity. It's good knowledge that the group's namesake, Duane Allman, was killed in a motorbike accident in his native Macon, Georgia. A little over a year after Duane's death, bassist Berry Oakley also perished in a motorbike accident. Three blocks separated Oakley's accident from Allman's.
Duane's sibling, musician Gregg Allman, has had his own struggles with substance abuse, hepatitis C, cancer, and Cher. Butch Trucks, the band's founding drummer and a suicide victim, shot himself in front of his wife at the beginning of 2017.

2. AC/DC

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Rock 'n' roll royalty Notwithstanding the tragedy following AC/DC since the '80s, the band has remained increasingly popular. Early in 1980, lead vocalist Bon Scott choked to death on his vomit. A less resilient band would have sunk under these circumstances, but AC/DC pushed through to even greater heights. After decades of unparalleled prosperity, the bizarreness began in the 2010s.
Malcolm Young, the band's guitarist, quit in 2014 due to the effects of dementia. After losing all of his short-term memory, Young decided to relocate into a nursing facility. Afterward, singer Brian Johnson quit due to hearing loss.

3. The Beach Boys

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Undoubtedly, the Beach Boys deserve to be considered among the all-time greats of American rock. Their notoriety for not being the model citizens that their image portrays them to be is also famous. Murry Wilson, the boys' authoritarian father, has long been suspected of emotionally and physically assaulting the band, which consisted of the brothers, their cousin Mike Love, and a friend, Al Jardine.
The infamous on-again, off-again fights between Brian Wilson and Mike Love are an additional source of tension. Wilson, the so-called "genius," suffered from mental illness and drug usage for a long time, which stunted his creativity. There are many different ways in which love is described, yet kind and gentle are not among them. During their 2012 tour, Love abruptly replaced Wilson with his own band, who continue to carry the Beach Boys banner without him.

4. The Band

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The Band is, without a doubt, one of the best-known folk bands of all time. Their collaboration with Bob Dylan, their performance in Martin Scorsese's concert film The Last Waltz, and the untimely deaths of three of their members have made them famous.
The Band initially disbanded after the release of The Last Waltz, but they later reunited in 1983. Richard Manuel, a pianist and long-time alcoholic/drug abuser hanged himself in a Florida hotel room after a performance in 1986. His successor, Stan Szelest, had a heart attack and passed away in 1991.

5. Alice in Chains

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The most well-known tragedies of the Seattle scene are the suicide of Kurt Cobain and the overdose of Mother Love Bone frontman Andrew Wood but peers Alice in Chains experienced a far more lengthy fight with its demons. Much of this information can be gleaned from the band's music, lyrics, song titles, and album titles, all of which deal openly with drug addiction.
Longtime heroin user and vocalist Layne Staley died alone in his Seattle apartment in 2002. More than a week after his death, his body was found weighing barely 86 pounds and had begun to decompose. Mike Starr, the bassist, had a similar experience nearly ten years later. His life ended in 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah, due to a heroin overdose.

6. Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Since the Red Hot Chili Peppers have become such lovable icons after the success of Californication, it's easy to forget how chaotic the group was in the '80s and '90s. Anthony Kiedis' batsh*t wild autobiography Scar Tissue details many of the band's struggles, from widespread drug usage to outrageous sexual adventures.

7. Slipknot

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Some think one's first impression isn't always accurate. Yet, the inverse is true of Slipknot. Nine anonymous crazies producing terrifying death metal, nu metal, and Demonic cacophony; you get what you pay for. When just 13, singer Corey Taylor began abusing cocaine and speed. At 15, he overdosed on cocaine and was thrown in the garbage instead of sent to a hospital because, well, Iowa. A long time later, musician Mick Thomson and his sibling got into a knife fight on someone else's front lawn.