The Five Most Controversial Musicians of All Time

Musicians have long been drawn to controversy, especially since the creation of rock and roll. Many musicians have done things that other people would never do. From John Lennon's "we're more popular than Jesus" comment to the suicide of Kurt Cobain to the massive drug use of countless musicians controversy has gone with rock like electric guitars. In spite of all the controversy there are five who in my opinion really top the list due to their outrageous behavior. I will be counting down.

Number Five: Phil Spector. Phil Spector comes in at number five because in some sense he doesn't count as a true musician, but due to his massive influence on how music is produced I have to include him. The sounds you hear coming out of many classic records were directly contributed by Phil Spector. In spite of his influence Phil Spector is also famous for his temper, perfectionism, and threatening behavior. He once famously held The Ramones at gunpoint for several hours. In 2003 things boiled over when Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson at his home. Spector was recently convicted of her killing and is now in prison.

Number Four: Marilyn Manson. Manson is known more for his creepy persona than for committing crimes. Manson is the ultimate shock rocker, known for dressing in pale white makeup and leather and for his anti-social lyrics. Manson is an ordained minister of the Church of Satan and has been accused of simulating rape on stage, as well as burning a cross at one of his concerts. The height of Manson's controversy came in 1999 when media personalities and politicians claimed that Manson's music had a direct influence on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who became infamous when they killed several classmates and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. To hear Marilyn Manson's perspective on his role check out Michael Moore's film Bowling For Columbine. In spite of his controversial nature, Manson's interview in that film reveals him to be intelligent and articulate, but I'm not giving any of it away (hint: I largely agree with him).

Number Three: GG Allin. Allin, born Jesus Christ Allin, died back in 1993 of a heroin overdose. Allin was the lead singer of several bands featuring names such as GG Allin and the Murder Junkies and GG Allin and the AIDS Brigade. Allin was noted for appearing naked on stage, urinating and defecating on himself and often eating it. His songs are known for their grotesque nature. In one he expressed his desire to kill the president. Another was titled "Expose Yourself to Kids." Throughout his songs Allin praises rape, murder, and drug use. Due to his behavior Allin was often sent away to jail and in the last years of his life he spent more and more time behind bars including a year's time in the early 90s for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a fan. The content of Allin's music may be the most shocking of any rocker, however his behavior pales in comparison to the acts of our next musician.

Number Two: Varg Vikernes. Vikernes is best known in the music world for his one man black metal project Burzum. The Norwegian is also known for his life of crime and his radical views. Vikernes is a self-proclaimed Nazi and white supremacist as well as a neo-pagan with an expressed hatred for Christianity. Vikernes acted out his hatred in the early 90s when he torched several churches in Norway including a few of Norway's historical stave churches from medieval times. Vikernes later went on to join a band called Mayhem but this came to an end when in 1993 he murdered bandmate Oystein Aarseth. Police found explosives and ammunition at Vikernes' home and he announced that he planned to blow up the headquarters of a left-wing group. Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison and was paroled in 2009.

Number One: Michael Jackson. Jackson might seem more tame than many of the musicians on the list and I toyed around with putting him lower. Certainly Varg Vikernes did far worse things than Jacko ever did. Still, the sheer controversy around this man makes all others pale in comparison. Whether or not he molested young children is one thing, another thing is that the man thought it perfectly natural to sleep with young boys. Jackson is also famous for the following long list: making himself white, getting plastic surgery until he looked like a space alien with no nose, acting like a child, claiming to be Peter Pan, taking drugs to go to sleep (which eventually killed him) and so on and so forth. The controversy surrounding Jackson is magnified above the others because of his sheer success. While the others on the list are recognizable to some, Jackson is recognizable to virtually all.