Ugh, this whole John Phillips thing (short-short version: his daugher Mackenzie, formerly of One Day At A Time, went on Oprah to say that her late father, formerly of The Mamas & The Papas, had sex with her the night before her 1979 wedding, and carried on an affair with her that went beyond that) is so gross. So, so, so gross. A friend asked if he’s officially the worst person in rock-music history as a result of these revelations, and I don’t even know how to answer that. Thoughts? [Oprah.com / AP]
the nimbus of their fame
Categories:
the nimbus of their fame
the nimbus of their fame
If true (have to be fair), he’s hard to surpass.
He was already pretty awful, frankly. Even by his own account in interviews, he used his anger at Michelle Phillips as an excuse to leave the raising of their child entirely to her after their divorce.
This is, of course, another level entirely. UGH. GROSS. GROSS.
He also had a hand in writing “Kokomo”.
off the top of my head i think i’d have to say yes… well, assuming those charges against Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle were made up, anyway.
Jim Gordon was pretty bad, but it was mental illness, right? So was Joe Meek. Oooh, Jeannie Reynolds? She killed her two kids! And why I am choosing all mental illness murder (and sometimes suicide) cases. I guess those are sadder than they are heinous.
How’s about Phil Spector?
That Artimus Pyle case is icky.
And the story of how he basically abandoned his first wife (Mackenzie’s mother) for the 15- or 16-year-old Michelle wasn’t to his advantage either. At least he made up for lost time with Mackenzie. Yuck.
I keep coming back to Rick James trapping a woman for six days, torturing her with a crack pipe, and sexually assaulting her repeatedly. I don’t know how to weigh that against years of sexual abuse of a grown daughter, and I don’t want to know.
So will.i.am is no longer the worst?
Well, Mackenzie also claims that he was the first person to shoot her up. If you add that to the incest, it makes him a pretty poor parent/role model for sure.
Bijou Phillips has said pretty much the same thing for years in interviews, about how her dad gave her drugs and then would stop short of saying he molested her, but would imply as much.
Gary Glitter makes a strong case for himself, but Jerry Lee Lewis has the gross underage sex thing AND some alleged murders under his belt.
And Win Butler stole that dude’s basketball.
There’s LOT of competition obviously, but he’s certainly a top 5 contender. I know Gary Glitter at least had that whole pedo thing that I think is a bit more despicable (or maybe comparably but in a different way).
@Fried Bologna: And Win Butler stole that dude’s basketball.
Ha! I had completely forgotten about this. Thanks for lightening the mood in an otherwise depressing topic.
Man. I actually enjoy the Mamas and the Papas quite a bit. But this may be the point at which there’s actually an artist with whom I am so disgusted, I can no longer listen to his music.
No one mentioned Michael Jackson?!
@Babs: In death, all is forgiven. Oh wait.
More evidence of what Joan Didion has realized for a while: that whole ’60s free love hippie thing had some really nasty undertones.
Isn’t John Phillips’ song “April Anne” (which I only know via an Okkervil River cover) about some strange sexual stuff?
@whoneedslight: Even after he dies, Will.I.Am will still be the worst.