Myths Behind Rock Music Legends Quiz

Answer: Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot, born Ellen Naomi Cohen, was significantly overweight at the time of her death. She did not die by choking on a ham sandwich. That was a rumor that started with her physician. There actually was a pork sandwich in the room but Cass hadn't eaten it. Any drugs that were present in the room (Cass did use drugs) had been cleared away before news of her death reached the media, and the autopsy found that there were no drugs in her system at the time. Cass Elliot died at age 32 due to what the coroner reported was "fatty myocardial degeneration due to obesity."

Answer: Gene Simmons

Even without all the makeup, Gene Simmons is quite an imposing presence. The myth, attributed to Simmons himself early in his career, only added to his larger-than-life persona. The cow part is not true, of course. Simmons' tongue, however, really is long.

Answer: Van Halen

David Lee Roth, former frontman for Van Halen, insists there's a real explanation behind the "no brown M&Ms" contract rider. He explains it all in his 1997 autobiography "Crazy From the Heat." According to Roth, when the band played at smaller venues, the less-experienced promoters didn't read the contracts carefully enough, which often resulted in their missing important safety and technical information.

The band members decided to test the promoters with the no brown M&Ms rider to be sure the promoters were paying attention. If a brown M&M was found, the band used it as an excuse to act out by trashing dressing rooms. That's a bit extreme if you ask me.

Answer: Brian Jones

Jones was found unconscious at the bottom of his pool. "Death by misadventure" was the coroner's ruling although no traces of drugs and just a small amount of beer had been found in the musician's body. Jones' live-in girlfriend at the time, Anna Wohlin, believes that Frank Thorogood, whom Jones had hired to oversee the home improvements on his house and with whom Jones had been arguing, murdered Brian. Wohlin wrote a book in 2001 about Jones' murder and named Thorogood as his killer.

She also claims that Thorogood signed a deathbed confession in 1993 and gave it to the Stones' chauffeur, who denied it.

The document was never found. However, author Geoffrey Guliano, in his 1994 book "Paint It Black:The Murder of Brian Jones," related Thorogood's words to the chauffeur: "It was me that did Brian. I just finally snapped.

It just happened."

Answer: Frank Zappa

Zappa, who died in 1993, was actually the son of a Sicilian immigrant. The myth took on a life of its own after he recorded "Son of Mr. Green Genes" on the "Hot Rats" album in 1969. Zappa himself dispelled the myth on the very first page of his book "The Real Frank Zappa Book."

Answer: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Lennon always claimed that his son, Julian, came up with the name of the song. Ringo Starr even claimed to have been there when Julian showed his father the picture of his schoolmate, Lucy Vodden. Julian explained to the Guardian newspaper in 2009 "I don't know why I called it "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age." In 2007 Lucy Vodden O'Donnell herself told the BBC "I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel...Julian had painted a picture, and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school." The coincidence is pretty amazing since the first letters of the song's main words spell out LSD. According to Lennon, the idea that his song and a hallucinogen could be linked never crossed his mind until it was pointed out to him.

Answer: Jimi Hendrix

Drug abuse has been blamed for the demise of many musicians, past and present. Jimi Hendrix used acid regularly but he did not soak his headbands in it. How that rumor started is anyone's guess but his bassist, Billy Cox, definitely put those rumors to rest.

He once said it was all "bull, just plain stupid." What did kill Hendrix was the powerful sleeping pill, Vesparax, which contains three different drugs. After a night of partying, Jimi came home and took nine of the sleeping pills. Sometime during the night he vomited in his sleep, ultimately suffocating himself.

The world lost a great talent.

Answer: Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin consisted of band members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. According to the myth, all band members except Jones signed a blood-ritual pact to trade their souls in exchange for Zeppelin's climbing the stairway to success.

The rumor most likely stemmed from Jimmy Page's interest in the occult, especially the life and doctrines of Aleister Crowley, a British mystic who dabbled in black magic, among other things. Page even owned the Scottish estate where Crowley lived from 1899 to 1913.

When John Bonham died in 1980, Led Zeppelin disbanded.

Answer: Prince

Some members of Prince's entourage attempted to keep the myth about Jamie Starr alive. When reporters checked with ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) they learned that the songs supposedly written by Starr were registered to Prince.

In 1999, years after he retired his Starr persona, Prince attempted to explain himself when he told "Bass Player" magazine that he was "just getting tired of seeing my name. If you give away an idea, you still own that idea. In fact, giving it away strengthens it." This, of course, reveals nothing.

However, one fact is clear: Jamie Starr disappeared and has not been heard from since.

Answer: Charles Manson

Dennis Wilson couldn't have known that Manson and his "family" would be responsible for those terrible murders in August 1969. Manson had pursued a music career after he was released from jail for forgery in 1967 and used Wilson to further his career.

He even recorded an album in 1968 titled "Lie: The Love And Terror Cult" that was released in 1970. It's doubtful that Manson's career would have taken off anyway despite the murders. Brian Wilson and record producer, Terry Melcher, felt uneasy around him and witnessed his outbursts of anger. Manson's dreams of becoming a rock star ended before he ended the lives of nine people.