Musicians' Jobs Before They Were Famous Quiz

Answer: Slaughterhouse worker

Ozzy actually had several jobs. Other than slaughterhouse worker he was a construction laborer, plumber trainee, apprentice toolmaker and a horn-tuner in an automobile manufacturing plant. Working in the slaughterhouse was the absolute worst for Ozzy. According to the UK magazine, Planet Rock, Ozzy is quoted as saying: "I had to slice open the cow carcasses and get all the gunk out of their stomachs," he said. "I used to vomit every day; the smell was something else."

Answer: Porter in a mental hospital

While Mick was a teenager attending the London School of Economics, he had a part time job running errands at the Bexley Mental Hospital. According to Philip Norman's biography, simply titled Mick Jagger, Mick had lost his virginity to a nurse in a store cupboard while working there.

Answer: Jimi Hendrix's roadie

Lemmy was paid £10 a week to be a roadie and go on tour with Hendrix. On top of that he was given "handfuls of acid" as a bonus. According to "Sabotage Times", Lemmy told them: "We'd just take handfuls of acid together all the time."
Lemmy would prep Jimi's guitars and pick up pieces of fuzztone boxes Jimi would demolish at his shows. Then he would have to attempt to put them back together again.
The more well known bands Lemmy went on to play with were Sam Gopal (as Ian Willis), Hawkwind, and Motorhead. He also was briefly with Opal Butterfly. They released a few 45 RPM records but they didn't sell at the time so the group disbanded.

Answer: Toy Factory Worker

This sounds like an easy, carefree job, but quite the contrary for Patti. It seems that the other there women were none too fond of her. According to "Planet Rock Magazine", Patti said: "The stuff those women did to me in that factory was horrible. They'd gang up on me and stick my head in a toilet full of p***."
Oddly, the first 45 RPM Patti recorded was titled "Pi_ _ Factory." The incomplete word is another name for urine of course.

Answer: Bricklayer's Assistant

Eric was born in his grandparents' home to a 16 year old mother who was not married. His grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp, were the ones who raised him. In 1961 Eric was tossed out of art school. At that point grandpa told him he had to work with him as a bricklayer's assistant if he wanted to continue to live with him and grandma.

He was paid £15 a week. As hard a job as it was, Eric loved his job. To quote him, "(My grandfather's) legacy to me was that I should always do my best, and always finish what I started." This quote was what Eric told "Planet Rock Magazine".

Answer: Cashier At Woolworth's & Concrete Worker

Plant had several jobs while trying to get his music career rolling, He worked in Birmingham in 1967 as a concrete worker. Another job was as a cashier at Woolworth's. He described his Woolworth's job as "drowsy and boring," His concrete worker job was a waste of time.

He said he received "a few pennies an hour" as his salary. These quotes are from an article on "Rock and Roll Garage" online magazine. Plant eventually went on to a series of bands. Delta Blues Band, Sounds of Blue, The Crawling King Snakes, The Tennesee Teens, Listen, Band Of Joy, Hobbstweedle and The New Yardbirds, which would become Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin was by far the most well known.

They sold millions of records.

Answer: Christmas Decorations Assembler

What can possibly be said here. This was obviously a very seasonal job for Bon Jovi. He also swept floors at one time and sold newspapers. The best thing he ever did was to quit and dedicate himself to making music. In the 1980s he became a true superstar.

Many websites mention his job making Christmas decorations, however none give any details which casts doubt on the veracity of these websites' claims

Answer: Military Codebreaker

Johnny Cash was actually a military codebreaker. He served in the US Air Force starting in 1950 and worked in the cryptographic intelligence unit. When he would open his shows, he would say: "Hello, I'm Johnny Cash." Johnny was always known as "The Man In Black."

Answer: Drug Dealer

This was not a total surprise. Dave Mustaine, front man for Megadeth, was indeed a pot dealer. He played guitar and sang. Prior to Megadeth he was with a band named Panic and then Metallica! When he was 15 years old he had to go to the streets to support himself. To quote an article titled: Thinking Out Loud: Dave Mustaine on drugs, politics and religion, from the "Louder" online magazine: "I'd been living on my own since I was 15. Every day was get up and play guitar and sell pot for a living. That was my existence." Dave had a girl who worked in a record store whom he had a physical relationship with.

She would visit him during the day and bring him records. That's how he got his first Iron Maiden and Motorhead records. The rest is history.

Answer: Gravedigger

Rod Stewart was always my favorite vocalist. He was in many bands going back to the mid 1960s. Just to name a few: Python Lee Jackson (For one album), Jeff Beck, Faces, Shotgun Express, Art Woods Quiet Melon, The Dimensions, and possibly others.
As far as work went, he was employed at London's Highgate Cemetery. He did many jobs with them with the most well known being a gravedigger. Rod also spent some time as a professional soccer player with Brentford Football Club.