Myths & Legends

Myths and Legends Assignment

The myth to the song Crossroads, by Robert Johnson, is that the song is cursed. It is said that in the song Johnson went down to the crossroads and made a pact with Satan. According to the song, the deal was that if the Devil fulfilled all of his dreams, then Johnson traded his soul for amazing talents. However, the devil did not let him enjoy his success. This is the myth of the song Crossroads by Robert Johnson.

Most myths are false, but a few are known to be true, for example, when Ozzy Osbourne bit the heads off a bad and a dove. The incident with the dove happened at a meeting with some record-company executives when he went solo. He meant to release the dove as a sign of peace, but with Osbourne being intoxicated at the time, he bit the dove’s head off instead. While performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, he bit the head off a bat that he thought was rubber. Rolling Stone magazine rated this number two on “Rock’s Wildest Myths” in 2004.

The myth behind the Beatles’ Abbey Road album is they prior to the release of the album, Paul McCartney, of the band, had died in a car accident on the way home from Abbey Road recording studio. The accident supposedly took place on November 9, 1966 at 5 AM. Within the time between his “death” and the release of Abbey Road, the myth says that the Beatles arranged a replacement look-alike for McCartney. The clues were things like when the fans played some of the music backwards there were messages referring to the death of Paul, but most of the clues were found on the cover art of Abbey Road. The evidence found here varied from what the members of the band were wearing, to the scenery in the back. John Lennon was wearing white, symbolizing the clergy, Ringo Starr was wearing black, “the undertaker”, and George Harrison was dressed in work clothes, in reference to the grave digger. Lastly, there was Paul, the “corpse”. He was out of step with the rest of the band members, the was the only one barefoot, and he was holding a cigarette, or “the coffin nail”, in his right hand even though he was left handed. These notes about Paul were all reasons for people to believe that this was not the real McCartney, but just a look-alike. Some clues for the scenery were the car’s license plate that said 28IF. This signifies the fact that Paul would have been 28 IF he had lived. The last clue to this conspiracy is the eight dots next to the Beatles sign. The dots make what looks like the Roman numeral three, supposedly expressing that there are now only three Beatles. As you can see there are many reasons why people believe this myth, but it is quite obviously not true.

Bob Dylan is most commonly known as a folk singer, which is why when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in July of 1965. He played with an electric blues band and it was definitely something different for Dylan fans. This created a huge controversy between which was better. This is based mostly on opinion, but a fact is that whether Bob Dylan went electric or stayed folk, he will forever be a famous Rock and Roll icon.

A myth from music that I chose to tell you about was the rumor that Gene Simmons got a tongue transplant from a cow. This is completely not true! Simmons just has an abnormally long tongue. It was impossible for him to have a procedure like that done because we did not have as advanced medical technology to successfully do that. Still this Rock rumor is false.

On the Sgt. Pepper cover, the three people I decided to talk about that I already know of are Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, and Paul McCartney. Edgar Allen Poe is best known for his horror stories and poems that he wrote in the early 1800’s. Lewis Carroll is best known for his novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and his poem, the Jabberwocky. These were made in the late 1800’s but we still read them today. Lastly, there is Paul McCartney, who is slightly more modern. He was well known for his part in the famous band from the 60’s, the Beatles. He is a singer song writer who is still performing today, even though the group has broken up.

There are also many people who I am not familiar with on the Sgt. Pepper cover. The three I decided to learn more about are Lenny Bruce, H. G. Wells, and Issy Bonn. Firstly, Lenny Bruce was known for his screenplays, like The Rocket Man, a children’s film, and his albums with rants, comic routines, and interviews. H. G. Wells was an English author who was best known for his writings in the science fiction genre. Last, is Issy Bonn. Bonn was a famous singer, actor, and comedian best known for his recording of My Yiddishe Momme.