10 Musicians Who Committed Real Crimes, Did Real Time - And Had Real Impact

Rock and roll has always gone hand in hand with rebellion, from early American roots musicians like JB Lenoir who sang songs decrying the racist attitudes of the time, to the anti-establishment antics of The Rolling Stones in the '60s (strange to think how they turned out, led by Sir Mick Jagger!) and on to the unruly pushback of The Sex Pistols at the forefront of the punk movement in the '70s. Likewise, drugs and alcohol have often left a mark – sometimes with excellent musical results, often with dreadful real world consequences.

With all this in mind it’s no surprise that many a musician has had a brush or two with the law. Paul McCartney spent nine days in a Japanese jail for possession of marijuana, and The Stones’ Keith Richards was busted for drugs – more than once. At the other end of the scale there are more recent, serious and horrific crimes such as the murder which Phil Spector is still serving time for.

But beyond the expected wrist-slaps due to excess, and setting aside some of the more distasteful felonies, who are the musicians who served real time, for real crimes, and found their lives changed permanently – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse?

Here are ten musicians whose lifestyle, upbringing or situation brought them to an impasse, who paid for what they did and - sometimes - even learned from it!

Born Huddie William Ledbetter in Louisiana in 1885, Lead Belly went on to become one of the key early originators of the blues, learning a wide range of instruments from childhood. As talented and celebrated as he became, however, he also had a troubled and often violent life – commonplace for a black man who grew up only a few decades after the Civil War and lived through the Great Depression.

His first serious jail time came in 1917 when he was sent to prison after being convicted of the murder of Will Stafford in DeKalb, Texas. Lead Belly, under the assumed name of Walter Boyd, was sentenced to thirty years in jail, but rescued himself with his music. In 1925 he was released after writing a song to the Governor, Pat Neff. Despite having vowed never to pardon a prisoner, Neff set Ledbetter free.

Still unknown, he became an itinerant musician and farmhand, working across the South. Ending up in fights and brawls was a common occurrence. His next stint behind bars began in 1930 when he was sent to Angola Prison, Louisiana (not far from the infamous Parchman Farm, Mississippi of which many a blues was sung) on a charge of attempted murder. Here he was fortunate to be found by John and Alan Lomax – the famed musicologists who discovered a slew of the great musicians of the era. Lead Belly was released from prison for good behavior and became a celebrated artist, touring and recording with the Lomaxes for much of the 1930s.

His original songs included Out On The Western Plain, Leaving Blues and the oft-covered classic Goodnight Irene, while his takes on Midnight Special and Black Betty will resonate on through the ages.