9 Biggest Urban Legends About Classic Rock Songs
1. Judas Priest Did Told Fans To Kill Themselves With Back-Masking
The Myth: There was a long period of time in the 70s and 80s where parents were aching to blame their children's wrongdoings on the music they were listening to. Particularly if that music was heavy metal, a.k.a. The Devil's Music. And in 1985, Judas Priest took the brunt of it. After a couple of teenagers entered a suicide pact, using a 12-gauge shotgun to do the deed. Their parents opted to blame several lines in the Judas Priest album Stained Class, which according to the parents, contained back-masked messages that coaxed their boys into killing themselves.
The Reality: The case was dismissed. They played the portions of the album several times during the trial, and found no such messages embedded in the songs. None whatsoever. Lead singer Rob Halford later commented that being incorrectly positioned as the catalyst in such a tragedy tore him up inside:
We accept that some people dont like heavy metal, but we cant let them convince us that its negative and destructive. Heavy metal is a friend that gives people great pleasure and enjoyment and helps them through hard times.
Yeah. So stop spreading these damn myths, people.