Rock’s Most Notorious Motorcycle Crashes
All right, bikers, when you get your motor runnin’ and head out on the highway, make sure you’re a lot more careful than the rock stars in the below gallery. These musicians ended up entangled in some horrific wrecks – and only some of them lived to tell the tale.
To be fair, in some cases, the accident was not the fault of the rockers. Billy Joel hit a car that ran a red light. Singer-songwriter Jimmie Spheeris collided with a van under the control of a drunk driver. On the other hand, Billy Idol went through months of painful rehabilitation because he ran a stop sign (and wasn’t wearing a helmet). Steven Tyler was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when he had a smash-up with a tree.
Plus, in some bands, bike wrecks seem to be contagious. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith lost control of his motorcycle only a month after singer Anthony Kiedis was involved in a bike accident. There’s also the tragic stories of the Allman Brothers Band's Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, who each died as the result of motorcycle crashes about a year apart.
And then there are motorcycle accidents may not have even happened. Decades later, folks remain suspicious of Bob Dylan’s claim that he suffered a 1966 wreck in upstate New York. If it is true, look to Dylan’s accident as a good omen, bikers. If you survive a wreck, you too just might reinvent yourself and make something as timeless as The Basement Tapes.