Today In Music History - February 5

[jpkansas]

1967: The British tabloid News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch, publishes an article called "Pop Stars and Drugs -- Facts that Will Shock You." In it, everyone from the Moody Blues to Pete Townshend is labeled as an LSD user. The tabloid is slapped with a defamation lawsuit that very day by the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, whom the article alleges to be hooked on Benzedrine and hashish; apparently the reporter in question had overheard the Stones' Brian Jones admitting to these things and mistook him for Jagger. The suit ignites a feud between the tabloid and the band that would lead directly to Stones' guitarist Keith Richard's infamous drug bust five days later.

oldies.about.com/od/oldieshistory/a/february5.htm

[m c dornan]

It did shock me. Too shocked to write anything now.

Rupert "If you're not a user now you will be by the time I'm done with you" Murdoch. Degrading journalism on three continents for 50 years.