Music Blogs

Everyone needs to chill out.

Every time I pick up the paper (okay, I don't pick up the paper but I do read the news), some celebrity is pitching a fit. They're like a bunch of whiny kids in a sold-out candy store. And musicians throw the biggest tantrums of all.

Musical tantrums are almost always born of desperation: for attention, for the next big hit, or to avoid obscurity. Musicians can be a desperate lot. Even part-timers like Billy Bob Thornton aren't above throwing a hissy (on foreign soil, no less). Give a musician an inch, and he'll throw a fit for a mile. Here are some prime lessons in bad musical behavior. Don't try this at home. Unless you live alone. And like it that way.

Photo gallery: See the artists who've thrown the most notorious tantrums.


Kanye West
Apparently "South Park's" recent portrayal of Kanye as a humorless egotist has made him think twice about his public outbursts. I hope so. He's made a second career out of tantrums, focusing primarily on awards shows that don't give him kudos. Kanye likes awards. Kanye hates losing awards. Especially those MTV awards. "Give a black man a chance," he said after the 2007 ceremonies left him empty-handed.

Elton John
Elton's famous for his diva behavior. In fact, partner David Furnish named his 1997 documentary about the pop icon "Tantrums and Tiaras." Not included in the film, but one of my favorite epic meltdowns: when Mr. Piano Man yelled at a British cop for making him get out of his car and walk 50 yards to a post-gig party. The road was closed off for the royal family. Elton's screams of "Don't you know who I am?" apparently didn't help.

Ryan Adams
Unlike Axl Rose, who throws his fits on stadium stages, Ryan does all of his tantrums one-on-one. He's not not above calling a music critic who's written an unfavorable concert review and unleashing into his answering machine. Note to self: voicemail lasts forever.

Bjork
One would think the diminutive Icelandic singer would be a pretty mellow chick. Wrong. Don't make Bjork angry. You wouldn't like her when she's angry. Especially if you're a photographer. In '96 she landed a few punches on a Bangkok paparazzo before being pulled away. She tried to go back for more but was pulled onto a bus. Later, in 2008, she tore another lenser's shirt.

Pete Townshend
Given the primal nature of much of The Who's music, it's no surprise that mastermind Townshend can have a bit of a temper. (Actually, the whole band did too.) My favorite Townshend tantrum occurred during the 1969 Woodstock festival. Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman leapt onstage in the middle of The Who's performance to make an impromptu political speech. Townshend, freaked at the interruption, yelled a few expletives, and hit Hoffman over the head with a guitar, sending him back into the audience.

Chuck Berry
The '50s rock icon is a notorious crank prone to unleashing on his band. His most famous tirade was directed at Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who volunteered to be Berry's bandleader for the 1987 documentary "Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll." He went off on Richards for attempting to adjust his guitar amp. There goes Keef's roadie career.

Casey Kasem
OK, he's not a musician, but the host of radio's "American Top 40" franchise has spent a life in music. I guess he's to be forgiven for losing it while taping one of his on-air song dedications. If I were dedicating songs every week for over 30 years, I might lose it over a dead dog too.

Craig Nicholls
For a relatively young guy, the frontman for the Australian band The Vines has had a long history of tantrums. He won his group a lifetime ban from a radio station in 2004 after berating members of the audience ("You're all a bunch of sheep") and kicking a photographer. At a court hearing, it was revealed that Nicholls suffers from Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He was let off the hook, but the band later cancelled a 2008 tour due to his condition.

Foxy Brown
The Brooklyn rapper spent ten years in all sorts of temper-related legal problems. A partial list includes spitting on two hotel workers for not having an iron in her room and attacking two manicurists over a $20 bill. Anger-management classes didn't help, so Foxy did a year in jail. She was released in April 2008. Beauty shops beware.

See the most shocking celebrity tantrums at GetBack.com.

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