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Seems like a life of hard living and troublemaking may be catching up to Merle Haggard, as he was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. We wish him well and hope he has no regrets. Check him out in this video. Yeah, he's playing country, but he's got the dangerous soul of true rock ’n’ roll. 

Rock ’n’ roll is not polite. It’s rude, full of bad taste, questionable morals, and unapologetic crassness. Or at least that's what's supposed to happen when it's good. Once upon a time, rock stars did not have media coaches. They did not play nice with American Idol judges, and they didn't sit down for pre-scripted morning talk show appearances.
 
Rock stars used to find glory in getting caught with their pants down — literally and figuratively. Their goal was to create more trouble than the rock star next to them. They lived life in the wild wide-open, unafraid that anyone might blush or judge them.
 
Those days are long gone (save Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty). Now tattoos pass for rebellion and spontaneity has been usurped by publicity stunts. Ah, but once upon a time... it was glorious bedlam. In honor of the long-lost era bad behavior, here are tales of five of music’s biggest troublemakers.

TORMENTED POET TROUBLEMAKER - JIM MORRISON
The Lizard King was a legendary rock lush. Staggering onstage in a drunken stupor, he’d spout poetry that made sense only to him. During a 1969 Miami concert Morrison treated his audience to insults, politically incorrect statements, and, ultimately, a little too much of his bare skin. He was charged with profanity and indecent exposure. Morrison died in France while the case was on appeal.

LOVABLE LUSH TROUBLEMAKER - KEITH MOON
Drummer for the Who, "Moon the Loon" was the archetypal rock loose cannon. He made a second career of trashing hotel rooms, blowing up drum kits, and turning his body into a chemistry experiment. On his 21st birthday, he celebrated by driving a Cadillac into a Holiday Inn swimming pool and throwing a cherry bomb into the toilet of his room.

PUNK TROUBLEMAKER - SID VICIOUS
Just when you're tempted to glorify the antisocial behavior of a rock star, Sid Vicious comes along to remind you that some dudes are just plain idiots. 

COUNTRY EX-CON TROUBLEMAKER - MERLE HAGGARD
If not for Johnny Cash, country singer Merle Haggard may never have gotten out of prison. Haggard spent his childhood in and out of juvenile detention centers. He graduated to burglary and then majored in armed robbery. He landed in San Quentin, running a gambling and brewing operation from his cell. However, seeing Johnny Cash's famed prison performances persuaded Haggard to turn his life around. Ronald Reagan gave him a full pardon in 1972.

ANGRY RAP CHICK TROUBLEMAKER - FOXY BROWN
How do you get to look as good as rapper Foxy Brown? You beat up people. You beat up your manicurist. You beat up beauty supply store employees. When there are no beauty industry workers to beat up, you beat up Jamaican cops. In 2007 Foxy got locked up for beating up too many people. What did she do while in jail? She beat up another inmate and verbally abused one of the guards. At least she's consistent.

Check out our FlipBook of Rock's Biggest Trouble Makers.

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