Music's 25 Most Dastardly Villains
10. PEACE, LOVE AND RAPEWoodstock '99 Organizers
Overpriced water and a grisly finale
Rap Sheet: "We felt that as good as [Woodstock '94] was, we could do better," claimed promoter John Scher, explaining why he decided to schedule another show five years later. In fact, Scher and his colleague Michael Lang were responsible for a disastrous festival.
The last day of the 72-hour Woodstock '99 was marked by a minor riot, numerous acts of arson and a potpourri of other violent crimes. Attendees also reported many instances of sexual assault — including four alleged rapes, one of which was a gang rape said to have occurred during Limp Bizkit's set.
The Defense: "Throwing psychology aside for a minute, in a crowd of this size, there are going to be a certain number of assholes," said Dr. Paul Ramirez, the "director of psychiatry" for Woodstock '99.
Quote: Asked about the alleged rapes, Scher replied, "What about the 199,000 kids who came and had a great time?"
9. BEYOND THE PALE
White People
Exploitation, discrimination, appropriation
Rap Sheet: Let's just say you wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley. At least not if you're one of the many black musicians who were plagiarized, discriminated against and exploited by white rockers and executives. For example:
- Led Zeppelin stole songs from Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf, adapting Wolf's "Killing Floor" into "The Lemon Song."
- Until the mid-'60s, execs omitted pictures of many black artists for fear of offending white audiences.
- White artists from Pat Boone to Vanilla Ice have diluted black styles and sold the results to a mass white market.
The Defense: In 1987, Zeppelin settled with Dixon, admitting lyric theft and paying him royalties. The White Stripes have loudly credited Blind Will McTell for songs of his they've covered.
Quote: "You get caught only when you're successful. That's the game."—Robert Plant
8. HIP-HOP HOODLUM
Suge Knight
Put the gangsta in gangsta rap
Rap Sheet: The CEO of Death Row Records had a reputation for his intimidating business practices, which are even more substantial than the ex-footballer's six-foot-two, 300-pound frame. In 1992, former N.W.A rapper and Ruthless Records head Eazy-E alleged that Knight had threatened him with a baseball bat while "negotiating" to get Eazy's bandmate Dr. Dre out of his Ruthless contract. Knight denied the accusation, though Eazy got no compensation when the contract was broken.
A brawl in a Las Vegas hotel put Knight in the slammer from 1996 to 2001. Nick Broomfield's documentary Biggie & Tupac implicated Knight in the murder of Tupac Shakur — a charge he strongly denies.
The Defense: Prompted by a news item he saw while imprisoned, Knight donated $21,000 to rebuild a vandalized inner-city playground in Sacramento, California.
Quote: "I'm God's child, and God always tells me the truth. Those stories are full of lies … It's amazing what people can say about you when you're in prison."
7. CENSORESS IN CHIEFTipper Gore
Made Dee Snider sound like Lenny Bruce
Rap Sheet: In 1985, when Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore heard her daughter's copy of Prince's Purple Rain, the future vice presidential wife flew into a rage that prompted the creation of the Parents' Music Resource Center, an activist group devoted to pressuring the record industry not to sell such "pornography" to children. Aided by religious rightists like Pat Robertson, the PMRC endorsed the specious notion that naughty music promotes social ills, and encouraged companies to affix warning labels on "offensive" albums.
The Defense: The PMRC sparked surreal Congressional hearings in 1985 at which Frank Zappa, John Denver, and Dee Snider defended their lyrics.
Quote: "What if the next bunch of Washington wives demands a large yellow "j" on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?"—Zappa, addressing the U.S. Senate
6. PUBLISH AND BE DAMNED
Morris Levy
Ripped off innumerable songwriters
Rap Sheet: A legendary shyster, Levy established a record company, Roulette, in 1956, and owned several nightclubs, including New York's Birdland. But his real money came from his devious music-publishing practices. The entrepreneur preyed on poor and needy songwriters, buying tunes for as little as $15 and often crediting himself as the primary songwriter.
Levy even ripped off John Lennon, releasing an unauthorized album that featured three covers by the former Beatle. His career ended in 1988, when he was convicted of extortion along with a Genovese family mob underboss. He died two years after his conviction holding a total of 35,000 copyrights.
The Defense: Was the United Jewish Appeal's Man of the Year in 1973.
Quote: "Morris gave me back the demo, bent it in half and told me if his name wasn't on it, the song didn't come out."—Songwriter Ritchie Cordell
