Random Extremely Peculiar Personal Quirks that Historic Musicians Had (24 items)

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  (#1) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • Dec. at 35 (1756-1791)

  There are enough bizarre facts about Mozart to confirm that he was far from a normal guy, but this one is really one of the strangest: the composer enjoyed pretending to be a cat, especially during the rehearsals of his operas.

  He would often climb over chairs and meow when bored. Okay, he'd officially be the worst person to have next to you on an airplane.
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  (#2) Louis Armstrong

  • Dec. at 70 (1901-1971)

  In the early fifties, jazz legend Louis Armstrong lost 100 pounds, which he attributed to an herbal laxative called "Swiss Kriss." After his success with the product, he became probably the most loyal customer of all time, and distributed it to friends, family, and acquaintances.

  Nothing says "I care" like "I'm worried about your bowel movements."
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  (#3) Duke Ellington

  • Dec. at 75 (1899-1974)

  This influential jazz composer and performer played in clubs for over fifty years, but he found the countryside a lot more stressful. Duke Ellington hated grassy fields because they reminded him of graveyards, and the association was strong enough that he refused to even wear the color green.
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  (#4) Kurt Cobain

  • Dec. at 27 (1967-1994)

  When Kurt Cobain was a little kid, he was certain that his parents weren't his real parents. But the Nirvana frontman didn't think he was just adopted; it went a bit weirder than that. In a 1993 interview, he told journalist Michael Azerrad that he was certain he was actually an alien. 

  “I always used to think that I was adopted by my mother because she found me after a spaceship left me from a different time or a different planet. Every night I used to talk to my real parents in the skies. I knew that there were thousands of other alien babies dropped off who were all over the place and I’d met quite a few of them. It’s just something I’d always like to toy with in my mind… it was really fun to pretend that there’s some special reason for me to be here."
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  (#5) Ludwig van Beethoven

  • Dec. at 57 (1770-1827)

  Like any successful person, Beethoven was nothing without his coffee. But unlike most casual drinkers, he insisted upon counting his coffee beans in order to make sure that exactly sixty went into his daily cup. It's unclear what catastrophic scenario would unfold if this number was off, but maybe he knew something that we don't know.
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  (#6) Elton John

  • 71

  The idea that Elton John might have a pretty extensive wardrobe shouldn't be surprising to most people. The fact that he has an absolutely massive walk-in closet is a fairly predictable one. The thing is, he has an separate walk-in closet just for his sunglasses.

  A massive walk-in closet that is a beautiful piece of architectural woodwork, all for hundreds of sunglasses that look like they could be from Party Depot.
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  (#7) Elvis Presley

  • Dec. at 42 (1935-1977)

  Despite his massive success and wealth, Elvis preferred some of the simpler things. Some weirder than others. He never abandoned his preference for the good old-fashioned sponge bath, the quaintest of hygiene options. There's nothing like a bucket of cold water and a big sponge to make you feel clean again!
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  (#8) DMX

  • 48

  DMX was one of the biggest rappers of the 1990s, and his aggressive, rough voice is one of the trademark features of his hits. His intimidating persona was pretty cool, but it turns out that DMX had a nerdy little secret: he used to collect bugs.

  Now, it's impossible to stop imagining him yelling "X gon' give it to ya" at insects.
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  (#9) Freddie Mercury

  • Dec. at 45 (1946-1991)

  Freddie Mercury had at least ten cats, and it says a lot that no one is sure of the exact number. He also enjoyed talking to his cats. The Queen song "Delilah" and his entire solo album Mr. Bad Guy is dedicated to to his felines.
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  (#10) Igor Stravinsky

  • Dec. at 89 (1882-1971)

  This composer, most famous for his ballets, admitted to starting his day with exercises recommended to him by a Hungarian gymnast. He then ended the exercises by standing on his head, supposedly "clearing the brain." That doesn't sound quite right, but he's the musical genius here so he gets a pass.
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  (#11) Phil Collins

  • 68

  Who remembers The Alamo? The famous lead vocalist of the British band Genesis remembers The Alamo. Phil Collins became fascinated with Davey Crockett as a five year old boy in London, and now has one of the largest collections of Alamo artifacts in the world.

  He even wrote an absolutely massive book about his passion: "The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey."
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  (#12) Sting

  • 67

  The English solo artist and frontman of The Police clearly knows his way around a guitar, but his real passion is the lute. Sting's lute album, "Songs From the Labyrinth," is a collection of Renaissance music as Interpreted By Sting, which is something that every single person in the world needs to hear.

  And the music videos are even better. Seriously, please watch.
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  (#13) Bob Dylan

  • 77

  Maybe it was the cane, or maybe the mustache or the hat, but something about Charlie Chaplin just really charmed the heck out of Bob Dylan. The musician known for his groundbreaking style and lyrics has said that he is "always conscious of the Chaplin tramp," and early in on his musical career, he would perform with a prop hat in reference to the film star.

  His love has not faded with time. In 2006, Dylan released the album Modern Times, which shares its name with a classic 1936 Chaplin film.
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  (#14) John Lennon

  • Dec. at 40 (1940-1980)

  For someone who was the lead singer of one of the most successful bands of all time, John Lennon was pretty nervous about his singing voice. He liked double-tracking his vocals for this reason, and apparently asked his producer to cover up his voice as much as possible: “Can’t you smother it with tomato ketchup or something?”
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  (#15) Madonna

  • 60

  Madonna has conquered pop, dance, acting, and business, but she's never quite lost her fear of thunder. She dreads nature's big music concert so much that she asks for detailed weather reports before every tour.
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  (#16) Johnny Ramone

  • Dec. at 56 (1948-2004)

  Johnny Ramone was known for being the grumpy conservative guitarist of the punk rock group The Ramones. While he was a pretty angry guy, he also revealed in his book that his favorite place in the world was Disney World. See, that place can turn anyone's frown upside down!
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  (#17) Slash

  • 53

  The lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses has a lot in common with the average 8 year old, because his passion is dinosaurs. When Slash held a charity auction, the most notable items were his dinosaur models. He has a lot of them. This has been a lifelong love, and Slash also owns some real-life reptiles for when he doesn't feel like using his imagination.
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  (#18) Flea

  • 56

  Not everyone knows this about Flea and this fact is just too pun-worthy to pass up. The bassist of Red Hot Chili Peppers is certainly interested in bugs, but not his namesake. He is an avid beekeeper, and apparently doesn't mind that his life is practically a nursery rhyme.
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  (#19) Neil Young

  • 73

  The famous artist behind "Heart of Gold" occupies his time with the hobby perhaps most loved by grandfathers: model trains. His collection is so big that he is a consultant for the huge model train company Lionel, as well as a major shareholder.
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  (#20) Frank Sinatra

  • Dec. at 83 (1915-1998)

  Due to forceps used during his birth, Frank Sinatra had a large scar on the left side of his face, as well as pretty severe adolescent acne. Because of this, he often wore makeup, and hated being photographed on his left side.

  He was also fairly short at 5 feet 7 inches, and wore shoes with high inserts in order to appear several inches taller.
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  (#21) Tupac Shakur

  • Dec. at 25 (1971-1996)

  Tupac was a gifted rhymer, and he may have been influenced by one of the best rhymers of all time: William Shakespeare. According to Tupac, "he wrote some of the rawest stories," and he described Romeo and Juliet as a play where "this guy Romeo from the Bloods who falls for Juliet, a female from the Crips, and everybody in both gangs are against them. So they have to sneak out and they end up dead for nothing."

  Four hundred years later, it's still an incredibly depressing play.
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  (#22) Johnny Cash

  • Dec. at 71 (1932-2003)

  Although Johnny Cash was a major force in country, blues, and rock, it seems he had a bit of goth in him. Much like the My Chemical Romance cover band that existed at every junior high, Cash always performed in black. He wore a black shirt and pants to his first show, and considered it a good luck charm.

  For the rest of his career, black was his uniform, and he once told Larry King, "you walk into my clothes closet. It's dark in there."
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  (#23) The Notorious B.I.G.

  • Dec. at 25 (1972-1997)

  It turns out that Biggie was notorious in more ways than one. Apparently, it was well known among his friends that if you fell asleep in his studio, you were getting pranked. If Biggie caught you nodding off, you might wake up with Lil' Kim's wig on your head, or a lit match in your hand.

  Possession of a whoopee cushion is not confirmed, but we can dream.
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  (#24) Eric Clapton

  • 73

  One of the best guitarists in the world, Eric Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. Clapton has enjoyed great success as a blues rock musician, both as a solo artist and as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Oh, also, he can beat you up.

  One of his hobbies is MMA, so he is really not to be messed with.

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