Random Famous Musicians Who Once Had Terrible Day Jobs (22 items)

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  (#13) Jay-Z

  • Hip hop

  Jay-Z is not just a successful hip hop artist, he's also an entrepreneur. The rapper's net worth is around $520 million. Plus he's married to Beyoncé, who is worth a couple bucks herself. Apparently his old gig as a drug dealer selling crack in the 1980s helped him with his major financial success. "I know about budgets. I was a drug dealer. To be in a drug deal, you need to know what you can spend, what you need to re-up."
  
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  (#4) Ozzy Osbourne

  • Doom metal, Glam metal, Blues-rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal, Hard rock

  Whether or not Ozzy Osbourne ever actually bit the head off of a bat during his live concerts is still a big question mark. However, he definitely worked for two years at a British slaughter house. The Prince of Darkness described a typical day at the abattoir: "I had to slice open the cow carcasses and get all the gunk out of their stomachs. I used to vomit every day; the smell was something else." Ozzy also says that he's pretty much a vegetarian now.
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  (#5) Jonathan Davis

  • Nu metal, Electronic music, Electronic dance music, Acoustic music, Heavy metal, Electronic rock, Hard rock, Dubstep, Fusion, Industrial metal, Experimental rock, Funk metal, Experimental metal, Avant-garde music, Alternative metal

  Korn frontman Jonathan Davis went to school at the San Francisco School of Mortuary Science, which is about as far a cry from a music school as one can get. After school, the metal singer became an embalmer at a funeral home and worked at the Kern County Coroner's Department. He said of his pre-rock star life, "My dad and mom both thought I was a problem child or some[one] that wanted to cut up dead bodies. I’ve seen [the dark side of life]. Other people don’t see it first hand - they read about it or see pictures, but when you see it staring you right in the face, it’s an eye-opener.”
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  (#2) David Bowie

  • Rock music, Psychedelic pop, Electronic music, Protopunk, Glam rock, Psychedelic rock, Hard rock, Blue-eyed soul, Pop music, Experimental rock, Dance music, Pop rock, Experimental music, New Romanticism, Progressive rock, Art rock, Avant-garde

  It's hard to believe that David Bowie was ever anything but a rock god. However, the future Ziggy Stardust had to start somewhere. Bowie heard a tune by Little Richard when he nine years old and immediately thought he wanted to be one of Little Richard's saxophone players. It took him a couple years, but Bowie eventually got a job as a butcher's delivery boy when he was about 13, in order to buy that sax.

  
  
   
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  (#19) Boy George

  • New Wave, Disco, Pop music, Rock music, Indian classical music, Contemporary Christian music, House music, Reggae, Dance music, Soft rock, Soul music, Electronica

  The Culture Club frontman was a cultural icon in 1980s, but before he became Boy George, the Brit was just a grocery bagger named George Alan O'Dowd. It appears that Boy George was always about pushing boundaries and breaking rules. The "Karma Chameleon" singer was fired from his gig at the supermarket for wearing the store's grocery bags.

  
  
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  (#7) Jon Bon Jovi

  • Glam metal, Classic rock, Rock music, Country rock, Heavy metal, Pop rock, Glam rock, Hard rock

  Jon Bon Jovi had his first hit single, "Run Away," at the age of 20. But even he had a couple brief day jobs before fronting one of the biggest rock bands in the world. His first job was making Christmas decorations. Next, he worked as a janitor at his cousin's recording studio, a very smart move considering he could record when the studio was vacant. His first professional recording came in 1980, blending elements of his daytime gigs with his apparent love for Star Wars. The track was called "R2-D2, We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

  
  
  

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