Everyone is familiar with the famous term “sex, drugs & rock’n’roll.” Back in the days, this statement was treated with worship. Every teenager wanted to be like Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury, or David Bowie. Many people didn’t understand back then that this motto had a second, ugly nature.
The number of renowned musicians who battled various addictions is staggering. Unfortunately, not every story had a happy ending, and alcoholism effects, as well as effects of substance abuse, can be devastating. Stars like Kurt Cobain, Janice Joplin, Amy Winehouse, or Avicii paid the highest price for their addiction. Some have been able to get on the path to alcohol and heroin addiction recovery.
On a positive note, there are numerous artists who won their battles with addiction. Their names will forever be an inspiration to millions of addicts that there is always hope. Here are the stories of such stars as Sir Elton John, Eric Clapton, Slash, or Eminem.
Elton John
Sir Elton John is a true legend. He managed to become one of the greatest musicians in history. His career has spanned more than five decades. However, his life was not always perfect.
John’s addiction started with alcohol and marijuana at the age of 15. Ten years later, he had already consumed cocaine and LSD. The singer admitted that he was a drug addict for a long time. In fact, many people believe that his addiction contributed to the decline of his career in the ’80s.
In the ’90s, John felt that he had to make a change in his life. He started to do yoga and meditation. Soon, he realized that it was time to quit drugs once and for all. John revealed that his decision had been one of the best in his life. In fact, he decided to celebrate this milestone by recording a song about it.
In 1998, Elton John recorded the song “Recovering,” which was released as part of his “Songs from the West Coast” album. In the music video, not only could you see him performing but also his personal struggle and recovery process.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton was one of the biggest names in music throughout the ’70s and ’80s. He is considered to be one of the most influential guitarists in history. During his career, he sold over 110 million records worldwide. Nevertheless, Clapton’s life has never been easy. He struggled with substance abuse since he was a teenager.
Eric Clapton had been addicted to heroin for almost four years. He finally realized that he needed to quit or die. Clapton admitted that he had tried many times before to quit but never succeeded.
In order to quit once and for all, Clapton checked into rehab. It was an extremely challenging experience for him, but eventually, he managed to quit drugs completely. Clapton has been sober ever since.
Slash
Slash is a legendary guitarist who wrote thousands of famous songs during his career. He first gained popularity as part of the band “Guns N Roses” back in the ’80s. In addition to that, Slash has collaborated with many other famous artists such as Alice Cooper, Chris Cornell, Fergie, or Michael Jackson.
He has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and won dozens of awards. Despite all of this, Slash will always be remembered primarily as a member of Guns N Roses. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and achieved immense success during their heyday. Unfortunately, they never managed to survive the departure of their charismatic singer Axl Rose.
After GNR disbanded in 1994, Slash started his solo career. He released four successful solo albums and has collaborated with many stars over the years, including Adam Sandler or Glenn Frey from The Eagles. Nonetheless, his most memorable collaboration was with Alice Cooper in 1985 when they recorded the hit song “Welcome To My Nightmare” together.
Slash is known as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, but there is more to him than meets the eye. In fact, Slash struggled heavily with substance abuse during most of his career, which led him to relapse many times.
His addiction started with alcohol when he was just ten years old and continued with numerous substances by the age of fifteen. As Slash confessed in his autobiography, it was hard for him to quit even after he had checked himself into rehab multiple times: “This time I was like a freight train running downhill; I couldn’t stop myself no matter what I tried.” Fortunately, Slash finally managed to quit for good after spending several months in rehab.
Eminem
Eminem is one of the greatest rappers in history. His hip-hop career skyrocketed when Dr Dre featured him on “My Name Is,” which became an instant hit back in 1999. Eminem went on to release four hit albums: The Slim Shady LP (1999), The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), The Eminem Show (2002), and Encore (2004).
Eminem is undoubtedly the most recognized rapper in the world right now. He gained worldwide fame thanks to his unique style that is full of satire and comedy combined with deep lyrics about personal problems. There are many artists who try to copy Eminem’s style, but few of them can achieve such success.
Eminem has been battling addiction since childhood. He used painkillers while being hospitalized for an injury that he sustained while playing baseball with his friends at school. At age 12, he started taking hard drugs. His addiction led him to steal money from his mother when she wasn’t at home and sell guitar equipment from school to buy drugs. Eminem had a hard time finding a rehab center because insurers wouldn’t pay for such treatment for an addict with his past record. He ended up entering rehab in 1995 and stayed there for 4 months. It seems like it was enough to make a change in Eminem’s life and start making music that millions of fans love so much today.
Final Thoughts
The story of these famous musicians shows that addiction is a serious illness that affects millions of people all over the world every year. Most people who have been suffering from addiction will agree that recovery is possible if you want it badly enough. Even the biggest celebrities have been through struggles like this before reaching worldwide recognition. If they managed to recover from addiction, you can do it too!