Pick a Day

Music History Events: Drug-Related

January 31, 1978 Greg Herbert, a 30-year-old saxophonist with Blood, Sweat & Tears, dies of an accidental drug overdose. He's discovered in his hotel room the following day.

August 24, 1977 Country legend Waylon Jennings is arrested for cocaine possession in New York City by federal agents, an event which will inspire his song "Don't You Think This Outlaw Bit's Done Got out of Hand?" The charges are later dropped.

February 27, 1977 Keith Richards is arrested for heroin possession in Toronto.

December 4, 1976 Tommy Bolin, age 25, dies from a drug overdose in a Miami hotel room, after opening for Jeff Beck at the Jai-Alai Fronton in Miami. Hours before the guitarist's death, Bolin responded to a news reporter's well wishes by saying, "I've been taking care of myself my whole life. Don't worry about me. I'm going to be around for a long time."

October 1, 1976 David Bowie retreats to West Germany in an attempt to clean up his cocaine addiction. While in Germany, Bowie works with Iggy Pop and Brian Eno. The song "Heroes" comes from this stay.

June 30, 1976 Police raid Neil Diamond's house and find less than an ounce of marijuana. The arrest is struck from his record when he agrees to attend a drug aversion program.

May 28, 1976 Gregg Allman testifies against The Allman Brothers Band's road manager/bodyguard Scooter Herring in a deal to avoid drug charges after a drug-trafficking sting. This causes tensions in the band, who take two years off before re-forming.

March 21, 1976 After playing a show in Rochester, New York, David Bowie is arrested on charges of marijuana possession when police raid his hotel room. Iggy Pop and two others are also arrested. His hearing takes place on April 20 (4/20!), and the charges are dropped.

February 19, 1976 Tower of Power lead singer Rick Stevens is arrested after killing three men in a botched drug deal. He is found guilty and initially sentenced to death, but given a life sentence when the death penalty is ruled unconstitutional in California. He is released 36 years later, and in 2016 joins Tower of Power to play a prison concert.

October 7, 1975 The US Court of Appeals overturns the longstanding deportation order for John Lennon, ruling that Lennon, in being held accountable for violating a foreign law (a 1968 rap for possession of marijuana in England), had been denied due process.

July 3, 1975 Three Dog Night's Chuck Negron is arrested in his hotel room and charged with cocaine possession on the opening night of a tour.

June 29, 1975 Folk singer Tim Buckley dies of a drug overdose at age 28. His son is the singer Jeff Buckley.

November 25, 1974 Nick Drake dies after overdosing on the antidepressant Tryptasol. Just 26 years old, the British musician released three albums in his lifetime.

September 23, 1974 Robbie McIntosh, drummer for The Average White Band, dies of an accidental heroin overdose at age 24.

April 25, 1974 Pamela Courson, who was Jim Morrison's girlfriend and the one who found him dead in a bathtub, dies of a heroin overdose at age 27.

April 17, 1974 Vinnie Taylor (lead guitarist for Sha Na Na) dies of an accidental heroin overdose at age 24.

October 15, 1973 Having experienced respiratory problems for the past four days, Elvis Presley is admitted for two weeks to Memphis' Baptist Memorial Hospital with what is termed "pneumonia." Dr. George Nichopoulos, Elvis's personal physician, discovers his patient's addiction to Demerol.

October 15, 1973 The US Supreme Court upholds, by a 7-2 vote, the 1971 FCC directive that bans radio DJs from playing songs that glorify drugs.

October 15, 1973 Stones guitarist Keith Richards is banned from entering France for two years when he is found guilty by a Nice court of using, supplying and trafficking cannabis.

September 9, 1973 Following up on his plan to use the concert audience for the background vocals on the left stereo channel for his song "Sons Of 1984," Todd Rundgren records the crowd at a show in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which is disrupted because of a pot bust. The right channel vocals came from a show in New York.

March 27, 1973 Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead is stopped for speeding, then busted when various drugs are found in his car.

March 8, 1973 Paul McCartney is fined 100 pounds for growing cannabis on his farm in Campbeltown, Scotland.

January 14, 1973 The Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh is arrested for possession of drugs in California.

November 18, 1972 Neil Young's guitarist Danny Whitten, struggling to overcome a heroin addiction, dies from a lethal combination of Valium and alcohol at age 29.

November 6, 1972 Original New York Dolls drummer Billy Murcia dies at the age of 21 in London, England, from asphyxiation following an accidental overdose.

October 14, 1972 Joe Cocker and six members of his touring band are arrested after a concert in Adelaide, Australia, when police allegedly discover marijuana and heroin in their hotel rooms. The group are not charged but instead given four hours to leave the country.

September 20, 1972 Paul McCartney is arrested for growing marijuana on his farm in Scotland. The judge in his case has never seen a cannabis plant, so he takes a good look at it and fines McCartney 100 pounds.

August 2, 1972 Brian Cole (bass guitarist for The Association) dies of a heroin overdose at age 29.

July 18, 1972 All six members of Sly & the Family Stone are arrested in Hollywood after police search their tour bus and find two pounds of marijuana and two vials of cocaine.

May 29, 1971 Thirty-six fans are treated after drinking cider spiked with LSD at a Grateful Dead show at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom.