Friday, Oct. 15, 2010

Keith Richards

Keith Richards didn't actually get his entire blood supply transfused — that's just a rock-'n'-roll myth. But the fact that some people believe this myth is proof of Richards' infamy. The Beatles may have been bigger, Led Zeppelin louder, the Sex Pistols raunchier, but Richards is known as the ultimate boozing, drug-using rock-'n'-roll star. The inspiration for Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow character, Richards has been tried on drug-related charges five times, including "possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking," which in late-'70s Toronto carried a possible life sentence. (The charges were later reduced and he didn't go to jail.) But if you think the now drug-free rocker has left his crazy days behind him, think again. In 2006, Richards suffered a serious head injury after he fell out of a coconut tree — he was 62 at the time. What was a 62-year-old man doing in a tree? Why, being badass, of course.