Social Effects of Rock Music - Sex and Drugs

Sex and Drugs

The rock and roll lifestyle has popularly been associated with sex and drugs. Many stars are known as hard-drinking, hard-living characters. Of the many rock musicians who have taken drugs, some underwent drug rehabilitation programs, but others have died.

During the 1960s, as the lifestyles of many stars became more publicly known aided by the growth of the underground rock press, the popularity and promotion of recreational drug use by musicians may have influenced use of drugs and the perception of acceptability of drug use among the youth of the period. For example, when in the late 1960s the Beatles, who had previously been marketed as clean-cut youths, started publicly acknowledging using LSD, many fans followed. Journalist Al Aronowitz wrote "...whatever the Beatles did was acceptable, especially for young people." Jerry Garcia, of the rock band Grateful Dead said, "For some people, taking LSD and going to Grateful Dead show functions like a rite of passage ... we don't have a product to sell; but we do have a mechanism that works."

In the early 1980s, a straight edge lifestyle became popular. The straight edge philosophy of abstinence from recreational drugs, alcohol, tobacco and sex became associated with some hardcore punks.

Many musicians have attracted the attention of "groupies" (women who followed music groups) who spent time with and often performed sexual acts on band members.