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Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths, Legends, and Curses
Take a Walk on the Dark Side is the ultimate book for today's rock and roll fan: a fascinating compendium of facts, fictions, prophecies, premonitions, coincidences, hoaxes, doomsday scenarios, and other urban legends about some of the world's most beloved and mysterious pop icons.
Updating, revising, and expanding on material from his cult classic Hellhounds on Their Trail, Patterson offers up a delectable feast of strange and occasionally frightening rock and roll tales, featuring the ironies associated with the tragic deaths of many rock icons, unsolved murders, and other tales from the "fell clutch of circumstance."
Beginning with the fateful place where it all started -- a deserted country crossroads just outside Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil -- through the Buddy Holly curse (rock and roll's first great tragedy) and beyond, this incredible volume uncovers some of rock and roll's most celebrated murders, twists of fate, and decades-long streaks of bad luck that defy rational explanation. Inside you'll find:
Facts about Jimmy Page and the Zeppelin Curse. Chilling quirks of fate in the fatalities in the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Facts about Jimmy Page and the Zeppelin curse Chilling quirks of fate surrounding the deaths of musicians in the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd A provocative look at "The Club," membership in which requires an untimely death at age twenty-seven and whose inductees include Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin Cryptic messages in song lyrics that have proved eerily prophetic
Carefully researched, wildly enjoyable, and often harrowing, Take a Walk on the Dark Side takes the reader on a mysterious ride through rock and roll history.
262 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2004
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266 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
May 24, 2012
It was great to read but made me paranoid
March 7, 2014
Patterson's Take a Walk on the Dark Side caught my attention with its constant flow of interesting information of the history of rock and roll. More specifically the myths and legends behind famous musicians. Most cases have to do with musicians finding interest in the occult and having ironic things happen other incidences are sheer acts of coincidence or are they?
The theme of this book is to make the reader question whether it was just coincidence that caused a terrible fate to happen to multiple five star musicians. And another thing is to take a look and see how short life can be, even when we are at the top of our game (in this case charts). Most of these musicians made a lasting impact on what we listen to today and while life in the fast lane may sound fun it is not void of death.
How Patterson goes about this book is to start out on one musician or band, then go on explaining something more or less "spooky" about it. Sometimes it will start out with a curse and describe how each curse has influenced a band. Curses like the Buddy Holly curse and the curse of 27. The author himself doesn't give much of a voice at all but he doesn't need to. The story of what happened is good enough to draw attention (certainly got me addicted). The story is captivating enough to the point where an author's snarky comments would ruin it. He perfectly describes what is going on and for the rest of the style, there isn't much to complain about.
"Characters" in the book are musicians and people musicians were interested in. One of my favorite musicians of all time is Waylon Jennings and his story with Buddy Holly is told in spades. To briefly describe the tragic irony: Holly had chartered a small airplane to avoid freezing weather stuck in a bus and Jennings decided to give up his seat to another person in the band (Valens) and he rode the bus. Before leaving for his flight Holly said "I hope your old bus freezes over" and Jennings retorted "Yeah well I hope your old plane crashes". Hours after the flight the plane crashes, no survivors, It was the last thing Jennings said to his good friend Buddy Holly, and it would haunt him for decades. Cases like these are constant (yet not repetitive) and you kind of hurt for the person who just lost their friend (especially with last words like those) or your jaw drops when these people go through that.
The setting constantly changes and is never completely in depth. Like I said before it's about the story and the tragic irony. The setting being lacking is not so much of a bad thing. The story moves along with a pace and setting that is easy to fallow and picture. He does not describe a room for five pages but he gets the story across and that is what counts.
The plot is mostly about curses and to tell the truth it's kind of spooky. There is the curse of Buddy Holly (his story being told earlier) where all but one (Jennings) of the musicians who worked with him died on his birthday or day of death. His day of death was predicted 100 percent accurately to the hour of when he would die. The prediction was made on a Ouija board two years before he died. Don't believe yet? Lynyrd Skynyrd produces a phenomenal album called Street Survivors. In the album cover it shows them surrounded by fire, weeks later most of the band dies in a plane crash. Occurrences like these are what the book is made of (and I do apologize if I gave away parts). These are what make people question their own beliefs. Do they believe these are random acts of coincidence or is there a greater force at play and did these musicians sign their fate when they started?
This book does not make a many connections to current events. You can connect why a band is not around or why people make references to some of the curses. For example Amy Winehouse died of age 27 following others like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. But this book really connected with me because I love rock and roll and just about every musician referenced I listen to on a daily basis.
To conclude if you find curses and spooky coincidence than you will get a kick out of this book. If you're like me and love rock and roll this will be a great read. You get to know more about great artists and be captivated with how some left this world. Great read, I had a few goose- bumps, I'm passionate about what I listen to, would recommend
The theme of this book is to make the reader question whether it was just coincidence that caused a terrible fate to happen to multiple five star musicians. And another thing is to take a look and see how short life can be, even when we are at the top of our game (in this case charts). Most of these musicians made a lasting impact on what we listen to today and while life in the fast lane may sound fun it is not void of death.
How Patterson goes about this book is to start out on one musician or band, then go on explaining something more or less "spooky" about it. Sometimes it will start out with a curse and describe how each curse has influenced a band. Curses like the Buddy Holly curse and the curse of 27. The author himself doesn't give much of a voice at all but he doesn't need to. The story of what happened is good enough to draw attention (certainly got me addicted). The story is captivating enough to the point where an author's snarky comments would ruin it. He perfectly describes what is going on and for the rest of the style, there isn't much to complain about.
"Characters" in the book are musicians and people musicians were interested in. One of my favorite musicians of all time is Waylon Jennings and his story with Buddy Holly is told in spades. To briefly describe the tragic irony: Holly had chartered a small airplane to avoid freezing weather stuck in a bus and Jennings decided to give up his seat to another person in the band (Valens) and he rode the bus. Before leaving for his flight Holly said "I hope your old bus freezes over" and Jennings retorted "Yeah well I hope your old plane crashes". Hours after the flight the plane crashes, no survivors, It was the last thing Jennings said to his good friend Buddy Holly, and it would haunt him for decades. Cases like these are constant (yet not repetitive) and you kind of hurt for the person who just lost their friend (especially with last words like those) or your jaw drops when these people go through that.
The setting constantly changes and is never completely in depth. Like I said before it's about the story and the tragic irony. The setting being lacking is not so much of a bad thing. The story moves along with a pace and setting that is easy to fallow and picture. He does not describe a room for five pages but he gets the story across and that is what counts.
The plot is mostly about curses and to tell the truth it's kind of spooky. There is the curse of Buddy Holly (his story being told earlier) where all but one (Jennings) of the musicians who worked with him died on his birthday or day of death. His day of death was predicted 100 percent accurately to the hour of when he would die. The prediction was made on a Ouija board two years before he died. Don't believe yet? Lynyrd Skynyrd produces a phenomenal album called Street Survivors. In the album cover it shows them surrounded by fire, weeks later most of the band dies in a plane crash. Occurrences like these are what the book is made of (and I do apologize if I gave away parts). These are what make people question their own beliefs. Do they believe these are random acts of coincidence or is there a greater force at play and did these musicians sign their fate when they started?
This book does not make a many connections to current events. You can connect why a band is not around or why people make references to some of the curses. For example Amy Winehouse died of age 27 following others like Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Jim Morrison. But this book really connected with me because I love rock and roll and just about every musician referenced I listen to on a daily basis.
To conclude if you find curses and spooky coincidence than you will get a kick out of this book. If you're like me and love rock and roll this will be a great read. You get to know more about great artists and be captivated with how some left this world. Great read, I had a few goose- bumps, I'm passionate about what I listen to, would recommend
February 14, 2008
Such a disappointment & a bit hokey! I think the author was trying a bit too hard to draw coincidences. Only intersting part was the plane crash with members of Lynard Skynard - that one actual gave me goose bumps.
June 23, 2012
Fun concept, badly edited.
Read
March 29, 2013Not horrible,not great either.There are some factual errors,and the word "ironically" is used a lot.
July 25, 2024
Very well researched and packed with spooky, intertwining details. This could have benefited from shorter chapters to break up all the different subjects.
January 19, 2025
Take a Walk on the Dark Side: Rock and Roll Myths, Legends, and Curses by R. Gary Patterson (Fireside Books 2004) (781.66) (4017).
After an auspicious start, author R. Gary Patterson’s book faded quickly before sinking completely off the “dark side,” so to speak. This looks to be a book about rock and roll deaths. Or is it instead a book about the “twenty-seven club?”
The answer turned out to be “neither.”
Patterson’s first chapters were about Robert Johnson, Buddy Holly, and the Southern rock bands The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. These chapters were spot on. They were well-written and informative. The author’s narrative through this section of the book was factually sound and factually driven. Sadly, this pattern was not to continue.
The next chapter led off the collapse of any rational or believable narrative in the author’s account when he penned a Wikipedia-level bio about self-proclaimed pagan and devil-worshipper Aleister Crowley. At that point, this book went completely off the rails.
The balance of this volume devolves quickly into the author’s gleeful, enthusiastic, and wholly gullible rant into an account of the silliest sort of occult and satanic “woo-woo.” Indeed, “off the rails” doesn’t begin to cover how far into left field the author’s messaging travelled. From this point on, the book became a completely nonsensical rave about hidden messages, subliminal messaging, numerology, demon summoning, and…you get the idea.
Jim Morrison, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, Ozzie Osborne, Jimi Hendrix, and others are all given passing consideration herein. Readers of this book are fortunate that we have such a wise and enlightened guide as Gary Patterson to usher us through these weighty topics. Patterson eventually discards any premise of factual reportage. He instead rewards readers by sharing special knowledge and insights about the occult that had been revealed exclusively to him and which could only be understood by such a wise and discerning historian as himself.
These stories are on the same level as the ghost stories that are told around campfires to gullible children. This silly book is piffle.
I own a used PB copy in good condition purchased from the local used book store for $2.00 on 12/1/24.
My rating: 6/10, finished 1/19/25 (4017).
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
June 8, 2019
I enjoyed this book for many reasons and I gave it 4 stars only because in some moments it tends to go too much on the occult side rather than keep talking about "strange events" on band and musicians. This is not the first book I read about the dark side of rock music, however, normally I was used to read (or listen) chapters dedicated to the single story of a specific artist or band. Instead here you got the history of the dark side of rock from its beginning to the period when the book came out. And honestly I think it worked really well. All these stories are strictly connected together and most of these artists were well aware of the legends of who came before them and apparently they tried to do all they could to emulate them to get the same success, hopefully avoiding the "dark" consequences.
The book is very well written and you can easily devour it in a week.
I wish there could be a second book about the most recent stories because I think that nowdays there are many other facts which could be included in a new book and even the club of 27 found new members!
Thanks a lot for this good book Gary.
The book is very well written and you can easily devour it in a week.
I wish there could be a second book about the most recent stories because I think that nowdays there are many other facts which could be included in a new book and even the club of 27 found new members!
Thanks a lot for this good book Gary.
May 24, 2023
This is the ultimate book for all music lovers. Here you read about all those uncanny deaths of legendary performers like Robert Johnson, Buddy Hall, Duane Allman, Brian Jones and many more. There are so many hints and mysteries (Hotel California and the Church of Satan, Jane Mansfield), secret messages backwards (did you know that ELO even released a record with that title), numerology, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Kobain, references of the devil in some of the most famous works in rock history... absolute page turner. I knew about most of the stories but came across some things I didn't know. This is the creepy history of rock music, the dark side of rock so to say. Loved all those lores and mysteries. Highly recommended!
February 15, 2018
Really enjoyed this book, quite fascinating!
July 11, 2018
Lots of Hocus Pocus, but a fun enough read!
dnf
June 25, 2022DNF- Blaming Satanist, the occult, and other garbage for music's tragedies and problems over the years. Also Sharon Tate was not murdered by Satanists considering that Manson thought he was Jesus.
June 30, 2022
This book covered everything on the "dark side" of many of the greatest rock acts in history. Some I had heard of, some of it was new to me. If you're a fan of rock and roll, this is a must read!
July 6, 2024
I learned things I didn’t know great book
September 16, 2023
3.5 Stars
As a rock and roll fan, I find a lot of this interesting, especially the Buddy Holly Chapter; it's really crazy how some circumstances connect to “The Day the Music Died” tragedy when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in an airplane crash in 1959. Even the lead up to the tragedy is pretty creepy—dreams, possible premonitions, even fortune telling predicting the deaths of the three musicians. It gets even stranger with the Buddy Holly Curse, as the chapter is named for, when the deaths of certain artists and musicians seem to parallel with the rock and roll legend's demise.
Other unusual facts and happenings include The Lynyrd Skynyrd crash (such as the seemingly weird connection between the cover art for the album Street Survivors and the tragedy itself), similar Allman Brother fates, Jimmy Page's obsession with Crowley, hidden messages in songs, the 27 Club (including the deaths of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain), the Dark Side of the Moon syncing up with the Wizard of Oz, and Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon's obsession with Numerology. So there's a good mix of historical facts, legends and rumors about some of the most well known rock and roll bands and artists, even some bits about the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley, and Anton LaVey, a notorious Satanist, and their influence on rock and roll culture over many decades.
Now granted, most of this stuff has been stretched a little (and the author even acknowledges that a lot of this is greatly exaggerated) and not proven as fact. However, to me, it seems like too much of a coincidence when specific numbers are added to the mix such as the death dates and ages of certain rock artists and performers correlating with each other or when musicians pass away at the time that they were predicted to. There's just gotta be something to that, right? Is it possible that there are spiritual forces out there, making all of this happen for a specific reason? It would seem that way based on how some things add up, but then again, maybe it really is just purely coincidental. All around, it's interesting to think about. So, if you're into that, this could be the book for you. Spooky stuff!
As a rock and roll fan, I find a lot of this interesting, especially the Buddy Holly Chapter; it's really crazy how some circumstances connect to “The Day the Music Died” tragedy when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in an airplane crash in 1959. Even the lead up to the tragedy is pretty creepy—dreams, possible premonitions, even fortune telling predicting the deaths of the three musicians. It gets even stranger with the Buddy Holly Curse, as the chapter is named for, when the deaths of certain artists and musicians seem to parallel with the rock and roll legend's demise.
Other unusual facts and happenings include The Lynyrd Skynyrd crash (such as the seemingly weird connection between the cover art for the album Street Survivors and the tragedy itself), similar Allman Brother fates, Jimmy Page's obsession with Crowley, hidden messages in songs, the 27 Club (including the deaths of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain), the Dark Side of the Moon syncing up with the Wizard of Oz, and Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon's obsession with Numerology. So there's a good mix of historical facts, legends and rumors about some of the most well known rock and roll bands and artists, even some bits about the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley, and Anton LaVey, a notorious Satanist, and their influence on rock and roll culture over many decades.
Now granted, most of this stuff has been stretched a little (and the author even acknowledges that a lot of this is greatly exaggerated) and not proven as fact. However, to me, it seems like too much of a coincidence when specific numbers are added to the mix such as the death dates and ages of certain rock artists and performers correlating with each other or when musicians pass away at the time that they were predicted to. There's just gotta be something to that, right? Is it possible that there are spiritual forces out there, making all of this happen for a specific reason? It would seem that way based on how some things add up, but then again, maybe it really is just purely coincidental. All around, it's interesting to think about. So, if you're into that, this could be the book for you. Spooky stuff!
April 19, 2022
I read this book a while ago. I had received it as a gift from my aunt who thought that, since I loved music and liked reading about the supernatural, I would like this book. I flew through this book in no time at all. I loved reading about the infamous "27 club" and the effects of Aleister Crowley upon so many rock musicians.
I was particularly interested in the section mentioning Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is an amazing guitarist, but I had never known that he was a student of the occult. I found myself glued to this section more than any other section in the entire book. When the book discussed listening to songs in reverse, I received quite the surprise when I listened to one of the greatest rock songs ever written - Stairway to Heaven. I listened to it in reverse and it undeniably mentions Satan on multiple occasions.
If you are a big rock music fan and like reading about superstitions, the occult, and "coincidences" then I highly recommend giving this one a read. I see myself re-reading this book again in the very near future.
I was particularly interested in the section mentioning Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page is an amazing guitarist, but I had never known that he was a student of the occult. I found myself glued to this section more than any other section in the entire book. When the book discussed listening to songs in reverse, I received quite the surprise when I listened to one of the greatest rock songs ever written - Stairway to Heaven. I listened to it in reverse and it undeniably mentions Satan on multiple occasions.
If you are a big rock music fan and like reading about superstitions, the occult, and "coincidences" then I highly recommend giving this one a read. I see myself re-reading this book again in the very near future.
February 24, 2010
Patterson combines fascinating and well researched information with his uncanny abilities as a "born storyteller". Unlike so many other books of this genre, I found myself enthralled by his literary style:warm, engaging and GENUINELY affecting. His sincere love of the music(and respect for the artists who create it)comes shining through in each paragraph!
The book is written in a warm conversational style that is very compelling. The stories are fascinating and I can assure you that once started you will not be able to put the book down until you have completed it. The "decades long run of bad luck" for many of the bands makes us realize that nothing just happens on its own. I especially enjoyed the sections on the Buddy Holly Curse and "The Club". It is amazing the number of performers who died in their twenty-seventh year.
The book is written in a warm conversational style that is very compelling. The stories are fascinating and I can assure you that once started you will not be able to put the book down until you have completed it. The "decades long run of bad luck" for many of the bands makes us realize that nothing just happens on its own. I especially enjoyed the sections on the Buddy Holly Curse and "The Club". It is amazing the number of performers who died in their twenty-seventh year.
May 17, 2008
This book was a lot of fun to read. A lot of it had to do with how many of the musicians were involved with black magic, voodoo, or a pact with the devil, and how that led to a lot of the unfortunate things that happened to them. Some tales are eerie but some seemed far fetched. The author tells of the many rumors that exist and even he thinks some of the stories are absurd. My favorite part is how Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" coincides with "The Wizard of Oz". I remember when I played the album and the movie simultaneously and just was surprised how it goes hand in hand. And if they did not record intetionally, that is to much of a coincidence. Now I will listen to the music referred to with more appreciation.
June 17, 2014
This is one of my favorite books about one of my favorite addictions: Rock and Roll.
This amazing book walks the reader through incredible mysteries, myths, hoaxes and legends of our favorite rock legends such as "The Club" which requires members to die at the untimely age of 27, the Led Zeppelin curse, John Lennon's fixation with numerology, the influence of Aliester Crowley in Rock and Roll and many other chilling stories.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book and discovering all those unknown facts and stories of my favorite bands!
This amazing book walks the reader through incredible mysteries, myths, hoaxes and legends of our favorite rock legends such as "The Club" which requires members to die at the untimely age of 27, the Led Zeppelin curse, John Lennon's fixation with numerology, the influence of Aliester Crowley in Rock and Roll and many other chilling stories.
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book and discovering all those unknown facts and stories of my favorite bands!
January 20, 2011
I love R. Gary Patterson as a frequent guest on Coast to Coast AM and am really looking forward to reading further in this book.
UPDATE: This book was awesome. The only thing I would have hoped for is a bit more details on some of the stories. My favorites were the chapters about Jimmy Page and his Aleister Crowley obsession, and rock's links with Satanism throughout the years. Highly recommended for any music lover and/or paranormal enthusiast.
UPDATE: This book was awesome. The only thing I would have hoped for is a bit more details on some of the stories. My favorites were the chapters about Jimmy Page and his Aleister Crowley obsession, and rock's links with Satanism throughout the years. Highly recommended for any music lover and/or paranormal enthusiast.
September 10, 2008
Okay, so it took me a while to finish this book, but I enjoyed it so much because I could read a chapter at a time. So many instersting things . . . . Creepe out by the Jimmy Page stuff. . . . Love the numerology connects to the '27' club. Wasn't the best book I've ever read, but might have to look into another one written by this author . . .
January 11, 2011
Definitely a fun and interesting read. This book explored parallels in those involved in rock and allegedly involved with the occult (such as Led Zeppelin's fascination with Aleister Crowley) as well as topics such as the myth of the "27" club and what not. Since it involved a mix of topics that interested me, I enjoyed it.
April 28, 2008
i absolutely love this book!!! it chronicles the dark side of rock and roll and those that you think are dark really arent. not alot of ozzy in this book but alot of the stones and led though. it is really very interesting and kinda creepy but a fantastic read.
August 27, 2008
Four stars for the fun factor, maybe 3.5 for overall rating. Chock-full of nifty info about rock stars and odd coincidences/myths of the same. Even some fun numerology with Jimi Hendrix and Aleister Crowley rears his head a few times.
June 3, 2009
This was a pretty good book. There were some really interesting myths and coincidences in this book. However, some of the stuff seemed a bit far fetched, but you can't really help what rumors people choose to run with, right?
January 22, 2011
Interesting, enjoyable read. I would not recommend it to people who don't have a fairly decent grasp of blues music. If you don't know the blues the first portion of the book will make no sense to you.
July 11, 2012
This was a fun read. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't already been familiar with a large portion of the material. One thing is certain, I'll never look at Buddy Holly & the Crickets the same way again.
January 1, 2017
Lots of behind-the-scenes information on the music world in the 60's & 70's. I didn't know rock n roll was so evil. I was listening to the Carpenters & Simon & Garfunkle. I missed the evil part. This book filled me in. Very interesting read. I really didn't miss much :D
April 27, 2009
This book is really poorly written. The title also promises a lot more than it delivers. I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know. And did I mention how poorly it's written?
February 28, 2008
Interesting look at the myths of rock & roll...the author seems to believe it & I think that actually helps...even though some of it is a little far-fetched....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews