In 2010, Ozzy Osbourne volunteered to be evaluated by doctors. They wanted to learn why, given everything he’d put himself through with drugs, alcohol, and everything else, he wasn’t dead.
When the results came back, it was discovered that his genome had mutated from all the drugs he’d taken. His DNA contained variants that no scientists had ever seen before. Things that would have killed a normal person were just shrugged off.
The findings were so abnormal that they were presented at a prestigious medical conference, positioning Ozzy as an anomalous medical specimen. This is how Ozzy managed to make it to 76.
Keith Moon, another madman, didn’t have these genes, which is why he died at 32. Same thing with Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and scores of other hard-partying rockers who died young.
Now consider Keith Richards. As I sit here, he is 82. He’s still playing guitar, still recording, and still performing live with The Rolling Stones. If Ozzy was a medical curiosity, I don’t know what Keef is.
And it’s not just the drugs and alcohol. It’s all the other things he’s done, gone through, and survived.
This is Episode 65 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry.” Call it “The Life and Crimes of Keith Richards, Part 1.”
In addition to the podcasts, you can hear Uncharted on these Corus radio stations (all times local):
- Toronto: AM 640 (4-5am)
- London: 980 CFPL (4-5am)
- Vancouver: 730 CKNW (1-2am)
- Edmonton: 630 CHED (1-2am)
- Calgary: QR77 (770 AM) (1-2am)
- Winnipeg: 680 CJOB (1-2am)
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