:: Not so! Rock myths revealed.

Parishioner Dave White sets the record straight.

1. Cass Elliot choked to death on a ham sandwich

Myth:

Mama Cass died when she choked on the sandwich she was eating, the uneaten remains of which were found near her body.

Fact:

There may have been a partially eaten sandwich somewhere in the vicinity, but she died of heart failure brought on by the effects of obesity and crash dieting. The coroner found no evidence of anything, ham sandwich or otherwise, blocking her windpipe.

2. Grace Slick named her daughter “god”

Myth:

Shortly after her baby was born, Slick told a hospital attendant that the baby would be named god, with a small “g” out of respect for the religious significance.

Fact:

Slick admits that she made the remark to a nurse who was wearing a crucifix, but says she meant it as a joke. Given her well known drug use and her prominent role in the pioneering Psychedelic Rock group Jefferson Airplane, it wasn’t hard to believe that she was serious. Slick’s daughter’s name is and always has been China Kantner (her father being Jefferson Airplane guitarist/vocalist Paul Kantner.)

3. Mr. Greenjeans was Frank Zappa’s father

Myth:

The gentle, kindly character on the children’s TV show, Captain Kangaroo was the father of Frank Zappa, who specialized in absurd humor and not-so-gentle social satire in his many song lyrics.

Fact:

Zappa was the son of a Sicilian immigrant named Francis Zappa, who lived in Baltimore. The fact that among Zappa’s many songs were two titled “Mr. Green Genes” and “Son of Mr. Green Genes” no doubt served as the basis of the myth. Coupled with the fact that Zappa's persona was such that you could easily believe most anything about him, it isn’t hard to see how this myth started and lasted.

4. The Beatles smoked dope in Buckingham Palace

Myth:

Prior to the ceremony in which they received Member of the British Empire (MBE) awards, the Beatles smoked a joint in one of the Palace’s bathrooms.

Fact:

It was actually John Lennon who made this claim, saying that the band’s members were nervous and smoked a joint to calm down. Paul McCartney later refuted this as a joke, with its probable basis being in the fact that the boys did share a cigarette of the tobacco variety to calm their nerves before meeting the queen.

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