Great Music Mysteries, Hoaxes, and Scams

ELVIS PRESLEY
Is Alive and Working at 7-11
This rumor is true. I saw him. He served me a Big Gulp just after midnight in Bakersfield. He looked a lot like Joaquin Phoenix.

WHITE STRIPES
Meg & Jack Are Brother and Sister
Jack and Meg White built their band and career on rumors, many of which they started. When their 1999 self-titled debut was released, they had many believing that they were brother and sister. In reality, Meg and Jack were a separated couple who would officially divorce in 2000 after four years of marriage.

PAUL McCARTNEY
"Paul Is Dead" Rumor
Probably the biggest rock hoax of all time, the "Paul Is Dead" rumor began in 1969 when some dude called WKNR radio in Detroit, made the pronouncement, and asked the DJ to play "Revolution 9" backward as proof ("turn me on, dead man"). As if that hard evidence wasn't strong enough, clues on the "Abbey Road" cover (Paul is the only one not wearing shoes) cemented the "fact" that Paul died in a car crash after storming out of a "Sgt. Pepper's" recording session. He was supposedly replaced by a lookalike who plays his part to this day. Hard to argue with cold logic like that.

MILEY CYRUS
"Miley Is Dead" Rumor
While not on the level of Sir Paul, our little Hannah Montana was the object of her own death rumor in 2008. Seems that some hackers got onto the singer's "Miley and Mandy Show" YouTube page and posted a two-minute video with a message supposedly from Miley's buddy Mandy Jiroux. The pranksters told horrified fans that a drunk driver had killed their teen heroine.

Paul is Dead rumor proven untrue