Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll

It's certainly no secret that a large segment of the music industry has long been the de facto face of modern paganism.

While Rock and Roll has historically been equated with the worst of the worst when it comes to promiscuous sex, drunks and drug abusers, other segments such as Country-Western, Pop, Hip-Hop, Rap and Rhythm and Blues have also had their share of heathens and hedonists.

There's no need to mention all the names because many of those artists who have lived the bohemian party lifestyle are well known. Some lived that lifestyle so well that they died as a result of it.

Many of those artists started out with good intentions, only to succumb to temptation when fame and money inevitably brought them gallons of booze, hookers, one-night stands and lots of drugs.

Those few who actually make it big in the music business understand that a lot of fame, coupled with a lot of money and a lot of free time provide a recipe for disaster.

One such artist who understands that is Grace Slick who provided the golden voice for the group Jefferson Airplane in the 1960s before she embarked on a solo career.

For those of you old enough to remember, the 1960s were a time when the counterculture revolution was in full throttle. And Rock and Roll music provided much of the fuel for that movement.

The counterculture revolution sprang from the antiwar movement that was opposed to America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Though that movement began with good intentions, it quickly dissolved into a hedonistic sewer of drugs, booze, nihilism and promiscuous sex.

What was Grace Slick's contribution to that period besides music? She was a big-time party girl who, along with her friend Janis Joplin, glamorized drinking and drugs. For them, life was an endless party of drinking, sex and drugs when they weren't performing on stage.

Tragically, the party finally ended for Joplin on October 4, 1970 when she died of a heroin overdose in a Hollywood, Ca. motel. Though her death should have been a warning to other artists to stay away from drugs, it was quickly forgotten and many more deaths like hers followed.

Slick, who retired from the music industry several years ago, has become a different artist in the golden years of her life. She now paints, and judging by her work, she's very good at it.

But still, I was disappointed with an interview she recently gave where she spoke fondly of her hard drinking escapades with Joplin. She preferred vodka while Joplin preferred whiskey. While Slick's fondness for booze is her own business, she did a great disservice by glamorizing heavy drinking.

Slick claims that she's sober now. That's great news. However, as a former celebrity who still has a sizable following, she has a responsibility to set a good moral example for others. And that's even more vital considering that she's witnessed the type of destruction that drugs and alcohol have caused in the industry she once worked in.

During His ministry in Israel 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ warned that those who cause others to sin will be dealt with severely on Judgment Day.

Though he spoke specifically about small children being led into sin, Christ's caveat applies to all who entice others to sin: "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)

And so, if you're going to get blasted on drugs or booze--that's your own business. It's dead wrong. And if you wind up dead, that's your problem.

But please don't encourage someone else to do it by glorifying something that's evil.