Jailhouse Rock

Kurt Cobain was arrested by Aberdeen, Washington police in May 1986 and charged with trespassing while intoxicated. The misdemeanor bust was not the Nirvana founder's first brush with the law. The musician had been arrested in Aberdeen a year earlier on a vandalism count.

Johnny Cash was arrested in October 1965 when U.S. Customs agents found hundreds of pep pills and tranquilizers in his luggage. The Man in Black--who was returning by plane from a trip to Juarez, Mexico--spent a night in the El Paso jail, and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count. Cash paid a $1000 fine and received a 30-day suspended sentence.

John Osbourne (aka Ozzy Osbourne) was arrested by Memphis cops in May 1984 and charged with public intoxication. According to the police report, Ozzy was "staggering drunk" when nabbed on raucous Beale Street.

Sid Vicious, bassist for the Sex Pistols, was arrested by New York police for the October 1978 murder of girlfriend Nancy Spungen. Sid's subsequent drug overdose spared him the indignity of a homicide trial.

Music legend David Bowie was arrested in upstate New York in March 1976 on a felony pot possession charge. The Thin White Duke, 29 at the time, was nabbed along with Iggy Pop and two other codefendants at a Rochester hotel following a concert. Bowie was held in the Monroe County jail for a few hours before being released. The above Rochester Police Department mug shot was taken three days after Bowie's arrest, when the performer appeared at City Court for arraignment.

Janis Joplin was arrested in November 1969 in Florida and charged with disorderly conduct after yelling obscenities at police officers during a Tampa concert. Charges were later dropped after it was ruled that the singer's actions were an exercise of free speech.

Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler posed for the above mug shot in March 1967 after Yonkers, New York police busted the future rock star, then 18, for pot possession.

Motley Crue's lead singer Vince Neil was busted for drunk driving in Las Vegas in January 2007. Neil, then 45, was booked into the Clark County jail where he posed for this mug shot.

Vince Neil, Motley Crue's lead singer, was arrested for drunk driving in Las Vegas in June 2010. Neil, 49, was booked into the Clark County jail, where he posed for this mug shot.

'Godfather of Soul' James Brown, 70, was arrested by Aiken County cops in January 2004 and charged with domestic violence after allegedly pushing his wife to the floor during an argument at the couple's South Carolina home. Tommie Rea Brown, 33, suffered 'scratches and bruises to her right arm and hip' during the bedroom dispute, according to investigators.


James Brown posed for this South Carolina Department of Corrections mug shot in December 1988 after a jury found him guilty of aggravated assault, weapons possession, and failure to stop for police. The so-called Godfather of Soul was nailed for taking cops on a drug-fueled car chase between South Carolina and Georgia. Brown, 55 at the time, was sentenced to six years in state prison, but was released on parole after serving just over two years behind bars.

White Stripes frontman Jack White was booked by Detroit cops in December 2003 on an aggravated assault charge. The 28-year-old singer allegedly pummeled a fellow rocker at a Detroit nightspot.

Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose was arrested by Arizona cops in February 1998 and charged with verbally abusing an employee of Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Rose, who cursed and shook his fist at a supervisor who wanted to look at his bags at a security checkpoint, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.

Tommy Lee was arrested by North Carolina cops in October 1999 and charged with assault and inciting a riot with ethnic animosity (the alleged crimes occurred during a concert). In March 2000, Pam's ex pleaded no contest to simple assault and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

Brian Hugh Warner (aka Marilyn Manson) was charged with criminal sexual conduct after doing the grind on the head of a security guard during a July 2001 concert in suburban Detroit. The rock star pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge, for which he paid a $4000 fine.

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong was arrested by Berkeley, California cops in January 2003 and charged with drunk driving. The 30-year-old punk rocker was behind the wheel of his black BMW convertible when police pulled him over for speeding. After smelling booze on his breath, police administered a Breathalyer test, with Armstrong blowing a .18, more than twice the state's legal limit of .08.

Robert James Ritchie (aka Kid Rock) was arrested in October 2007 by Georgia police and charged with misdemeanor simple battery after he and his entourage allegedly beat up another customer at a Waffle House following a post-concert meal. He posed for the second mug shot after being arrested by Nashville cops in February 2005 and charged with misdemeanor assault for getting into a fight with a Tennessee strip club DJ. Kid also posed for a police camera, as seen in the two older photos at the bottom of the series, when he was busted by Michigan cops in March 1991 and September 1997. Both arrests were alcohol related, though dispositions are unclear.

David Crosby, founding member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash was arrested by Dallas police in April 1982 and charged with drug and gun possession. Crosby, 40 at the time, ended up serving 11 months of a five-year sentence in a Texas state prison.

Jimi Hendrix was arrested at Toronto International Airport airport in May 1969 after customs inspectors found heroin and hashish in his luggage. Hendrix, who claimed the drugs were slipped into his bag by a fan without his knowledge, was later acquitted of the charges.

Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey was arrested by Columbus, Ohio cops in May 1973 on drug possession and public intoxication charges.

Jim Morrison posed for this mug shot following his 1970 conviction in Florida on misdemeanor indecent exposure and profanity charges. The singer was busted after he exposed himself during a March 1969 concert in Miami. As seen here, Morrison, who was photographed by Dade County's Public Safety Department, testified on his own behalf at trial.

Mick Jagger posed for the above mug shot in 1967 after being arrested in England on a narcotics charge. Jagger, 23, was busted after police, acting on a tip, raided the country home of fellow Rolling Stone Keith Richards, who was also collared. Jagger, photographed at a Brixton jail, spent a few nights in custody before making bail.

Frank Sinatra was arrested by the Bergen County, New Jersey sheriff in 1938 and charged with carrying on with a married woman (yes, you could get popped for that back then). The charge was later changed to adultery, and eventually dismissed.

Legendary musician Jerry Lee Lewis was arrested by Memphis police in November 1976 and charged with public drunkenness and gun possession. Lewis, 41 at the time, was at Graceland waiving around a gun and demanding to see Elvis Presley when a guard called police on The Killer.