Let us be real, not everyone has the ability to whip up amazing melodies that make the world go round. Only a few lucky ones have that gifted flair and are considered as true musicians, who are honest with their art. For these people, their honesty resonates with their followers.

As part of the audience, we revere and celebrate them because it is truly thrilling to see a genius at work, so engrossed in what they are doing that we get transported into a world of their making.

Given the fantastic quality of their craft and their celebrity status, it is often easy for ordinary folks like us to forget that they are, after all, only human. And every once in a while, a few of these humans turn out to be truly appalling people, despite being highly gifted musicians.

Here is a list of 9 musicians who are awful people.

1. Elvis Presley

Elvis, a musical dynamo, known as the King of Rock and Roll, sadly had a repulsive affinity for underage girls. His wife Priscilla was only 14 when he first laid eyes on her. He went on to woo another girl aged 14 after Priscilla birthed their child. In fact, Elvis went on to date many 14-year-old minors.

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He also had a violent streak in him. His fiancée alleged that once he put a bullet in the bolster of their bed, calling it an attention-seeking stunt.

2. John Lennon

John Lennon, arguably the most famous member of The Beatles, abandoned his first son, Julian, when the child was only 5 years old. But perhaps it was for the best as when he was with Julian’s mom, Cynthia, Lennon would hurl verbal abuse at the boy and irresponsibly leave drugs lying all over the house.

Lennon also had a series of extra-marital affairs, a habit that he retained even during his second marriage to Yoko Ono. He also admitted on record that he used to hit the women in his life.

3. Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, was an alleged child molester. He was accused of sexual abuse by five boys at different points in his illustrious career. All cases followed the same pattern— lawsuits were filed by the parents or families of the victims, but Jackson bribed and pressurized them to change their stories, and basically got away with child abuse.

Leaving Neverland, a documentary highlighting the stories told by two of Jackson’s victims, throws in so many damming details that it becomes hard to question the validity of the victims’ experiences.

4. Frank Sinatra

Frank Sinatra was known to have a terrible temper. There is a long list of his various physical altercations. He once assaulted a reporter, who then filed assault and battery charges against him. On another occasion, he flung a phone at a businessman, fracturing his skull. He also almost killed his wife when he hurled a champagne bottle at her.

Sinatra was also notorious for property and possession damage. He once obliterated a Ming vase at a Hong Kong hotel, just because somebody missed a lighting prompt.

5. Miles Davis

Mile Davis was undoubtedly a jazz maestro. But he had some really disturbing tendencies. In his autobiography, he confessed that he had the disgusting habit of beating his wives. Davis went a step further with his admission that he agreed with the practice of beating one’s wives and girlfriends to keep a tight hold on them.

Davis was apparently so abusive that his ex-wife, Frances, claimed to have run away multiple times out of fear that he might kill her.

6. Johnny Cash

The best-selling American musician did a lot of horrible things in his lifetime, but perhaps the most repeated offense was his treatment of the women in his life. First, he cheated on his first wife, Vivian, with his renowned second spouse, June Carter.

And even though June and Jonhnny appeared to have the fairy-tale romance in public, it was an entirely different story behind the cameras. Cash repeatedly cheated on Carter, even when she was pregnant with their son. He also left her for June’s own sister, Anita.

7. Johnny Paycheck

Johnny Paycheck, a country music icon, was charged with attempted murder. He spent nine years in prison, after he pulled out a gun and shot it at an Ohio local during an argument.

Paycheck was also charged with sexual assault of a minor, and although he denied the charges, he did admit that the distasteful incident involved a drug deal.

8. R Kelly

R Kelly has played a massive role in shaping the landscape of RnB music. That, however, does not absolve him of his horrendous actions against womankind. His male privilege has allowed him to abuse and harass women for about 25 years now.

The allegations of abuse, pedophilia, and assault against Kelly are so overwhelmingly great in number that Lifetime recently covered several of them in the documentary series Surviving R. Kelly.

One of the nastiest acts that Kelly has been accused of committing is keeping black teenage girls in a sex cult, grooming and abusing them to become his private slaves.

9. CeeLo Green

CeeLo Green, the renowned rapper, was charged with drugging and raping a woman. Although he served probation for the drug charge, his lawyer took care of the rape charges by arguing the absence of proof.

Things only got worse from there. Green made some really despicable comments on Twitter regarding rape, and only deleted the tweets when he received severe backlash on his opinions.

It is truly heartbreaking to realize that the people we celebrate and cherish so very dearly are capable of committing such horrendous acts. What is more appalling is that often times their celebrity status is what protects them from any major fallout of their revolting actions.

These musicians truly are awful people to have spread such horror. So perhaps it is time we hold our musicians to the same standard as any other ordinary man.