Between the announcement that Killer Mike had suffered a torn rotator cuff during the onstage attack upon Run The Jewels at South by Southwest, to the Black Keys canceling another wave of tour dates so that Patrick Carney could recover from the dislocated shoulder he received when a giant wave in the Caribbean struck him during January. In other words: It's been a bad week for musical shoulders. Music Times looked back at a collection of injuries to that region of the arm that other music figures have suffered on recent memory.
Jason Newsted (2006)
Jason Newsted, best known for being the bassist for Metallica from 1987 to 2001, was touring with the super group Rock Star Supernova (also featuring Motley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Gilby Clarke and television competition winner Lukas Rossi) when an improbable stage accident took him out of commission for more than nine months: While performing with the group, a bass amp head toppled from his stack. Although they're much smaller than the amps themselves, the heads are dense objects...when Newsted attempted to catch it, he tore the anterior labrum, rotator cuff and bicep in his right arm. The injury brought both good and bad for the lifelong musician: He pursued painting as a side outlet for his creative energy...but the pain medication prescribed to him following the accident left him an addict (he's since recovered). Still, better to damage his arm for a year than deal with what happens if the head landed on his head.
Steven Tyler (2009)
The members of Aerosmith have taken quite a beating in recent years, with many happening to frontman Steven Tyler in particular. The incident in question occurred when the band was performing at the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Now, we read a few articles that mentioned "older folks" such as Tyler (61 at the time) being more prone to injuries. That said, we don't imagine many young hotshots would do too well falling backward off the stage either. According to a spokesperson for the campground at which the event was staged, Tyler had been spinning around too close to the catwalk's edge, and fell off accordingly. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital (missing the chance to be moto-lifted...far more awesome) and was treated for minor head and neck injuries, as well as more serious shoulder injuries. He had also fallen from stage in Connecticut earlier during the tour.
P!nk (2009)
The MTV Video Music Awards were once a place where you could make a splash, but now performers are almost required to do something absurd to stand out in the music year's craziest night. P!nk came strong, staging a display of aerial acrobatics while singing her hit "Sober." Everything went according to plan, but a few days later the pop star revealed that she had separated her shoulder, perhaps at the VMAs. Although the performance seemed to go alright, it's not tough to imaging that she could have hurt herself in the process: Several times the star flipped through the air (attached to wires, at least) to be caught by an acrobat at the wrists. It doesn't take a physicist to imagine that stress caused by such a maneuver could easy pop out a shoulder. The injury forced her to abandon the aerial segments during the rest of her tour that year.
Mariah Carey (2013)
Mariah Carey was another star to suffer an injury while falling from stage, although she did it in a controlled environment. She had gathered with Miguel and Jeezy to shoot a music video for the remix of her single "#Beautiful" at the Avenue nightclub in Manhattan, when the question that has plagued males for years was answered: Yes, high heels can be dangerous. The vocalist lost her balance and fell from the stage, dislocating her shoulder. Although the injury obviously slowed her ability to dance on stages in the near future, she didn't let it dampen her style: Carey was spotted at various events wearing slings that matched the rest of her outfit, ranging from bejeweled to leather with studs. Kudos for going with the flow.
Bono (2014)
The vocalist for U2 admittedly had a lot more than his shoulder to worry about after he was involved in a bicycling accident at Central Park during 2014. He broke his arm in six places, and that's not including the broken shoulder blade, broken hand and fractured eye socket. Unfortunately that level of damage means that Bono will also have to deal with the most longterm consequences. Although he aims to be in shape for the band's next tour, he stated at the beginning of 2015 that he may never be able to play the guitar again. The only good news to take from this is that he now has significant titanium supplements in his elbow, which is a great pick-up line..if only he hadn't been married for more than 30 years.
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