From the website Bankrate.com:
6 Music Legends Who Filed For Bankruptcy
Many music legends are known for crazy partying and wild living — along with their compelling way with melody. What they have not always been known for — especially those from earlier generations — is successfully navigating their financial lives. Here are a few musicians who have filled our lives with song while sometimes dealing with far emptier bank accounts:
1. Jerry Lee Lewis
Creative success: Known as “The Killer,” the “Great Balls of Fire” singer was famous for wild theatrics, making “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” an understatement as he played his piano like a man possessed, kicking over benches and slamming the keys with his feet. And as wild as he was on stage, he was wilder off. He courted controversy as a 22-year-old by marrying his 13-year-old cousin.
Financial failure: By the late ’80s, Lewis, spurred on by trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and $3 million in debt, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. His manager later told Fortune magazine this gave him a “new lease on life.” Lewis, one of the subjects of the hit Broadway musical “Million Dollar Quartet,” recovered quite nicely. He still tours, and his latest album, “Mean Old Man,” was released in September 2010. It reached No. 30 on the Billboard album charts.
2. David Crosby:
Creative success: A legendary member of The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash — and a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with both bands — Crosby wrote or cowrote classic songs including “Wooden Ships,” “Eight Miles High,” “Long Time Gone” and “Guinnevere.”
Financial failure: Back in 2003, Crosby estimated to Bankrate that he had earned — and burned through — around $25 million over the course of his career. But by 1984, he was broke, in debt for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and on his way to prison for drug and weapons charges. He filed for bankruptcy in 1985. When he got out of jail, he lived in a friend’s spare bedroom and wore his friend’s old clothes. Crosby righted his financial ship by getting back to work. He’s toured with Crosby, Stills & Nash over the years and plays regularly these days with band mate Graham Nash. As political as ever, Crosby recently contributed to an album to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.
3. Tom Petty:
Creative success: How many music legends can inspire a major director, such as Peter Bogdanovich, to direct a documentary about them — that’s almost four hours long? Between solo albums, records with his band the Heartbreakers and the scratchy-voiced guitarist supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, Petty has sold more than 60 million albums with hits such as “Don’t Come Around Here No More,” “Runnin’ Down a Dream” and “Free Fallin’.”
Financial failure: By 1979, Petty had several hits, including “American Girl,” but not much money to show for it. When his record label was sold, Petty had a major problem with his contract simply being transferred from one label to another without his having any say in the matter. Not wanting to be “bought and sold like a piece of meat,” Petty self-financed his next album for around half a million dollars, then refused to let the label put it out. He declared bankruptcy to help get released from his contract, got his release, and then re-signed to the same label, MCA, for considerably better terms. In taking this shrewd tactic, he set an example many musicians have since followed.
4. Wayne Newton:
Creative success: While a recording artist early in his career, Newton’s real success came in his role as “Mr. Las Vegas.” With regular headlining stints at various Vegas hotels over the years, Newton has earned as much as $25 million a year, with his net worth once estimated at around $100 million.
Financial failure: Newton declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1992 with an estimated $20 million in debt, including an IRS lien of more than $300,000. While he was in (much) better financial shape within several years, he was sued by the IRS in 2005. The agency alleged he and his wife owed around $1.8 million, partially for failing to report the sale of a horse. Since then, Newton has been sued several times, including a successful 2009 suit for back wages that earned a former pilot a judgment of more than $500,000 — leading to the garnishment of Newton’s wages — and a 2010 suit for more than $3 million over a loan.
5. Marvin Gaye:
Creative success: Known as one of the greatest rhythm-and-blues/soul singers of all time, Gaye’s seductive impact on the music world came from such hits as “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” “What’s Going On” and “Let’s Get It On.” Gaye had 41 Top 40 singles including three No. 1 pop hits and 67 singles on the Billboard charts overall.
Financial failure: The master of the sexy single was taken down financially by divorce. Gaye filed for bankruptcy in 1976 after failing to keep up with alimony payments, as he reportedly owed his ex-wife in the neighborhood of $600,000. To get out from under her thumb, he promised his ex the royalties to his next album — which ironically dealt with his feelings about the divorce. Gaye continued performing, but he still faced financial troubles and a drug addiction. He seemed to be making a comeback from 1982’s “Sexual Healing” until, following a heated argument, he was killed by his father in 1984, the day before turning 45.
6. Mick Fleetwood:
Creative success: When not hopping from bed to bed and enduring tumultuous breakups that would have even the “Jersey Shore” cast quaking in their tans, the members of Fleetwood Mac, including drummer and namesake Fleetwood, were creating some of the biggest hits of the ’70s. Their 1977 album “Rumours” remains one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Financial failure: While Fleetwood should have, by all rights, been a millionaire many times over throughout the ’80s, he was done in by two oddly juxtaposed desires — cocaine and real estate. His love for the former and bad judgment on the latter led him toward bankruptcy in the middle of the decade. By the ’90s, though, he had reportedly turned his life around, including quitting drugs and developing a trusted team of financial advisers. He’s toured and recorded in recent years with Fleetwood Mac and his own Mick Fleetwood Blues Band.
Every Moment Has A Song 