The 1960s marked a time during which a series of social events affected the way America functioned. These included the Vietnam War, gay rights, equal opportunities for women and the Civil Rights movement. These newly liberal attitudes allowed the youth of the decade to create their own form of counter culture: a culture that presented the opportunity to embrace a new found liberation and freedom of speech, and thus new attitudes towards sex. Events often referred to as the “Swinging Sixties” and the “Summer of Love” mark the emergence of a new politically active youth movement, and the conception of the relationship between (and the phrase) ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll’, and simultaneously the birth of the groupie. The term groupie is often used with reference to a woman who aligns herself with rock stars or celebrities, and provides sexual favours in return. Although not the most respectable of career paths, the behaviour of these groupies is illustrative of the sex appeal associated with rock stars: from Frank Zappa and The Mothers if Invention to Led Zeppelin to INXS, female audiences are continually drawn to their music idols.

The allure of the rock star also seems to have translated into the celebrity world. It seems highly unlikely that it would have been possible for the members of Motley Crue to acquire so many beautiful women had they not been in a famous rock band, yet the list of exes includes beauty queens, models, and Baywatch babe Pamela Anderson. The public intrigue surrounding Anderson’s relationship with Crue drummer Tommy Lee was so intense that a sex tape of the couple on their honeymoon was stolen and leaked on the Internet. The high popularity of the tape not only reflected the public’s fascination with the pairing, but reinforced the association between sex and the rock star lifestyle, as is often depicted in rock music videos (see Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” for a good example, or N.E.R.D.’s  “Lapdance” for a less subtle approach). The pairing of the model and the rock star now seems to be a regular occurrence. David Bowie and Iman, although an unlikely pairing, are still together after 16 years, Pamela Anderson became engaged to Kid Rock after her marriage with Tommy Lee ended, Mick Jagger was married to Jerry Hall in 1990 and has since dated numerous models (regardless of their age), and Kate Moss never seems to date anyone that isn’t in a band. Rock stars seem to be able to get any woman they want so why not have a supermodel girlfriend!

The Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll lifestyle epitomised what life was like to be a rock star, but such bad behaviour seems to have declined when it comes to America’s most recent rising stars. The purity ring, as worn by thousands of American teenagers, represents the wearers pledge to remain a virgin until marriage, also known as a promise ring. In contrast to their predecessors, bestselling artists such as Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Jordin Sparks have all been spotted proudly displaying their rings of chastity. Could this mark the beginning of a new era: the chaste, well behaved and uncontroversial rock star? Only time will tell.

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