A forthcoming biography alleges that Sir Mick Jagger nearly died from a heroin overdose in 1976. According to the book The Rolling Stones: The Biography by Bob Spitz, record producer Chess Marshall found the Rolling Stones frontman collapsed and unresponsive after the two shared heroin.
Details of the Incident
Marshall recounted that Jagger visited him late one night following a party, seeking drugs while Marshall was attempting to get clean. The pair went to a dealer described as a "Buddhist heroin dealer" who catered to New York addicts around the clock. They reportedly shared a gram of heroin, but within ten minutes, Jagger collapsed.
Spitz writes that Jagger was "out cold" and his lips turned blue. Marshall tried to revive him by dragging him upright and slapping him, but to no avail. Fearing Jagger might die, Marshall called an ambulance and also contacted Ahmet Ertegun, former president of Atlantic Records. Ertegun allegedly arrived with actress Faye Dunaway, who was then married to Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band.
Resuscitation and Cover-Up
Dunaway reportedly called a friend who was president of Lenox Hill Hospital to arrange a private room for Jagger to avoid publicity. Marshall performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics arrived, who then administered oxygen, allowing Jagger to start breathing again.
Jagger's ex-partner Jerry Hall previously revealed in her autobiography that Jagger used to smoke heroin early in their relationship but quit at her request. Bandmate Keith Richards also struggled with heroin addiction during the band's peak years but overcame it in the late 1970s.
