DISGRACELAND
Episodes
Billie Holiday: Heroin Hounds, ‘Whorehouse Music,’ and the Queen of Jazz
05 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Billie Holiday ascended from the rough and tumble streets of Baltimore and Harlem, through reform school, brothels, and Welfare Island, right to the t...
The Eagles Pt. 2: Death, a Plane Crash, and Innocence Lost at What Cost
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1970s, The Eagles made taking off into the upper stratosphere of the charts look easy. Their near decade-long reign of rock afforded them hobbi...
The Eagles Pt. 2: Death, a Plane Crash, and Innocence Lost at What Cost
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1970s, The Eagles made taking off into the upper stratosphere of the charts look easy. Their near decade-long reign of rock afforded them hobbi...
The Eagles Pt. 1: International Drug Smuggling, Endless Cocaine, and California Excess
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From games of chicken on private planes to one member surviving a private plane crash, the Eagles as a group very narrowly survived themselves. During...
The Eagles Pt. 1: International Drug Smuggling, Endless Cocaine, and California Excess
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From games of chicken on private planes to one member surviving a private plane crash, the Eagles as a group very narrowly survived themselves. During...
The Eagles Pt. 1: International Drug Smuggling, Endless Cocaine, and California Excess
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
From games of chicken on private planes to one member surviving a private plane crash, the Eagles as a group very narrowly survived themselves. During...
Bonus Episode: Just A Cook, Napkin Hats, and Big Country
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week Jake talks the inspiration and background behind this week's brand-new DISGRACELAND episode on Anthony Bourdain, plus your emails, voicemail...
Hank Williams: Sanatoriums, Poison Pills, and Fired from the Grand Ole Opry
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hank Williams defined the genre we now call country with a guitar in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. In between stints in the local drunk...
Sublime: Hoodlums, Police Helicopters, and Getting Dirty at Denny’s
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With their newfangled ska-punk, Sublime preached the gospel of Long Beach’s seedy shores unlike any band before them. They also incited a riot at th...
Tom Petty: House Fires, Hiding a Heroin Habit, and Run-Down Dreams
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When a mystery arsonist set Tom Petty’s house on fire in the late 1980s, he barely escaped with his life. But there was another danger looming aroun...
Taylor Swift: Horrifying Stalkers
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Taylor Swift has a list of stalkers longer than her stadium tour setlists. One drove over 900 miles to hand-deliver his “love” letters to her then...
Derek and the Dominos: Clapton, Cocaine, Motorcycles, and Murder
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1960s London, for young guitar enthusiasts, believing that “Clapton is God” was practically the 11th Commandment. In 1970 he lent his big, stic...
Woodstock Pt. 2: A Disaster Movie
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The original Woodstock was a literal disaster, declared so on its first day by the state of New York. There were fights, onstage, armed black-shirted ...
Woodstock Pt. 1: A Disaster Movie
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Woodstock is remembered as the generation-defining moment when the baby boomers demonstrated to the world the power of peace, love and communalism. In...
Black Sabbath: Satanists, Severed Limbs, Dismembered Fingers, Mountains of Cocaine and the Invention of Heavy Metal
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Black Sabbath are solely responsible for conjuring the diabolical power of heavy metal. When guitarist Tony Iommi lost his fingertips as a teenager, h...
Fleetwood Mac Pt. 2: Going to #1, and Going Your Own Way
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fleetwood Mac’s mid-’70s merger with the musical duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks changed the course of the band forever, propelling the...
Fleetwood Mac Pt. 2: Going to #1, and Going Your Own Way
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fleetwood Mac’s mid-’70s merger with the musical duo of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks changed the course of the band forever, propelling the...
Fleetwood Mac Pt. 1: Guns, God, Cocaine and Rumours
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Few bands can boast a rock ’n’ roll lore at the level of Fleetwood Mac. The band lost not one but two guitarists to cult-like religious freaks. Tw...
Fleetwood Mac Pt. 1: Guns, God, Cocaine and Rumours
14 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Few bands can boast a rock ’n’ roll lore at the level of Fleetwood Mac. The band lost not one but two guitarists to cult-like religious freaks. Tw...
Tommy James and the Shondells: Mony Mony and Mafia-Sanctioned Hits
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tommy James came up during a time when the music industry was in part controlled by New York’s Italian mafia. And for a period in the 1960s, that po...
Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell: A Murderous Fan, Brotherly Love and Cowboys from Hell
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gunned down onstage by a delusional fan who thought his metal heroes had stolen lyrics from him, Dimebag Darrell Abbott blazed a savage new trail in h...
Ray Charles: Busted for Heroin and Busting Genres with the Best Damn R&B
13 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ray Charles was hooked on heroin, arrested by federal agents, and once survived a near-death plane ride by helping the pilot - as a blind man. He inve...
John Lennon: Violence, Protests, Provoking the FBI, and Pissing off the President
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1970s, John Lennon was suspected of conspiring to disrupt an American political convention and contributing to a paramilitary terrorist o...
Paul McCartney: Paul Is Dead
15 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite his reputation as “the safe Beatle,” Paul McCartney was a badass. He took wild artistic risks, rubbed elbows with truly dangerous characte...
The Notorious B.I.G. Pt. 2: A Dead Rivalry, New Inspiration and a Murder Mystery for the Ages
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of the Notorious B.I.G. story we see the young star trying to deal with life after the death of his rival (and one-time friend), Tupac Sha...
The Notorious B.I.G. Pt. 2: A Dead Rivalry, New Inspiration and a Murder Mystery for the Ages
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of the Notorious B.I.G. story we see the young star trying to deal with life after the death of his rival (and one-time friend), Tupac Sha...
The Notorious B.I.G. Pt. 1: Dealing Crack on the Corner, Spitting Beef and Creating One of the Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Notorious B.I.G. entered adulthood as a crack dealer and left this world as one of the most famous hip-hop stars of all time. He was murdered myst...
The Notorious B.I.G. Pt. 1: Dealing Crack on the Corner, Spitting Beef and Creating One of the Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time
11 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Notorious B.I.G. entered adulthood as a crack dealer and left this world as one of the most famous hip-hop stars of all time. He was murdered myst...
Lil Wayne: Murder Squads, A Pre-Teen Suicide Attempt, a Year at Rikers and More Hits than Elvis
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lil Wayne grew up on the mean streets of New Orleans. His father split when he was two, and his stepdad was shot before he was a teenager. Wayne poure...
Oasis Pt. 2: The Biggest Band on the Planet, Britop, Private Islands, A Drowning Rolls-Royce, Liam and Noel Off Their T*ts and at Each Other’s Throats
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Oasis were the biggest band on the planet for a moment. They famously warred with Britpop rivals Blur, and the Brothers Gallagher feuded with each oth...
Oasis Pt. 1: Hooliganism, Hedonism, Rock Star Anthems and the “Greatest Rock ‘N’ Roll Band on the Planet”
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Few bands have come from as little and made as much of themselves as Oasis. Along the way they were wildly entertaining — unlike anything England or...
The New York Dolls: Born to Lose, Lipstick Killers and R&B in four-inch heels
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The New York Dolls were one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time. They came to life when their hometown of New York City was coming apa...
Lil’ Peep: A new hip-hop and emo fusion; trap beats, tender lyrics, too much Xanax and an overdose that’s still mysterious.
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Lil’ Peep was a once-in-a-generation talent. Poised to become a new Cobain, Bowie or Dylan, but whose life was cut short by an overdose that’s sti...
The Beatles (Pt. 2): Kamikaze Assassins, Acid Smuggling, Suicide, Kidnapping, and the Breakup the Greatest Band of All Time
02 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the height of their world-changing and culture-defining popularity, the Beatles faced death threats in foreign countries, an unfair tax rate in the...
The Beatles (Pt. 1): Stoned with Dylan, Dosed with Acid, Outrunning Knife Wielding Maniacs, and Driving the World to the Brink with Beatlemania
23 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Beatles caused fans to enter into manic states, literally. People died because of it. The band swallowed more pills than food in their early years...
The Ramones: TV Bombs, Psycho Therapy, Toilet Syringes, Turning Tricks and Saving Rock ‘N’ Roll
16 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sniffing glue, hooking for drug money, hurling rocks at the Beatles, and writing infectious sunshiny melodies about their grimy reality, the Ramones w...
David Bowie: The occult, cocaine, orgies, arrests, exorcisms, a weird flirtation with fascism and a dead body.
09 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
No musical artist better personified the hedonism of the ’70s than David Bowie. He captivated the imaginations of music fans all over the world with...
Tupac Shakur Pt. 2: Life Behind Bars, Suge Knight Saves The Day, East Coast/West Coast Beef, and What Could Have Been
02 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of the Tupac Shakur story, we see the young star trying to deal with life behind bars and giving in to the patronage of the notorious Suge...
Tupac Shakur Pt. 1: 1960s Radicalism Gives Way to Socially Conscious Rap, a Charismatic Screen Star, and Deadly Violence
26 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tupac Shakur was many things. He was a supremely talented MC and was wildly charismatic in front of the camera. He was also violent, angry and complet...
Gram Parsons: A Stolen Body, Heroin, More Rolling Stones and Cosmic American Music
12 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Gram Parsons is one of the most influential musicians in rock ‘n’ roll that you’ve maybe never heard of. He created a form of music that has bee...
Chuck Berry: Systemic Racism, Sexual Depravity and the Invention of Rock ‘N’ Roll
24 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chuck Berry was imprisoned numerous times. He was a victim of violent systemic racism and accused of horrific acts of sexual depravity. He also invent...
Selena: Tejano, Deception, and the Death of the Madonna of Mexico
10 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Selena Quintanilla Pérez ushered in the Golden Age of Tejano music in Texas with a meteoric rise up the charts and into the hearts of her fans. Her f...
The Misfits: Robbing Graves, Night of the Living Dead and the Teenagers from Mars
27 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Misfits were truly unique. Scary. Violent. Angry. Nihilistic. These words can easily describe not only their music, but also the band as people, p...
The Grateful Dead Pt. 2: The Ballad of Pigpen and Old, Weird America—an Origin Story
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bootlegging whiskey, acid tests, grass, and songs about murder. The origins of the Grateful Dead are fascinating and not what most people think. Born ...
The Grateful Dead Pt. 2: The Ballad of Pigpen and Old, Weird America—an Origin Story
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Bootlegging whiskey, acid tests, grass, and songs about murder. The origins of the Grateful Dead are fascinating and not what most people think. Born ...
Chet Baker: Heroin, Romance, Missing Teeth and the James Dean of Jazz
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chet Baker, with his natural talent, unique voice and beautiful looks was known as “the James Dean of Jazz.” He was also a savage junkie and part ...
Ice-T: Crip Rhymes, a Cop Killer, Thieving Jewels and Inventing Gangsta Rap
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ice-T stoked the wrath of the President of the United States, led the life of a successful jewel thief, ran with one of LA’s most notorious street g...
The Rolling Stones Pt. 2: Swinging London, Stolen Jewels, the Mars Bar Myth, and Busted at Redlands
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Establishment strikes back in this second installment of the Rolling Stones time in Swinging London. UK pop star Donovan is busted, a precursor to...
Rolling Stones Pt. 1: Swinging London, a Prison Break, East End Gangsters and the Anti-Beatles
23 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
London was swinging. Keith Richards was in jail. The Kray Twins were menacing about. Brian Jones was on too much LSD. Aristocrats were tripping over t...
Prince: Dark Funk and Fentanyl
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Few pop artists achieved the dizzying creative and career highs that Prince did. An artist who famously stayed away from drugs and most anything that ...
Prince (Pt. 1): Dark Funk and Fentanyl
09 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Few pop artists achieved the dizzying creative and career highs that Prince did. An artist who famously stayed away from drugs and most anything that ...
Studio 54: Disco Decadence, a Dead Body and Bags of Cash
26 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the late seventies, Studio 54 was the place to be for musicians and celebrities alike. John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen...
Nipsey Hussle: A Crenshaw Murder, Community Activism, Rollin 60s Crips, and Lost Potential
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nipsey Hussle was more than just one of this generation’s most promising voices in hip hop. He was a social activist, a community leader, and an asp...
Nipsey Hussle: A Crenshaw Murder, Community Activism, Rollin 60s Crips, and Lost Potential
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nipsey Hussle was more than just one of this generation’s most promising voices in hip hop. He was a social activist, a community leader, and an asp...
Ozzy Osbourne: The Prince of Darkness, Randy Rhoads’ Plane Crash and the Saving Grace of a Strong Woman
28 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ozzy Osbourne, along with his bandmates in Black Sabbath, invented heavy metal, and throughout Ozzy’s post-Sabbath solo career he would invent new, ...
Run DMC: Innovation, Evolution and the Mysterious Death of Jam Master Jay
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Run DMC is directly responsible for elevating hip hop to previously unimagined heights. They took rap music into an entirely different direction and h...
Joe Exotic: Tiger King, Budding Country Star, Confidence Man Extraordinaire
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Exotic, the gun toting, mullet wearing, polyamorous subject of the hit Netflix series Tiger King was more than just a murder-minded conman. He cou...
John Denver: A Folk Singer, a Sniper and America’s Darkest Day
01 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
(This is a bonus April Fools’ episode of Disgraceland that is satire and not true crime.) John Denver was a one of the biggest stars of the Seventie...
Little Richard: Sex and the Duality of the King and Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll
31 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Little Richard is the originator. Without him it’s hard to imagine the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John or even Led Zeppelin. He blazed a trail t...
Jay Z: Street hustle, a Nightclub Stabbing, a Near Drug Bust and the God MC
24 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Jay Z’s career defies easy categorization. His artistry and business sense are as influenced by his past career as a drug dealer as they are anythin...
Guns N’ Roses Pt. 2: Real life Rocket Queen, Raging Press, Recovered Memories, and the Riverport Riot
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Post Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses embodied the word “dysfunction." As the band prepared for their follow up release, singer Axl Rose wa...
Guns N’ Roses Pt. 2: Real life Rocket Queen, Raging Press, Recovered Memories, and the Riverport Riot
17 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Post Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses embodied the word “dysfunction." As the band prepared for their follow up release, singer Axl Rose wa...
Guns N’ Roses Pt. 1: Brawling with Bowie, Juvenile Delinquency, Dealing Dope and Death at Donington
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Few hard rock bands lived the life portrayed in their songs as authentically as Guns N’ Roses. Singer Axl Rose was driven by deep-seated demons that...
Guns N’ Roses Pt. 1: Brawling with Bowie, Juvenile Delinquency, Dealing Dope and Death at Donington
10 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Few hard rock bands lived the life portrayed in their songs as authentically as Guns N’ Roses. Singer Axl Rose was driven by deep-seated demons that...
The Beach Boys Pt. 2: Endless Bummer, Hollywood Paranoia, Onstage Fist Fights, Incest, and Cocaine
19 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the aftermath of the Manson Family murders, Hollywood was gripped with fear. Various investigations stitched together a deluded White Album-inspire...
The Beach Boys Pt. 1: Endless Summer, LSD, Orgies, Charles Manson and a Steve McQueen Man-Crush
17 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the summer of 1968, the Beach Boys’ drummer Dennis Wilson invited a hippie guru and his grungy harem to squat in his Pacific Palisades home. Denn...
The Rolling Stones at Altamont: Bikers, Blood, and the End of the '60s
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Rolling Stones, the most dangerous band on the planet, envisioned their free concert at the Altamont speedway outside San Francisco as the triumph...
The Rolling Stones at Altamont: Bikers, Blood, and the End of the '60s
03 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Rolling Stones, the most dangerous band on the planet, envisioned their free concert at the Altamont speedway outside San Francisco as the triumph...
A$AP Rocky: Love Sex Dreams/LSD and Locked Up Overseas
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
A$AP Rocky’s upbringing; Harlem, Riker’s, and his own instincts and sense of history informed his world view: A view that included not only a heal...
Whitney Houston: Cracks in the Mirror, Crack on the Mirror, and One Fateful Choice
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Whitney Houston was The Voice. A stunning beauty. An early MTV star and leading actress. But when she passed away in a hotel suite bath, the music ind...
Eminem: Taking His Shot, Pulling a Glock, and Facing the Real Slim Shady
05 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On a single Saturday in 2000, Marshall Mathers assaulted two separate men with a pistol and fought with his wife outside a nightclub, resulting in law...
Madonna: Music as Sex and Sex as Power in the Reign of the Queen of Pop
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Madonna always knew her life would be art. She rose through the late 70s New York scene reinventing pop iconography and feminism alike. But whether it...
Madonna: Music as Sex and Sex as Power in the Reign of the Queen of Pop
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Madonna always knew her life would be art. She rose through the late 70s New York scene reinventing pop iconography and feminism alike. But whether it...
Iggy Pop: Mad Artistry, Mental Wards, and Gaping Chest Wounds
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Iggy Pop pushed rock further than anyone before him, committing to live acts of sex, sickness, and rumored suicide on stage. From his cocaine fueled b...
Iggy Pop: Mad Artistry, Mental Wards, and Gaping Chest Wounds
15 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Iggy Pop pushed rock further than anyone before him, committing to live acts of sex, sickness, and rumored suicide on stage. From his cocaine fueled b...
Motown Records: Pimps, Prostitutes, the Detroit Mafia and the Sound of Teenage America
08 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Motown Records is one of the most successful musical industry endeavors of all time. The music and the megastars Motown produced, like Smokey Robinson...
Led Zeppelin: Dark Power, Cocaine, Backstage Brawls and Heavy Metal Magick
01 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Led Zeppelin were the biggest band on the planet. The great white shark of the seventies. They defined excess. They designed the avatar for the heavy ...
N.W.A Pt. 2: Beatdowns, Band Beef, Death Row and LA on Fire
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of the N.W.A story finds the group dead center in America’s crosshairs, due in part to their own violent behavior, and at a crossroads crea...
N.W.A Pt. 1: Street Hustle, Reality Rap and Culture-Shifting Violence
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
N.W.A, the self proclaimed “most dangerous group in America,” were seen as violent, thuggish, profanity-spewing criminals, but they had nothing on...
Frank Sinatra: Frankie Is the Reason...That the President's Dead
31 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Frank Sinatra had it all, then lost it all, then got it all back tenfold. He was a man of extreme talent, confidence and insecurity. And he had powerf...
The Rolling Stones: Fugitives in Exile
23 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Gun fights, heroin trafficking, burglaries, kidnapping threats, intra-band infidelity and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever made, Exile on Ma...
The Rolling Stones: Fugitives in Exile
23 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Gun fights, heroin trafficking, burglaries, kidnapping threats, intra-band infidelity and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever made, Exile on Ma...
Cardi B: Felony Assault
09 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Cardi B is one of the biggest artists on the planet and one of the most successful female hip hop artists of all time. She is accused of two counts of...
Jim Morrison: Zodiac Killer Qu'est-ce Que C'est
25 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This is a bonus episode of Disgraceland that is satire and not true crime. Originally released on April 1, 2019 as an April Fools joke, this episode f...
Slick Rick: Hustle, Iconic Flow and a Menacing Tormentor
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Slick Rick has one of the most iconic voices in hip hip history. His style is completely his own, and his success owes as much to his delivery as it d...
Slick Rick: Hustle, Iconic Flow and a Menacing Tormentor
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Slick Rick has one of the most iconic voices in hip hip history. His style is completely his own, and his success owes as much to his delivery as it d...
Johnny Cash: Pills & Playing With Fire
28 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Johnny Cash took no shit. He was a total original. Could maneuver that big baritone around a ballad or a rave up like nobody’s business. He also bur...
Amy Winehouse: Rehab, the Muse and a Rare Talent
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rehab, arrests, fights, hitting on Prince Harry, dramatic stage breakdowns, slagging off the press, Amy Winehouse was a rockstar’s rockstar and she ...
Amy Winehouse: Rehab, the Muse and a Rare Talent
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Rehab, arrests, fights, hitting on Prince Harry, dramatic stage breakdowns, slagging off the press, Amy Winehouse was a rockstar’s rockstar and she ...
XXXTentacion: Mellow Beats and Ultra Violence
30 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
XXXTentacion was one of Generation Z’s most talented hip hop stars but his ascent was marked by violence and drama; beatdowns, beefs (what’s up, D...
Grateful Dead Pt. 1: Freedom's Just Another Word for…
16 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Grateful Dead became one of the most influential bands of all time and propelled themselves with improvisation, LSD and an ethos of “freedom”....
Grateful Dead Pt. 1: Freedom's Just Another Word for…
16 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Grateful Dead became one of the most influential bands of all time and propelled themselves with improvisation, LSD and an ethos of “freedom”....
Ike and Tina Turner: The Inventor and Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll
02 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Ike Turner very well may have invented rock ‘n’ roll; Tina Turner is one of the most electrifying entertainers to ever take the stage. Together, t...
Snoop Doggy Dogg: Murder Was The Case
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Snoop Dogg, (AKA Calvin Broadus) has worn many hats: inmate, pimp, Martha Stewart’s BFF. In 1994, Snoop was the biggest name in hip hop, yet his car...
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love Pt. 2: Suicide Samurai
19 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Grunge, grief, the Grateful Dead and a “teenage whore.” Part 2 of the Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love story picks up with Courtney’s ascent and th...
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love Pt. 1: No Direction Home
14 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Kurt Cobain is a celebrated and defiant icon of Generation X. His wife, Courtney Love, was once the most hated woman in America. Courtney, like Kurt, ...
Spade Cooley: Jealousy, Torture, Murder
30 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Spade Cooley was one of Postwar America’s biggest celebrities and most talented musicians. He was also a violent drunk and homicidal psychopath with...
Rick James: Superfreak Is an Understatement
23 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Rick James may have been born into a life of crime, but he was determined to make his way in life through music. He intimidated George Clinton, inspir...
Big Lurch: Hip Hop Cannibal
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Big Lurch didn’t just rap about standard hip-hop culture; he rapped about serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and horror movie villains like Freddy K...
Keith Moon: Rockstar Excess and a Dead Chauffeur
09 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Keith Moon of the Who was the prototype for rock drummers, both onstage and off. His drumming was wholly unique. Like his bandmates' behavior, it was ...