Rock On

his craft either. The winner had nine previous nominations. The award was his third. He received his first in two thousand and seven and his second in two sixteen. He called some of music's most prominent stars friends, then performed with Willie Nelson and Dizzy Gillespie. Decades before, he spent time on the road with the Allman Brothers, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin's Share, and bands like Fleetwood Mac adored him. He counted stars like Bob Dylan as a close personal friend.

He had musical roots in various genres, from classical and southern rock to jazz and blues. As a child, he loved hymns, country music, jazz, and of course rock. Part of the surprise might have been his age. In twenty nineteen, he was ninety four, making him the third oldest Grammy winner. In twenty eleven, ninety seven year old Pinetop Perkins won for Traditional Blues. In nineteen ninety one, comedian George Burns won the spoken Word category for his album An Evening

with George Burns. Oddly, this new winner never played a single instrument, and while he did sing, he never recorded a single song. But even this wasn't the biggest shocker. The twenty nineteen Grammys had a lot of talented artists vying for an award, Lady Beck, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, and Tony Bennett, among so many others. Honestly, that nice list of talent and nominees is too long to fit into any episode. Among the tuxes and designer gowns, the

audience looked like a red carpet extravaganza. Jennifer Lopez, Weird al Billy, Ray, cyrus Well, you get the picture. The Grammys az a who's who of the music industry, much like the Oscars are to film. The host Alicia Keys brought on several artists and even former First Lady Michelle Obama to talk about the influence that music had on their life. Dolly Parton was even named Person of the

Year for her musical contributions and her philanthropy. And like Dolly Parton, this unique winner had also dedicated much of his life to others. He formed his own organization devoted to advancing human rights, advocating for democracy, disease prevention, conflict resolution, and champion mental help for over eighty countries. Since the nineteen eighties, he and his wife dedicated themselves to fundraising for Habitat for Humanity, an organization helping to build affordable

homes for the underprivileged. But he and his wife didn't stop at raising money. No, they pitched in too, and during their thirty five year affiliation, the couple helped to build, repair, or renovate over four thousand homes. He wrote books when he wasn't helping with his organization or Habitat for Humanity. In fact, it's the reason he had won two previous Grammys and now a third. You see, there's an award

for the spoken word. Faith A Journey for All joined his two previous audio books, Our Endangered Values, America's Moral Crisis, and A Full Life Reflections at ninety, all of which were Grammy winners. And our winning artist, if you haven't guessed his name already, was none other than America's thirty ninth President, Jimmy Carter. It was the perfect place to

build a prison. Sprawling over the water on the border of Maine and New Hampshire, The castle, as it was dubbed, has been active since it was commissioned in the early nineteen hundreds. It really does look like something out of a fairy tale too, but the real story is something much darker. If you look closer, you'll see the concrete, the bars, and the foreboding structure of Portsmouth Naval Prison. The prison site is CV's Island, which has been essential

to various military engagements over the years. Initially, it was the site of Fort Sullivan, a Revolutionary era structure constructed by General John Sullivan and the New Hampshire Militia. It sat across the Pascatawa River from Fort Washington and was necessary for the defense of Portsmouth, New Hampshire during the war. After years of hostilities, the military decided something new was necessary since the fort was literally made out of nothing

but compacted dirt and a prayer. They tore down the original structure in eighteen sixty one. The island was perfect for training naval personnel, so when the Spanish American War broke out in eighteen ninety eight, Camp Long was built, along with a stockade to house captured Spanish prisoners until they could be traded, or at least until hostilities ceased. This was the first prison on the island. Really, it

was the perfect place to have a prison. The island was close enough to shore but surrounded by frigid waters, so it would be very difficult to escape without a boat. When they tore down Camp Long in nineteen o one, naval authorities decided that they needed a new and better reinforced prison and had it constructed. Portsmouth Naval Prison was completed in nineteen oh eight using some of the best materials money could buy. The new prison was based on

a more infamous model, the Alcatraz. The Inescapable Island prison on the west coast seemed to be the perfect structure to take inspiration from, and hopefully their track record would be just as good. The prison was a nasty place to be. We don't know much about the eighty thousand some prisoners that passed through the gates, but we do know that it was cold and cramped, and contraband and criminal activity inside the prison were left unchecked by the guards.

There have been plenty of stories about the prison itself. The mystique alone would ensure that a far few urban legends would crop up. According to one story, Walt Disney himself spent time inside the prison. Whether he was a visitor or prisoner was unclear. I can't imagine someone would want to spend much time inside there, no matter who they were, though, But in any case, according to the story, Disney was so struck by the castle and the fairytale like design that he based a palace in one of

his movies on it. Now, I personally don't think Cinderella's Castle looks much like the Portsmouth Naval Prison, but you've got to admit it's a pretty good story. Unfortunately not true. Another story, though, from World War One, seems to have basis in reality. On May eighteenth of nineteen seventeen, President Woodrow Wilson signed these Selective Services Act to draft men for the military. It was the first time since the

Civil War that that had been done. Very few were exempt, no matter their wealth, race, or in some cases their health. By the end of the war in nineteen eighteen, two point eight million men had been drafted into the armed forces. Now, of course, some jobs were more attractive than others. For example, if it was a choice between being a prison guard in New Hampshire or serving in the trenches of France,

I know what I would choose. Part of a guard's job was prisoner transport, and at that point the main method of transport was trains. When the guard and his prisoner arrived in Boston's South station, they had to change trains to complete the journey to Portsmith. The prisoner was handcuffed then was secure enough, or so they thought. Unfortunately for one guard, the prisoner decided the castle was the

last place he wanted to be. As they moved from one train to another, the prisoner asked the guard if he could bomb a smoke. The guard was a habitual smoker and was perfectly willing to share as he rooted around in his pockets for his matchbook and cigarettes. Though the prisoner swung his arms wide and smashed his manacled hands into the guard's face. Bruised, bloody, and more than a little dazed, the guard knew that he was in trouble.

According to some versions of the story, if a guard lost their charge, they would have to serve the prisoner's sentence. Whether or not that's true, I don't know, but it's certainly a good incentive to never let a prisoner escape. The guard went after the man and laid him out flat with his forty five automatic. The guard was treated by the Navy, then had to undergo surgery to repair his badly split lip. It didn't go well. The operation was botched, and later attempts to fix it with plastic

surgery didn't improve matters either. Still in later pictures in films, it's hardly noticeable. However, no matter how well the scar healed, there would always be one thing that reminded Humphrey Bogart of his time as a guard at the castle, his famous lisp that would set him apart from so many Golden Age actors. Bogart may have gone on to become one of the most recognizable actors in the world, but

one thing was certain. He would always have Portsmith. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities, subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manke in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and you can learn all about it over at the World

of Lure dot com. And until next time, stay curious.