DISGRACELAND is an award-winning music and true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Jerry Lee Lewis's 5th wife? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Both dead. Why? Because musicians are insane, and insane things happen to them.
Why did we lose Amy Winehouse at 27? Was Debbie Harry really abducted by Ted Bundy as she claims? Is Patti Smith not just the "Godmother of Punk", but also the "Original True Crime Girl"? What really happened the night of the Jay Z nightclub stabbing? What do the Diddy indictments truly reveal? All these stories and more, on artists from every genre and their true crimes, in our massive 260-plus story archive. The Dead, the Stones, Johnny, Willie, Frank, Kurt, Courtney, Gaga, Lana, Taylor, and too many to name.
DISGRACELAND is music history come to life through audio storytelling as you've never heard it before, with revealing facts: yes, assassins are the real reason the Beatles quit touring—reclaimed myths: no, Mama Cass didn't die from choking on a ham sandwich––and constant reckoning between art and artist––all told through the lens of true crime.
This is the podcast for the self-proclaimed "Disgos", the musically obsessed and the true crime heads; the outsiders, the independent thinkers who know that the best history is the history that gets buried. DISGRACELAND is where host Jake Brennan tells the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Get ready to uncover hidden truths and buckle up for truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling.
New, fully scripted, sound-designed episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus chat-style episodes where Jake responds to voicemails, texts, and emails from Disgos hit on Thursdays, and "Rewind" episodes from our archive drop on Sundays.
DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It's an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are dramatized, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com.
To unlock ad-free listening, exclusive content, and connect with your fellow Disgos, go to www.disgracelandpod.com to become an All Access member.
Rocka Rolla.
Adele’s love of Al Pacino led us into a Mafia/Music Murder Rabbit Hole. Help us climb out of it in this bonus episode. Plus your voicemails, texts, emails, comments, DMs—and as always, a whole lotta Rosie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
With the release of her smash sophomore album 21, Adele became one of the most beloved pop stars of the 21st century. Her songs were the most played at karaoke bars, weddings, and funerals – not to mention a criminal element in America which sought to use Adele’s newfound fame for their nefarious purposes. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to exclusive bonus content and more, become...
Married to R. Kelly at 15 years old and dead by the age of 22. Aaliyah was supposed to be as big as Beyonce, but drugs, corruption, and a fiery crash prevented that from happening. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including sexual abuse of a minor. This episode was originally published on Novembe 12, 2024. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclus...
How great was 1994 for music? The year Weezer’s “Blue Album” was released? Well, pretty tough to beat. This is a nostalgia episode so turn Beavis and Butt-Head off in the background, throw some Hot Pockets in the microwave, and put down your copy of Sassy magazine, because it’s time to listen to this Disgraceland bonus episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A frontman obsessed with Kurt Cobain. A band trying to outrun its own dorky image. A bass player who burned hot, disappeared, and later seemed to predict his own death. Harvard isolation, hotel-room debauchery, algorithmic songwriting, and a Weezer T-shirt at the center of an LAPD shooting. Listen to find out how Rivers Cuomo’s perfectly controlled rock band found its dark side. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen to Disgr...
Anthony Bourdain had a lust for life. He went all in on adventure, indulgence, food, romance – including the romance of a heroin addiction that he chased through the restaurant kitchens and grimy rock clubs of 1980s Manhattan. For years he was a struggling cook and writer, but his first book, published when he was 43 years old, was an overnight success. He parlayed success as a writer into success as a TV host, traveling all over the world, dining with rockstars, presidents, and everyone in betw...
Sonic Youth and the new Rolling Stone Magazine list of 100 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time has us asking about what the definition of punk rock even is—plus a preview of our upcoming Weezer episode—and your voicemails, texts, DMs and more. Check out our huge archive of hundreds of stories on artists like: The Sex Pistols The Clash The Ramones Patti Smith See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Viral YouTube star Christina Grimmie built her career one click, one song, and one fan at a time. Her breakout run on the NBC singing competition show The Voice was watched by millions. But one obsessed fan watched her a little too closely. Listen to find out how viral fame, fan access, and one man’s delusion turned into murder – and why time has never let Christina Grimmie’s story go. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen t...
On May 22, 2017, a terrorist detonated a bomb outside Ariana Grande’s performance at Manchester Arena. The blast killed 22 people. It injured over a thousand more. The attack remains one of the most heartbreaking events in music history. Parents were terrified. Younger fans suddenly feared going to concerts. But Manchester’s story doesn’t end on May 22, or in the days that followed. It ends with one woman organizing the One Love concert, healing a new generation of young pop devotees. This is th...
The newly revealed evidence from prosecutors detailing the alleged murder of a 14 year old by rising hip hop star D4vd are as shocking as they are dumb. You will not believe what this musician is being accused of. Plus your thoughts on the Mount Rushmore of guitar players, Sean Diddy Combs, and the May-Madness Sitcom Music Slugfest with your voicemails, texts, DMs, and more. For more great music and true crime stories, check out our extensive archive, featuring episodes like: Van Halen The Cramp...
By the time he was 27 years old, Stevie Ray Vaughan was the hottest guitar player in Texas. But outside of the Lone Star State, he was practically unknown, with no real audience and no record deal. But all that would change when Stevie Ray Vaughan reached a crossroads and was presented with a fateful choice: be a star in someone else’s universe, or become a guitar god on his own. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen to Disg...
How does a music mogul satiate himself when he’s rich, famous, and can have whatever he wants? When he compares himself to gangster-pimp-king-hustlers from the past? When he’s one of the most powerful men in the music industry? The details behind the Cassie Ventura, Lil’ Rod Jones, and federal indictments charging Sean “Diddy” Combs with horrific acts of abuse – all charges Combs denies – might provide answers. This episode was originally published on January 7, 2025. To listen to Disgraceland a...
Sean “Diddy” Combs is a music producer and rapper, but he is a businessman first. And as every businessman knows, you gotta pay the cost to be the boss. You’ve gotta bet big to win big. You have to have drive, determination, and swag. Three things that Diddy possesses and which helped Diddy navigate through the fallout of a fatal stampede, an alleged beatdown of a record exec, and a shooting at a Manhattan nightclub. All of them obstacles on the road to building one of the most dominant empires ...
The “smart” folks over at The New York Times aren’t the only ones with a list this week. We use the (mostly solid) Times list of Thirty Greatest Living American Songwriters as a jumping off point into a discussion of our Top 5 Most Surprising Musician True Crimes. Warning: You will learn things. Plus your voicemails, texts, dms, emails, and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The story about Ian Watkins of Lostprophets might be the most disturbing I’ve come across in all my music history research. It involves the abuse of children and a monstrous abuse of power and fame. It also takes place in, among other places, an aptly named prison called “The Monster Mansion”, and like most great stories, it involves an unlikely hero and a twisted sort of justice. This episode will shock you. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including child ...
A deranged fan. A deadly package. And one of the most innovative musicians on the planet. This is the true story of obsession, art, and attempted murder. This is Björk in Disgraceland. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including depictions of suicide. If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide, help is available 24 hours a day at the 988 Lifeline. What do you think is the most wild and deranged story of an obsessive fan in music history? Tell Jake at 61...
Like the Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins’ death, the details around the Doors Jim Morrison’s death are mysterious. Was a debonair jetset Count responsible for the singer’s death along with the death of Janis Joplin and possibly others? We get into this incredible story along with your voicemails, text, dms and more in this bonus episode. For more rock 'n' roll and true crime, check out our archive, featuring episodes such as: Donny Hathaway Jim Morrison See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...
How is it that one of the most famous drummers on the planet died four years ago and we still don’t have an official cause of death? We have some ideas. Plus, we get into the story behind one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands to ever do it, Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.co...
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 fans saw her as more than just a pop star — she was family. Selena was about to take her fame and her family to the world stage when a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and jealousy would result in her untimely death at 23. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com . This episode was originally published on N...
In this week’s After Party, we dive into the near-death experience of Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan. After a harrowing moment in 1996, he floated above his body, witnessing paramedics trying to save him. But where do rock stars really go when they die? Is it a dark void or a realm of love? Plus, we hear from you about your favorite unlikely cover songs. Welcome to the After Party, Disgos! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Machines, eyeliner, ecstasy, and a West Hollywood overdose that left their frontman clinically dead—Depeche Mode were never just a synth-pop band. From cops in riot gear to an onstage heart attack, from stigmas about softness to the hard edge of addiction, this is the story of Dave Gahan’s descent into heroin, his two minutes on the other side, and the band’s unlikely resurrection as one of the most dangerous—and enduring—acts in rock history. This episode was originally released on September 24...
The news called the London crime wave an “epidemic”. The Beastie Boys inspired it. Liverpool wanted to kill the group. Ad Rock was in jail. Numerous other musicians were arrested, in part, because of the Beasties. These stories plus the band’s hardcore roots, their hip hop success, how they created a Gen X Sgt. Peppers, and a legacy that will be hard to top for future artists. Buckle up for a crime and grime Beastie Boys story. This episode was originally released on January 21, 2025. To listen ...
The Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame 2026 inductees were announced, and guess what? You’re pissed! So we are starting our own Hall of Fame. Plus, we are hearing from you through your voicemails, texts, and emails about Tom Waits, Patti Smith, and, of course, this week’s subject, Grace Jones. Welcome to the After Party, Disgos! For more great music and true crime stories, check out our archive, including episodes on: George Michael Madonna Jeff Buckley See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informatio...
Grace Jones was one of the era-defining multihyphenates of the 1980s, an icon of the music, fashion, and movie worlds. From Jamaica to Studio 54, she broke down barriers and smashed glass ceilings at every turn – but she was also a magnet for true crime in the process. She was arrested numerous times. She was set up, the victim of a home invasion, and she wielded a loaded gun in order to get her way. At the height of her fame, she found herself fighting to defend her honor and her truth in the f...
Disgos, we’ve got some big news—and you’re hearing it first. Also, Patti Smith has us asking (and answering), which movies about the Chelsea Hotel are worth watching, plus your voicemails, texts, DMs and more on the greatest music memoirs. For more great stories, check out our archive of over 250 episodes, featuring artists like: Mia Zapata Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Metallica See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping, Helter Skelter, the .44 Caliber Killers, the crime and grime of 70s New York; Central Park, the Chelsea Hotel, 42nd St., rape, murder, and the influence of junkie poets, and thieving novelists, all of it compelled Patti Smith to create music “for the criminals”, and perhaps to also survive, when so many other artists did not. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to exclusive bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgr...
Fresh off of reading Patti Smith’s excellent memoir Just Kids in preparation of our upcoming Patti episode, we are discussing our favorite music history memoirs and autobiographies, everything from Henry Rollins to Carrie Brownstein back to Henry Rollins via David Lee Roth and more plus, as always, your voicemails, texts, dms, emails and a new segment we’re calling “New Song Old Song”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A special look at the new artists we’re covering in 2026, along with a peek back at how we got started, where we’re going, and some listener favorites through the years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yeah, admit it, you don’t like Suede either. Plus, you’re going to want to learn more about the British band that attempted to kidnap not one, but two different British musical icons. Also, we explain how we plan to produce our answer to Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. That’s right…Damon and Justine are coming to Disgraceland. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Why are women criminally absent from most of Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Artists? Your voicemails and texts on who you think the most badass women from music history are. Plus, our take on which Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nominees are getting inducted this year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
