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 hard rock during his short time on this earth. Weaned on Eddie Van Halen, Dimebag Darrell would wow the guitar gods he bowed down to as a teenager and gave metal a groove that the music had been lacking before Pantera made their first definitive statement, Cowboys from Hell. Though they made mean music, Darrell and his brother Vinnie were always acc...
Aug 03, 2021•48 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast 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 invented R&B. He was powerful enough to bring black and white culture into one. He was a genre-melding musical genius. Despite being born into a literal dirt poor existence in the Jim Crow era Deep South, despite going completely blind by the age of seven, and despite his addiction, Ray Charles influenced everyone from the Beatles to Belushi. And he ma...
Jul 13, 2021•44 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast In the early 1970s, John Lennon was suspected of conspiring to disrupt an American political convention and contributing to a paramilitary terrorist organization. Authorities took notice. So much so that the President of the United States took action to have the so-called “smart Beatle” deported. Lennon’s politics were way more violent and revolutionary than simply imagining all the people living life in peace and harmony. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracel...
Jun 29, 2021•42 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Despite his reputation as “the safe Beatle,” Paul McCartney was a badass. He took wild artistic risks, rubbed elbows with truly dangerous characters and because of his crimes, did hard time in one of the world’s most notorious prisons. His public spats with Beatles bandmate John Lennon are the stuff of legend, as is the “Paul is dead” conspiracy at the end of their time together as a band, but the truth may be even stranger. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgrac...
Jun 15, 2021•47 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Shakur. We also get a glimpse into the motivation behind the making of his final album, the aptly titled, Life After Death and get deep into the mystery behind his still unsolved murder. 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 a monthly exclusive episode, ...
May 25, 2021•37 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast 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 mysteriously and before that was arrested almost too many times to count. He eventually altered the course of hip-hop with the release of his debut album, Ready To Die, an album that served as a soundtrack of sorts for the highly publicized, dangerous, violent beef between himself and his one-time friend, fellow rapper, Tupac Shakur. But that whole sag...
May 11, 2021•41 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast 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 poured his pain into his rhymes and started cutting tracks for Cash Money Records, seeing hip-hop as the only way out of a violent scene. When his mother forced him to quit rapping, the only way out Wayne saw was suicide. Miraculously, he survived and went on to become one of the most successful artists of all-time, staying true to his roots throughout ...
Apr 27, 2021•39 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast 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 other in public and came to blows numerous times behind closed doors. The success of their massively popular second album skyrocketed the band to international fame and brought unwanted, intense pressure from the British tabloids, causing frontman Liam Gallagher to slide into a drunken stupor that would threaten to break up the band and distract Noel ...
Apr 13, 2021•38 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast 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 United States had ever seen — and fully committed to the life of the rock star and to making the greatest rock ‘n’ roll music the world had ever heard. Through it all they famously fought, with fans, with police and with each other. They drank excessively and did copious amounts of drugs and didn’t care who knew about it. They were England’s new...
Mar 30, 2021•37 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast 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 apart at the seams in the midst of rising murder, rape and burglary rates. Their drummer drowned. Their bassist was nearly murdered. Their guitar players despised their singer and the only thing their singer loved more than Archie Bell was himself. This of course was all part of the act. The self-destruction, the violence, the intra-band squabbling, but i...
Mar 16, 2021•43 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast 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 still mysterious. Depression, anxiety and a unique fusion of hip-hop, emo, grime and raw, empathetic lyrics resulted in a deep connection to fans that in the end, may have done him in at the tender age of 21. 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 a monthly e...
Mar 09, 2021•39 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast At the height of their world-changing and culture-defining popularity, the Beatles faced death threats in foreign countries, an unfair tax rate in their own country that forced them to stash heaps of undeclared cash in brown paper bags, and the sudden suicide of their manager. But none of this could break up the band. Nor could LSD smuggling missions, drug busts, extramarital affairs or the deranged fans who came to their houses. Listen to learn what really tore the Beatles apart. To see the com...
Mar 02, 2021•42 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast 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. They took acid by accident and changed the course of popular music forever as a result. Aside from all the screaming fans and the drugs, beating at the heart of Beatlemania was always just “a great little band.” Listen to learn how the Beatles saved America from certain doom with some of the most exciting music ever made. To see the complete list...
Feb 23, 2021•43 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Sniffing glue, hooking for drug money, hurling rocks at the Beatles, and writing infectious sunshiny melodies about their grimy reality, the Ramones were what the world needed in 1976. As rock ‘n’ roll was getting bloated with excessive experimentation and unfortunate forays into disco, four cretins from Queens stripped it all away to two-minute three-chord anthems with hard, fast backbeats and buzzing guitars. They adopted the same surname to solidify their brotherhood, and they lived like brot...
Feb 16, 2021•41 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast 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 a dizzying array of creative alter egos; Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke among them, and his obsession with occultist Aleister Crowley drove him down a dark, excessive hole filled with cocaine, orgies, arrests, fascism, death and madness that very nearly destroyed him. To see the complete list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod...
Feb 09, 2021•44 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Knight of Death Row Records while getting into the mud with the Notorious B.I.G. in a deadly game of East Coast West Coast beef. We also get a glimpse of what Tupac Shakur might have achieved had he not gone to Las Vegas on that fateful night back in 1996. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. To list...
Feb 02, 2021•34 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast 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 completely unable to keep himself out of trouble. Part one of his story traces his rise through the radical influence of his Black Panther lineage, the deadly violence that seemed to follow him wherever he went, and the inevitability of both prison and superstardom. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. To li...
Jan 26, 2021•37 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast 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 been copied by everyone from the Eagles to Ryan Adams. He directly influenced the Rolling Stones’ greatest album, possibly the greatest rock ‘n’ roll album of all time, Exile on Main Street. And when he died his body was stolen and unceremoniously disposed of. This is the story of Gram Parsons' life, death and very strange aftermath. To see the complete lis...
Jan 12, 2021•45 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast Chuck Berry was imprisoned numerous times. He was a victim of violent systemic racism and accused of horrific acts of sexual depravity. He also invented rock ‘n’ roll. Chuck Berry was as complex a character as he was influential as a musician. Throughout his career he found himself in numerous dust ups with authorities; some of them justified, most of them not. And through it all, whether he cared or didn’t, Chuck Berry made great music—literally some of the greatest music ever made. To view the...
Nov 24, 2020•40 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast 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. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get a...
Nov 10, 2020•46 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast The Misfits were truly unique. Scary. Violent. Angry. Nihilistic. These words can easily describe not only their music, but also the band as people, particularly frontman Glenn Danzig. Rumored to have been arrested for grave robbery, locked up abroad and inciting riots here in the States, the Misfits blazed a path of annihilation trading on fictional B-movie and scandal rag imagery to create one of the most enduring cult followings of all time and combating the very real sense of alienation that...
Oct 27, 2020•50 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast Bootlegging whiskey, acid tests, grass, and songs about murder. The origins of the Grateful Dead are fascinating and not what most people think. Born out of the tradition of “old, weird America”; bluegrass, jug band music and deadly folk tales, the Grateful Dead, as young adults, were into some strange stuff and we are all better for it. The band would go on to create their very own “new, weird America” due in part to the cultural impact they would have over their near 40-year career. But their ...
Oct 13, 2020•42 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast 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 time criminal. A one of a kind musician, his soft singing style and romantic playing enraptured Hollywood, the jazz world, and Europe. However, violence, crime, and drugs led to numerous prison stints and to one of the most mysterious deaths in music. Who or what killed the great Chet Baker? To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ...
Sep 29, 2020•41 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast 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 gangs, the Crips, and was a soldier in the US Army. Along the way, he invented gangsta rap. But it wouldn’t be rap music that would threaten his career—it would be hardcore music, particularly the song “Cop Killer” from his punk band, Body Count. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode was ori...
Sep 15, 2020•43 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast 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 the Stones Redlands bust. Mick Jagger is in jail looking at hard time. The tabloids and the coppers are in league to bring down the disruptive Rolling Stones while the myth of Keith Richards is born. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 30, 2020•40 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast 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 themselves to hang out with the Rolling Stones. England was smitten. The London Establishment was freaking out and the Stones’ manager wanted to know one thing: Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone? To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Jun 23, 2020•37 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast 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 would cause him to lose control, Prince was aided in his legendary musical output by a small army of creative alter egos, who helped him maintain control and helped him reign supreme as one of the greatest pop musicians of all time, until of course, all control was lost. This episode was originally published on June 9, 2020. To view the full list o...
Jun 09, 2020•46 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast In the late seventies, Studio 54 was the place to be for musicians and celebrities alike. John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and others all famously hung out at the notorious club where hedonism was part of the venue’s allure. The success of Studio 54 was sudden and massive, resulting in mountains of cash, cocaine, jealousy, revenge, an FBI raid, and an ironic ending for one of its owners. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at disgracelandpod.com ...
May 26, 2020•42 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast 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 aspirational entrepreneur. His death was senseless and set off grief-stricken testimonials from some of the biggest names in hip hop as well as from some of the biggest names in our culture – period. It also set off a riot in the streets of Los Angeles – the streets where he came up and where he was shot down. He was taken from us too soon and we’re sti...
May 12, 2020•37 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Run DMC is directly responsible for elevating hip hop to previously unimagined heights. They took rap music into an entirely different direction and helped mainstream the genre. They were beloved as musicians, innovators, and people – none more than their DJ, Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell, which makes understanding his senseless murder near impossible. Who killed Jam Master Jay and why? And why are there literally zero suspects when there were numerous eyewitnesses? To view the full list of cont...
Apr 14, 2020•42 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast 
