Ray Charles: Busted for Heroin and Busting Genres with the Best Damn R&B

The Rolling Stones: Sleeping With the First Lady and Trafficking Heroin by DISGRACELAND

The Rolling Stones: Fugitives in Exile: Gun fights, heroin trafficking, burglaries, kidnapping threats, intra-band infidelity and the greatest rock ‘n’ roll record ever made, Exile on Main St. The Rolling Stones created this album as fugitives––tax fugitives––exiled from their homeland to the French Riviera and desperate to keep their career afloat after a near decade of scandal and near financial ruin amidst a cast of colorful characters including Gram Parsons, Anita Pallenberg, starlets, aristocrats, drug dealers, junkies and thieves. All of the chaos contributed to one of Keith Richards’ and Mick Jagger’s finest creative achievements, a wholly new and unique interpretation of America. by DISGRACELAND

39 min listen

Guns N’ Roses Pt. 1: Brawling with Bowie, Juvenile Delinquency, Dealing Dope and Death at Donington: 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 drove the creation of his band’s legendary debut album, Appetite For Destruction as well as his legendary bad behavior. His band was hardly any different. Nearly dysfunctional from drug use and excess, their record label feared they would all die before their first album was even released. Listen to part 1 of Guns N’ Roses saga, complete with highly entertaining cameos by David Bowie, Joe Perry, Mick Jagger, and others. by DISGRACELAND

43 min listen

Motown Records: Pimps, Prostitutes, the Detroit Mafia and the Sound of Teenage America: Motown Records is one of the most successful musical industry endeavors or all time. The music and the megastars Motown produced; Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5 defined a generation. But that success is marred by rumors. Rumors that the record label and its innovative owner were controlled by the quote unquote black hand of the white American mob. by DISGRACELAND

44 min listen

Madonna: Music as Sex and Sex as Power in the Reign of the Queen of Pop: 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 was Toronto police threatening her for indecency, her short-fuse husband, Hollywood bros exploiting her charisma, or far worse, Madonna learned quick: the world doesn’t know what to do with a truly free woman. by DISGRACELAND

44 min listen

Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G.: The Media Did It by DISGRACELAND

29 min listen

Jerry Lee Lewis: The Killer and Getting Away with Murder by DISGRACELAND

31 min listen

Van Morrison: Astral Weeks, Movement and Murder by DISGRACELAND

32 min listen

Iggy Pop: Mad Artistry, Mental Wards, and Gaping Chest Wounds: 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 bromance with David Bowie, to his search for inspiration in the voodoo rituals of Haiti, Iggy Pop never just crossed the line between art and madness. He bled all over it, and danced on the stains. by DISGRACELAND

42 min listen

eA$AP Rocky: Love Sex Dreams/LSD and Locked Up Overseas: A$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 healthy respect for the healing powers of LSD, but also a healthy distaste for the political maelstrom surrounding cartoon president Donald J. Trump. The irony is that A$AP Rocky’s own behavior led him straight into the political fray—jailed in an international incident and, in the end, in need of the unlikeliest of political allies to help him escape. by DISGRACELAND

50 min listen

Sam Cooke: An Insatiable Libido and a Justifiable Homicide by DISGRACELAND

32 min listen

James Brown: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag... Of Meth by DISGRACELAND

34 min listen

Tay-K: A Nationwide Manhunt and Art Imitating Life by DISGRACELAND

28 min listen

N.W.A Pt. 2: Beatdowns, Band Beef, Death Row and LA on Fire: 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 creatively. Death Row’s Suge Knight, Public Enemy’s Chuck D., and a young hustler from the east coast all ride shotgun to Dre, E, Cube, Yella and Ren as the group finds itself having predicted yet another one of America’s darkest moments. by DISGRACELAND

42 min listen

The New York Dolls: Born to Lose, Lipstick Killers and R&B in four-inch heels by DISGRACELAND

43 min listen

Sid Vicious: Love Kills... Even a Mother's Love? by DISGRACELAND

36 min listen

N.W.A Pt. 1: Street Hustle, Reality Rap and Culture-Shifting Violence: N.W.A, the self proclaimed, “most dangerous group in America” were seen as violent, thuggish, profanity spewing criminals but they had nothing on those who were sworn to serve and protect them in South Central, Los Angeles. The group’s hard hitting beats and reality rhymes launched a “gangsta rap” trend in music that still thrives today and their album, Straight Outta Compton predicted one of the most notoriously violent events in American history. by DISGRACELAND

43 min listen

The Rolling Stones at Altamont: Bikers, Blood, and the End of the '60s: The Rolling Stones, the most dangerous band on the planet, envisioned their free concert at the Altamont speedway outside San Francisco as the triumphant capstone to their 1969 tour: a west coast Woodstock, and a celebration of free love and hippiedom. But the festival, thrown together in under seventy two hours and with security managed by Hell’s Angels paid in beer, was fated for a tragic and violent end... just like the ‘60s themselves. by DISGRACELAND

49 min listen

John Lennon (Beatles Pt. 4): Funding Terrorism, Advocating Violence against Police, Provoking the FBI and Pissing off the President: 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 hear all episodes of Disgraceland for free, visit amazon.com/disgraceland. Show notes are available at disgracelandpod.com. Follow us @disgracelandpod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for music news, bonus episodes, and more. by DISGRACELAND

42 min listen

Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes: Hit Me Again and I'll Burn Your House Down by DISGRACELAND

33 min listen

Eminem: Taking His Shot, Pulling a Glock, and Facing the Real Slim Shady: 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 lawsuits and charges that hung over the completion of his original trilogy of albums. For that one day, the rap persona Slim Shady had escaped into the real world. How had Slim Shady come to be, and why had he gotten out? by DISGRACELAND

38 min listen

Nipsey Hussle: A Crenshaw Murder, Community Activism, Rollin 60s Crips, and Lost Potential: 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 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 where he came up on and was shot down on. He was taken from us too soon and we’re still searching for answers. by DISGRACELAND

37 min listen

Rolling Stones Pt. 1: Swinging London, a Prison Break, East End Gangsters and the Anti-Beatles: 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? by DISGRACELAND

37 min listen

Jay Z: Street hustle, a Nightclub Stabbing, a Near Drug Bust and the God MC: 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 anything else. Jay Z has reached unprecedented heights as an entertainer and an entrepreneur, and it almost never happened. All because of a stabbing. A stabbing that was influenced by that same street hustle that created “Jay Z”. by DISGRACELAND

49 min listen

David Bowie: The occult, cocaine, orgies, arrests, exorcisms, a weird flirtation with fascism and a dead body by DISGRACELAND

44 min listen

Ray Charles: Busted for Heroin and Busting Genres with the Best Damn R&B: 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 made some of the greatest music of all time.To hear all episodes of Disgraceland for free, visit amazon.com/disgraceland. Show notes are available at disgracelandpod.com. Follow us @disgracelandpod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for music news, bonus episodes, and more. by DISGRACELAND

44 min listen

Chuck Berry: Systemic Racism, Sexual Depravity and the Invention of Rock ‘N’ Roll by DISGRACELAND

40 min listen

Little Richard: Sex and the Duality of the King and Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll: 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 through popular culture that previous to him did not exist. His music was completely original for the time, the essence of rock ‘n’ roll, filled with impassioned energy, fueled at times by large quantities of drugs and always brimming with sex. The sex, the drugs, and the party for Little Richard, it was as endless as the manic energy that drove his music and it all nearly derailed him––several times––landing him behind bars and on the wrong side of the gun. by DISGRACELAND

44 min listen

Guns N’ Roses Pt. 2: Real life Rocket Queen, Raging Press, Recovered Memories, and the Riverport Riot: Post Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses embodied the word “dysfunction." As the band prepared for their follow up release, singer Axl Rose was losing a very public battle with the press while heroin and alcohol threatened to completely derail the band. Axl’s “recovered memories” continued to fuel his erratic behavior and thus he continued to drive his band closer and closer to the edge. It all came to a head in St. Louis at the infamous Riverport Riot. by DISGRACELAND

43 min listen

Tom Petty: House Fires, Hiding a Heroin Habit, and Run-Down Dreams: Tom Petty: House Fires, Hiding a Heroin Habit, and Run-Down Dreams by DISGRACELAND

47 min listen

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Ray Charles: Busted for Heroin and Busting Genres with the Best Damn R&B

Ray Charles: Busted for Heroin and Busting Genres with the Best Damn R&B

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