DISGRACELAND

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.

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?

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.

A Studio 54 throwback, a sneak peek at Prince, reviewing the reviews with Citizen Critic. Getting weird with Dave and taking in the scene with a gangster lean with Love and of course, me reading the phone book.

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.

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.

Ozzy Osbourne, along with bandmates, Black Sabbath invented heavy metal and throughout Ozzy’s post-Sabbath solo career he would invent new, self destructive forms of sabotage. Arrested at an early age for breaking and entering, Ozzy Osbourne refused to conform to societal norms and common decency. He would go on to be arrested numerous times and escape too many near death experiences to recount, including a plane crashing into his tour bus that would ultimately kill a dear friend and bandmate.

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?

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 could sing! You saw those videos. We did too. As a singer, Joe’s voice belied the tortured Everyman experience of some of the best country music crooners, hinting at deep trauma resulting from unspeakable loss, assault and violence. Most of which was for the most part, left on the cutting room floor of the popular Netflix series and is on display in this special Covid-19 bonus content episode of Disgraceland.

(This is a bonus April Fools’ episode of Disgraceland that is satire and not true crime.) John Denver was arguably one of, if not the biggest star of the seventies. His easy listening mainstream folk and his squeaky clean, environmentally friendly image made him a favorite in homes all across America. But was John Denver hiding a dark secret? One born of a mysterious military upbringing? A secret he would do anything to protect? A secret, he took to his early grave but that may soon see the light of day depending on numerous Freedom of Information Act court challenges? 

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. 

Checking in. Here to help and keep you entertained and hopefully shine light on different ways we can all help one another get through this extremely anxious time.

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”.

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.

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.