Ron "Pigpen" McKernan could already feel his influence in the band waning from early on. Even back when the Grateful Dead were still known as the Warlocks. Whereas Pig subsisted on raw power fueled by alcohol and blues music, the rest of the members of the band were functioning on a completely different level. They listened to music, talked literature, and explored the cosmos...while loaded to the gills on LSD. Pig did not partake. He found himself not just playing in a band, but navigating a world of merry pranksters, acid tests, and long, strange trips.
Read moreThe world mourned the death of Amy Winehouse on July 23, 2011 at the age of 27. For many, the grim reality was far from surprising. What was surprising, however, was what happened next. Sordid stories were told about her last night that contradicted the accepted narrative. An autopsy was called into question. And years down the line, there was a contested attempt to bring not just her music but her likeness back to life.
Read moreFive years had passed since her last album. Her ex-husband was facing jail time for burglary. But Amy Winehouse chose to focus on the positive. She may not have been entirely sober, but she was no longer using. She had found a new person to love, and one who loved her. And then...the bottom dropped out.
Read moreOne of Amy Winehouse’s final collaborators was Tony Bennett, who, unbeknownst to her, had his own stories to tell about struggling with addiction and fear. But no one, not even Tony Bennett, could help Amy Winehouse. A concert in Serbia became a new low point. Hallucinations and paranoia turned reality into a nightmare. And there wasn’t one tabloid, blog, or social media platform that wasn’t there to capture it all – every last slip-up and wrong turn.
Read moreAmy Winehouse wasn’t sure exactly what she was getting into when she accepted a £1million offer to play a private show for an anonymous Russian oligarch. Even more concerning was the uncertainty that lay ahead. After she squandered an opportunity to collaborate with a living legend and tried to burn the bridge of one of her most steadfast musical partners, Amy faced a crossroads. The two paths were clear. One was brightly lit; the other was dark. The choice was surprisingly difficult.
Read moreAmy Winehouse gravitated towards trouble like a moth to a flame. She hung out with the libertines of London’s seedy society, which regularly left her life in shambles. A multi-day drug binge left her on death’s door. She left decorum at the front door when a holiday trip to the theatre turned violent. Yet despite all this, she still managed to give the people the one thing they were never expecting: hope that it would all turn around soon.
Read moreWhen Amy Winehouse first met with producer Mark Ronson, their candid conversation would become a musical legend. That fateful meeting led to a career-defining song, a critically acclaimed album, and a creative vision that would cement her place in the pop pantheon. It gave her confidence to wage a war against the people who were hurting her the most – and win. But that momentum would prove no match for the steady stream of challenges, from old habits to hurricanes, that refused to disappear.
Read moreAmy Winehouse made music that sounded like alchemy, thanks in large part to collaborators like Salaam Remi. Alchemy was something that became increasingly absent from Amy’s time outside the studio. In its place were lurking paparazzi, incessant boos, cases of Jack Daniels, and a life-sized gallery sculpture that predicted the worst.
Read moreThere were two sides to Amy Winehouse. One side was triumphant. The other side was a disaster. Two consecutive appearances at the Glastonbury Festival made that crystal clear; one presented Amy at her best, and the other presented her at her lowest. But no matter which side she found herself on, she pulled no punches. She even threw some punches of her own.
Read moreAmy Winehouse didn’t compromise her sound for anyone. She had her creative vision under control. Meanwhile, her personal life spiraled out of control. She ran for her life down a dark London street following an unhinged and violent domestic dispute. Her money was offered up in an extortion deal to prevent her husband from doing time for the assault of an innocent man. And in 2007, London police made their maiden raid of her Camden flat...and were shocked at what they found inside.
Read moreAmy Winehouse fused the past with the present to make music for the future. Her own future was compromised by a series of escalating challenges that coincided with the worldwide success of her sophomore album. She accepted a Grammy Award while her beloved Camden burned. Her violent antics inside and outside the pub were pure paparazzi fodder. And just as she reached the upper echelon of British society, new revelations threatened to tear her down. These stories and more on the Season 4 premiere of 27 Club.
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 12: Who Killed Janis Joplin?
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 11: Racing on the PCH, Brawling with the Killer, and Late to the Last Session
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 10: Cry Baby, Angels and Devils, and Playing for the Cheap Seats
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 9: Waiting for the Man, Cold Turkey in Rio, and the Great Tequila Boogie
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 8: Me and Bobby McGee, G-Men, and Hiding in Plain Sight
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 7: Revolution in Detroit, Disappointment in New York, and Breakdown in Minneapolis
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 6: San Antonio’s Narcotics Squad, Fighting Heroin Addiction, and Going Full Frontal in the Canyon
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 5: Shaking Off the Feds, Hustling the Locals, and Kicking the Habit
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 4: The Man with the Scar on His Heart, the Devil on the Blues Highway, and the Freaks Come Out at Night
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 3: Otis on Acid, the Liberation of Chocolate George, and a Beatle in the Haight
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 2: The Pontiac Was Full of Grass, the Kool-Aid Was Full of Acid, and “Summertime” Was Just Beginning
Read moreJanis Joplin Episode 1: Getting the Dead Drunk, Passing Jimi By, and Hanging with Austin Outlaws
Read moreWho Killed Jim Morrison?
Read moreFalling out of Windows, Rioting in the Streets, and Descending into Darkness
Read moreThe Doors Go Out with a Whisper, the Chilling Tale of Billy Cook, and the City of Lights Beckons
Read moreWoke Up This Morning and Got Myself a Beer...and Some Cocaine, a Little Blood, and Murder
Read moreMaking a Scene at Ahmet Ertegun’s Party, Shooting Pool with Creedence Clearwater Revival, and a Secret Wedding Ceremony
Read moreThe Anti-Jim Morrison Movement Gains Steam, The Rock Star Life in Mexico City, and an Airplane Ride that Leads to Arrest
Read moreThe Miami Show that Shocked the World, and Visions of Death in Jamaica
Read moreVietnam and the Unknown Soldier, the Fists of Dennis Wilson, and Charles Manson Crashes the Party
Read moreBiting the Hands of Ed Sullivan & Andy Warhol, Eating a Fistful of Mace, & The Blue Lady Out of Control
Read moreJim Morrison Turns Obscene and Destructive, While Iggy Pop Sees the Future.
Read moreLos Angeles Is on Fire, and Jim Morrison Returns from the Desert with a Killer Tale.
Read morePrelude to a Riot, a Highway Soul Transference, and the Wrath of Janis Joplin
Read moreWho Killed Jimi Hendrix?
Read moreHide the Drugs, There's a Body in Here
Read moreMick Jagger’s Bloody Finger, A Stage Burning Down, and Otis Redding’s Ghost
Read moreSecret Agent Man-ager, UFOs, & a Lovechild
Read moreA Band of Gypsys and Bad Acid
Read moreYou Know the Mescaline's Working When You're Stealing Trucks with Neil Young and Are Haunted by a Dead Rolling Stone
Read moreUpstaging God, Playing with Fire, & Breaking the Mold
Read moreHired and Fired by Little Richard, and a Maiden Acid Trip Opens Jimi’s Eyes
Read moreStolen Cars, Broken Taboos, and the Search for Billy Davis
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