Articles
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 2: A Life-Changing Car Crash, Mind Experiments, and Hanging onto the Blues
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 more
Amy Winehouse Episode 10: What Really Happened to Amy Winehouse?
The 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 moreAmy Winehouse Episode 9: A Long Day’s Journey into an Eternal Nightmare
Five 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 moreAmy Winehouse Episode 8: A Cocaine Overdose in the Bathtub, a Body in the Mirror, and Hacked by the Press
One 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 Episode 7: The Only Rule Is That There Are No Rules
Amy 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 Episode 6: Nursing Rodents, Mortifying the Fairy Godmother, and Hitting the Harder Stuff
Amy 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 moreAmy Winehouse Episode 5: First Impressions with Mark Ronson, Hitting the Paparazzi Where It Hurts, and an Out of Control Hurricane
When 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 Episode 4: Booed from the Stage, a Brawl with a Burlesque Dancer, and an Effigy in a Pool of Blood
Amy 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 moreAmy Winehouse Episode 3: A Punch-Up at Glastonbury, Heroin on Tour, and Calls for Help from the Pub Bathroom
There 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 Episode 2: A Bruised and Bloody Chase, Perverting the Course of Justice, and a Back-Door Police Raid
Amy 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 Episode 1: Rehab, Camden Town Ain’t Burning Down, and a Violent Night of Bar Brawls and Street Fights
Amy 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 more
Season Three Episode 12
Janis Joplin Episode 12: Who Killed Janis Joplin?
Read moreSeason Three Episode 11
Janis Joplin Episode 11: Racing on the PCH, Brawling with the Killer, and Late to the Last Session
Read moreSeason Three Episode 10
Janis Joplin Episode 10: Cry Baby, Angels and Devils, and Playing for the Cheap Seats
Read moreSeason Three Episode 9
Janis Joplin Episode 9: Waiting for the Man, Cold Turkey in Rio, and the Great Tequila Boogie
Read moreSeason Three Episode 8
Janis Joplin Episode 8: Me and Bobby McGee, G-Men, and Hiding in Plain Sight
Read moreSeason Three Episode 7
Janis Joplin Episode 7: Revolution in Detroit, Disappointment in New York, and Breakdown in Minneapolis
Read moreSeason Three Episode 6
Janis Joplin Episode 6: San Antonio’s Narcotics Squad, Fighting Heroin Addiction, and Going Full Frontal in the Canyon
Read moreSeason Three Episode 5
Janis Joplin Episode 5: Shaking Off the Feds, Hustling the Locals, and Kicking the Habit
Read moreSeason Three Episode 4
Janis 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 moreSeason Three Episode 3
Janis Joplin Episode 3: Otis on Acid, the Liberation of Chocolate George, and a Beatle in the Haight
Read more
Season Three Episode 2
Janis Joplin Episode 2: The Pontiac Was Full of Grass, the Kool-Aid Was Full of Acid, and “Summertime” Was Just Beginning
Read moreSeason Three Episode 1
Janis Joplin Episode 1: Getting the Dead Drunk, Passing Jimi By, and Hanging with Austin Outlaws
Read more
Season Two Episode 12
Who Killed Jim Morrison?
Read moreSeason Two Episode 11
Falling out of Windows, Rioting in the Streets, and Descending into Darkness
Read moreSeason Two Episode 10
The Doors Go Out with a Whisper, the Chilling Tale of Billy Cook, and the City of Lights Beckons
Read moreSeason Two Episode 9
Woke Up This Morning and Got Myself a Beer...and Some Cocaine, a Little Blood, and Murder
Read moreSeason Two Episode 8
Making a Scene at Ahmet Ertegun’s Party, Shooting Pool with Creedence Clearwater Revival, and a Secret Wedding Ceremony
Read moreSeason Two Episode 7
The Anti-Jim Morrison Movement Gains Steam, The Rock Star Life in Mexico City, and an Airplane Ride that Leads to Arrest
Read moreSeason Two Episode 6
The Miami Show that Shocked the World, and Visions of Death in Jamaica
Read moreSeason Two Episode 5
Vietnam and the Unknown Soldier, the Fists of Dennis Wilson, and Charles Manson Crashes the Party
Read moreSeason Two Episode 4
Biting the Hands of Ed Sullivan & Andy Warhol, Eating a Fistful of Mace, & The Blue Lady Out of Control
Read moreSeason Two Episode 3
Jim Morrison Turns Obscene and Destructive, While Iggy Pop Sees the Future.
Read moreSeason Two Episode 2
Los Angeles Is on Fire, and Jim Morrison Returns from the Desert with a Killer Tale.
Read moreSeason Two Episode 1
Prelude to a Riot, a Highway Soul Transference, and the Wrath of Janis Joplin
Read more
Episode 12
Who Killed Jimi Hendrix?
Read more
Episode 11
Hide the Drugs, There's a Body in Here
Read more
Episode 10
Mick Jagger’s Bloody Finger, A Stage Burning Down, and Otis Redding’s Ghost
Read more
Episode 9
Secret Agent Man-ager, UFOs, & a Lovechild
Read more
Episode 8
A Band of Gypsys and Bad Acid
Read more
Episode 7
You Know the Mescaline's Working When You're Stealing Trucks with Neil Young and Are Haunted by a Dead Rolling Stone
Read more
Episode 6
Upstaging God, Playing with Fire, & Breaking the Mold
Read more
Episode 5
Hired and Fired by Little Richard, and a Maiden Acid Trip Opens Jimi’s Eyes
Read more
Episode 4
Stolen Cars, Broken Taboos, and the Search for Billy Davis
Read more
How you can listen to this podcast
You can listen to episodes right here on the website, or if you prefer, in a podcast app. Listening in an app makes it easier to keep track of what you’ve already heard, listen without using your data plan and many other conveniences.