DISGRACELAND

Double Elvis Productions

Musicians. Movie stars. Mayhem. Murder. DISGRACELAND is the award-winning podcast that tells the unbelievable but true stories from the dark side of entertainment history. Rockstars getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Actors engulfed in scandal. Pop stars plotted against and terrorized. Taylor Swift escaping her stalkers. Jerry Lee Lewis allegedly murdering his wife. Brittany Murphy’s suspicious death. Big Lurch, the hip hop star who ate his roommate. The assassination of John Lennon. The Grateful Dead, the CIA, the LSD that turned on the USA, and the real reason Neil Young gave Charles Manson his motorcycle. Robert Downey Jr.’s redemptive rise from addiction. Anthony Bourdain’s destructive lust for life. The true crime stories that inspired Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and the serial killer inspired by AC/DC’s Highway To Hell. Welcome to DISGRACELAND, where these stories and more will grip you to the edge of your seat and cause you to binge episode after episode.  DISGRACELAND publishes new, fully scripted, and sound-designed episodes every Tuesday and bonus episodes featuring listener voicemails, texts, and emails on Thursdays.  DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It is an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are sometimes fictionalized for dramatic purposes, as they are in most scripted entertainment based on true events. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com . To listen to DISGRACELAND ad-free and get access to an exclusive monthly episode, weekly bonus content, and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at www.disgracelandpod.com/membership. read less

Our Editor's Take

Do you love true crime and legendary musicians? The DISGRACELAND podcast is a one-of-a-kind true crime series that focuses solely on the music industry. Join host Jake Brennan in each hour-long episode as he uncovers the murky doings (and undoings) of some of the greatest rock bands of all time. Follow this true crime podcast as it details rock 'n' roll musicians getting away with murder, after-parties getting dangerously out of hand, famous Hollywood rockers joining cults, and much more.

Drug busts are commonplace among the rock pantheon, but your average knock on the door from the cops isn't what this is about. Some of the more extreme drug stories make it to the podcast, but try turning the scandal up to 11. You might not be shocked by the Sex Pistols' or Ozzy Osbourne's exploits (as unbelievable as they are), but Whitney Houston, The Beatles, Amy Winehouse, and many others may surprise you—pushing social boundaries in private, then appearing on mainstream TV the next day.

Jake Brennan has cultivated a double-whammy award-winning podcast, a beautiful blend of true crime and music history. He's a cultivated storyteller and rock historian who spins a riveting and dramatic true crime story like no other. This isn't a podcast to comfortably lull you to sleep, so get ready to gasp at these tales of rock 'n' roll excess. Listen to DISGRACELAND now on Amazon Music.

read less
MusicMusic
True CrimeTrue Crime
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

The Exorcist: Demonic Possession, Mass Hysteria, and NYC’s Unsolved Murders
28-10-2024
The Exorcist: Demonic Possession, Mass Hysteria, and NYC’s Unsolved Murders
William Friedkin's film The Exorcist terrified audiences upon its release in 1973. They fainted, vomited, and went into hysterics in the theaters. Some overwhelmed viewers left early, only to return the next day, buying another ticket to see if they could make it to the end. But the story behind The Exorcist is just as compelling as the story on the screen. The film's production was marred by tragedy and the unpredictable behavior of its volatile director. The novel the film was based on became a best seller largely by happenstance. And the events that inspired the novel were so horrific and shameful that one man would spend his entire life trying to keep them a secret. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. The Exorcist is certainly one of the scariest movies and books ever created. What is the scariest book you've ever read? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group TikTok Check out Kikoff: https://getkikoff.com/DISGRACELAND Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Cramps: Zombies, Teenage Werewolves, and Rock ‘N’ Roll Saviors
14-10-2024
The Cramps: Zombies, Teenage Werewolves, and Rock ‘N’ Roll Saviors
The Cramps, led by the husband and wife team of Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach, had one one mission: To save rock n' roll from the corporate monsters who threatened its destruction. The band blended rockabilly, blues, garage rock and the aesthetic of 1950s B-movies into a wholly unique and singular rock and roll concoction that set them apart from their punk contemporaries. But as they began their climb up the music industry's ladder of success, they encountered hordes of brainless zombies who didn't understand their music or their mission, swarms of radioactive bootlegging cockroaches, and a coven of blood-sucking vampires hellbent on destroying the only thing the Cramps held sacred: rock n' roll. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. If rock n' roll is defined as low down, dirty, fun music for teenagers, what band made the greatest rock n' roll in your estimation? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Black Sabbath: Satanists, Severed Limbs, Dismembered Fingers, Mountains of Cocaine and the Invention of Heavy Metal
11-10-2024
Black Sabbath: Satanists, Severed Limbs, Dismembered Fingers, Mountains of Cocaine and the Invention of Heavy Metal
Black Sabbath are solely responsible for conjuring the diabolical power of heavy metal. When guitarist Tony Iommi lost his fingertips as a teenager, he turned to a less painful style of playing— a style that produced a new, genre-defining type of gloom and heaviness. The band climbed through the seven circles of British podunk hell to international rock star success, but the lore of their dark imagery compelled the freaks to flood out of the woodwork and to their shows. Despite composing songs that warned against the evils of the occult, Black Sabbath attracted legions of devil worshippers, occultists and 1970s freak-flag-flying practitioners of the dark arts. Kids went mad for their metal. Critics hated it. And much to the band’s dismay, Satanists found their battle cry in the heavy gloom that Black Sabbath had awakened. This episode was originally published on October 26, 2021. 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, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brandon Lee: Hungry Ghosts, Cursed Movies, and a Goth Masterpiece
07-10-2024
Brandon Lee: Hungry Ghosts, Cursed Movies, and a Goth Masterpiece
Haunted by the legacy of his superstar father and by an old family curse, Brandon Lee tried to outrun the past. But the past came after him all the same. It was said that his father, Bruce Lee, was taken by that family curse at just 32 years old, and that it then followed Brandon to the set of The Crow, a cross between a superhero blockbuster and a brooding art film that was all goth. The shoot was plagued by injury, electrocution, storms, fires, and car crashes – and culminated in tragedy when a prop gun fired a real bullet. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. The loss of Brandon Lee has Jake thinking about that old Billy Joel lyric: "Only the Good Die Young." What other artists were taken from us too soon? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. Purchase Tickets for Disgraceland's Special Live Stream Event on Oct. 9, 2024: https://www.moment.co/disgraceland/disgraceland-we-are-not-alone-music-wont-save-us-but-tom-delonge-might To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Visit www.disgracelandpod.com/merch to see the latest Disgraceland merch! Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
AC/DC: A Satanic Serial Killer, A Police Man Hunt, and a Media Witch Hunt
04-10-2024
AC/DC: A Satanic Serial Killer, A Police Man Hunt, and a Media Witch Hunt
In the 1980s, AC/DC’s biggest fan was a notorious serial killer. The band was an international best-selling hit machine, and members like the late Bon Scott and die-hard Angus Young became rock icons. But when the press caught wind of the disturbing fandom of the serial killer Richard “The Night Stalker” Ramirez, the news quickly dragged the world’s most fun, pure rock ‘n’ roll band straight down the highway to hell and into the center of a media firestorm around Satanic Panic and the inspirations of a murderer. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including graphic depictions of violence and sexual assault. To see the complete list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com This episode was originally published on February 21, 2023. Purchase Tickets for Disgraceland's Special Live Stream Event on Oct. 9, 2024: https://www.moment.co/disgraceland/disgraceland-we-are-not-alone-music-wont-save-us-but-tom-delonge-might To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Bonus Episode: More Diddy Allegations, Travis Scott and Tony Buzbee
03-10-2024
Bonus Episode: More Diddy Allegations, Travis Scott and Tony Buzbee
This week in the After Party, Jake weighs in on the latest development in the explosive Diddy saga: the 120 alleged victims being represented by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, the man who previously represented the victims of the Astroworld tragedy. As we prepare for next week's episode on the late actor Brandon Lee, we're reminded of the Billy Joel song "Only the Good Die Young" and we want to know: Which artists, musicians, actors, or athletes died too young ? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. For more great Disgraceland episodes, dive into our extensive archive, including such episodes as: Episode 167 - Van Halen Episode 51 - Jay-Z Episodes 155 - Sean "Diddy" Combs Episodes 69 & 70 - Tupac Shakur Episodes 80 & 81 - The Notorious B.I.G. Purchase Tickets for Disgraceland's Special Live Stream Event on Oct. 9, 2024: https://www.moment.co/disgraceland/disgraceland-we-are-not-alone-music-wont-save-us-but-tom-delonge-might To hear an extended version of the After Party and to hear more from the DISGRACELAND community, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Visit www.disgracelandpod.com/merch to see the latest Disgraceland merch! Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sigourney Weaver: A Goddess, Beasts and Demons, and Paying Tribute from Death Row
24-09-2024
Sigourney Weaver: A Goddess, Beasts and Demons, and Paying Tribute from Death Row
In classic ‘80s films like Ghostbusters and Aliens, Sigourney Weaver battled demons and beasts. But to one particular inmate on death row in Georgia, she battled those demons and beasts in real life as well. To Alexander Williams, a convicted murderer, Sigourney Weaver was a goddess – a divine being sent to this earth to do battle with evil. He worshiped her from the floor of his prison cell. And as his day of reckoning drew closer, he waited for a glimmer of hope that the goddess would intervene and change his fate. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including depictions of suicide, sexual assault, and child abuse. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. There's more about Sigourney Weaver coming to your feed on Thursday in the After Party bonus episode, and Jake needs your recommendations - what space-themed films are your favorites? Let us know and join the party at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod. Purchase Tickets for Disgraceland's Special Live Stream Event on Oct. 9, 2024: https://www.moment.co/disgraceland/disgraceland-we-are-not-alone-music-wont-save-us-but-tom-delonge-might To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Visit www.disgracelandpod.com/merch to see the latest Disgraceland merch! Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices