Podcasts · Music · True Crime

DISGRACELAND

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

300 episodes · Explicit

DISGRACELAND is an award-winning music and true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Jerry Lee Lewis's 5th wife? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Both dead. Why? Because musicians are insane, and insane things happen to them.

More about the show

Why did we lose Amy Winehouse at 27? Was Debbie Harry really abducted by Ted Bundy as she claims? Is Patti Smith not just the "Godmother of Punk", but also the "Original True Crime Girl"? What really happened the night of the Jay Z nightclub stabbing? What do the Diddy indictments truly reveal? All these stories and more, on artists from every genre and their true crimes, in our massive 260-plus story archive. The Dead, the Stones, Johnny, Willie, Frank, Kurt, Courtney, Gaga, Lana, Taylor, and too many to name.

DISGRACELAND is music history come to life through audio storytelling as you've never heard it before, with revealing facts: yes, assassins are the real reason the Beatles quit touring—reclaimed myths: no, Mama Cass didn't die from choking on a ham sandwich––and constant reckoning between art and artist––all told through the lens of true crime.

This is the podcast for the self-proclaimed "Disgos", the musically obsessed and the true crime heads; the outsiders, the independent thinkers who know that the best history is the history that gets buried. DISGRACELAND is where host Jake Brennan tells the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Get ready to uncover hidden truths and buckle up for truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling.

New, fully scripted, sound-designed episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus chat-style episodes where Jake responds to voicemails, texts, and emails from Disgos hit on Thursdays, and "Rewind" episodes from our archive drop on Sundays.

DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It's an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are dramatized, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com.

To unlock ad-free listening, exclusive content, and connect with your fellow Disgos, go to www.disgracelandpod.com to become an All Access member.

Rocka Rolla.

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Reggie Watts: Is Reggie Watts the Guy Your Mother Warned You and/or Your Sister About?

    · 55 min · S29 E291 · Explicit

    On this episode: an unprecedented comedic talent, the power of celebrity, and the power of Ketamine. The death of Reggie Watts’ ex-girlfriend Katherine McCollough and allegations of abuse about the man your mom may or…

  2. AC/DC Pt. 2 (Rewind): Dirty Deeds, Dead Friends, and Murder for Hire

    · 39 min · S25 E255 · Explicit

    This is the story of the greatest rock ’n’ roll band on earth. AC/DC was forged in discipline, sharpened by grief, resurrected by obsession … and nearly undone by one final dirty deed that no one saw coming: murder.…

  3. AC/DC pt. 1 (Rewind): A Satanic Serial Killer, A Police Man Hunt, and a Media Witch Hunt

    · 38 min · S11 E118 · Explicit

    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…

  4. Bonus: Real Evil in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Is There Any?

    · 50 min · S29 E290 · Bonus · Explicit

    Alice Cooper, As I Lay Dying, the death of Cronos from Venom, and the Halloween season and all the horror movies and dark soundtracks we’re listening to have us asking…is evil, real evil, in rock ‘n’ roll even a thing?…

  5. Alice Cooper: Vampires, Nightmares, and Resurrection Rock

    · 34 min · S24 E242 · Explicit

    Alice Cooper’s life was a nightmare—but it was all real. This is the story of addiction, illusion, and the ultimate act of survival. Alice Cooper wasn’t just a shock-rock icon—he was Vincent Furnier, a man strangled…

  6. Michael Alig (Rewind): If a Club Kid Kills, Stuffs the Body in a Box and Tells The World About It Will Anyone Listen?

    · 29 min · S1 E11 · Explicit

    In March 1996, promoter Michael Alig, the "King of the Club Kids," after appearing on TV’s Geraldo and on the cover of New York magazine, bashed his friend and DJ Angel Melendez in the head with a hammer. The body was…

  7. Bonus: Tupac Murder Sentencing and Losing My Religion

    · 33 min · S29 E290 · Bonus · Explicit

    For Tim Lambesis, life begins and ends with himself and his band, As I Lay Dying. We go into faith-based music and discuss the sentencing of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, closing a chapter on a 30 year book. And as always,…

  8. As I Lay Dying: Are Phonies Running the Christian Metal Scene?

    · 40 min · S29 E290 · Explicit

    As I Lay Dying was one of the pillars of Christian metal when the genre crossed over to the mainstream in the 2000s. And then their frontman, Tim Lambesis, tried to hire a hitman to murder his wife. But shockingly,…

  9. Eminem (Rewind): Taking His Shot, Pulling a Glock, and Facing the Real Slim Shady

    · 35 min · S4 E43 · Explicit

    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…

  10. Bonus: Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Kurt & Courtney Conspiracies, and…Constipation?

    · 41 min · S28 E289 · Bonus · Explicit

    In this week’s After Party, Jake discusses the spirited online response to our Nirvana episodes and wonders why Courtney Love continues to be the the target of vitriol and suspicion. We look at the wild and mysterious…

  11. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins: Was Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Murdered?

    · 43 min · S28 E289 · Explicit

    He was an operatic vocalist made famous by his song “I Put A Spell on You,” a song he performed throughout the conservative 1950s while jumping out of a coffin on stage. Screamin’ Jay Hawkins will live on in infamy…

  12. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love Pt. 2: Suicide Samurai

    · 35 min · S3 E26 · Explicit

    Grunge, grief, the Grateful Dead and a “teenage whore.” Part 2 of the Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love story picks up with Courtney’s ascent and the couple’s heroin-hazed pregnancy. An escape from rehab and a punk as f*ck…

  13. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love Pt. 1: No Direction Home

    · 41 min · S3 E25 · Explicit

    Kurt Cobain is a celebrated and defiant icon of Generation X. His wife, Courtney Love, was once the most hated woman in America. Courtney, like Kurt, was unapologetic, fierce, determined, ambitious, authentic, and a…

  14. Bonus: Old Rockstars With No F*cks Left To Give

    · 36 min · S28 E288 · Bonus · Explicit

    We go deeper into the claims Quincy Jones made later in his life, but we also discuss one of the most important music and entertainment figures of the 20th century. And as always, your voicemails, texts, DMs, and…

  15. Quincy Jones: True or False? His Wild Life and the Stories Behind His Wildest Claims

    · 50 min · S28 E288 · Explicit

    Quincy Jones brought truth through music. We heard what America really felt like in the albums he produced, and in the films he scored. At the end of his life he made wild claims; that Michael Jackson was a thief (“he…

  16. Lil’ Peep (Rewind): A new hip-hop and emo fusion; trap beats, tender lyrics, too much Xanax and an overdose that’s still mysterious.

    · 35 min · S7 E75 · Explicit

    Lil’ Peep was a once-in-a-generation talent. Poised to become a new Cobain, Bowie or Dylan, but whose life was cut short by an overdose that’s still mysterious. Depression, anxiety and a unique fusion of hip-hop, emo,…

  17. Bonus: Real “Emo” Notes from the Punk Rock Museum, DIY Recording, and More Bobby Fuller

    · 36 min · S28 E287 · Bonus · Explicit

    Notes on the emotional impact from Jake’s trip to the Punk Rock Museum, Bobby Fuller and DIY recording recs, plus your voicemails, texts, dms, and emails on how Bobby died and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for…

  18. Bobby Fuller: Who Killed Bobby Fuller?

    · 47 min · S28 E287 · Explicit

    How did Bobby Fuller die? Ask four different people and you’ll get four different answers. Wikipedia will tell you that Bobby’s death was an “accident”. The LAPD will tell you Bobby committed suicide. YouTube will tell…

  19. Travis Scott and Astroworld: The Devil Went Down to Houston (Rewind)

    · 36 min · S20 E200 · Explicit

    Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld music festival turned out to be a deadly disaster. Was it greed? Satanism? Or was something even more mysterious and evil behind the events that took the lives of ten concertgoers and…

  20. Bonus: Mysterious Crosby Cowboy, Robin Thicke Bank Robbery, and More

    · 33 min · S28 E286 · Bonus · Explicit

    Surprise! David Crosby isn’t who we thought he was. Same goes for Robin Thicke apparently as well. Lil’ Wayne though? What about Wayne Coyne? All of this and more plus your voicemails, texts, DMs, emails, and more in…

  21. David Crosby: The Folk Singer Who Became an FBI Fugitive

    · 35 min · S23 E234 · Explicit

    The man who made sweet, soft, harmonious music with Stephen Stills and Neil Young was actually a crazy rock ‘n’ roll animal. Listen to hear how David Crosby wound up addicted, escaped authorities, and went on the lam.…

  22. Blink-182: Tom Was Right. Aliens Exist. (Rewind)

    · 41 min · S21 E219 · Explicit

    Everyone thought Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge was a joke, until he proved them all wrong. This is the story of government control, aliens, an arrest, a plane crash, a cancer diagnosis, redemption, and (of course)…

  23. Bonus Episode: Another Biopic Bites the Dust

    · 32 min · S28 E286 · Bonus · Explicit

    What good is a Queen biopic if it reveals nothing real about Freddie Mercury? Are biopics just Marvel movies for music lovers? This and more, plus your voicemails, text, dms, and emails in this week’s After Party bonus…

  24. Queen: Will the Real Freddie Mercury Please Stand Up?

    · 42 min · S28 E286 · Explicit

    Queen is one of the biggest-selling bands in music history, and Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the highest-grossing biopics of all time. But did the movie give us a true portrait of Freddie Mercury – or is the real story…

  25. Bonus Episode: Tupac Shakur Case Closed?

    · 35 min · S28 E285 · Bonus · Explicit

    Finally! The mystery is over! We know who killed Tupac and why. Or do we? This and more, plus your voicemails, text, DMs, and emails in this week’s After Party bonus episode. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  26. Special Episode: Reggie Watts and the Artists You Want to Hear in Disgraceland

    · 31 min · S28 E285 · Explicit

    A special look at the new artists we’re covering in the second half of 2026, along with a peek into the breaking Reggie Watts story, and how you can be directly involved in the choosing of Disgraceland episode…

  27. Bonus Episode: A Tribute to Dolly Parton

    · 34 min · S28 E284 · Bonus · Explicit

    Dolly Parton has passed away. Dolly Parton was a musical giant, an American songwriter worthy of a place on the same page in the music history books as Bob Dylan, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Cash, Taylor Swift, or anyone else…

  28. Alice Bag: The Punk Rock Scene That Soundtracked a Serial Killer

    · 42 min · S28 E284 · Explicit

    In 1977, punk rock took root in Los Angeles just as a prolific serial killer began to terrorize the city. For months, the bodies of young women were being discovered on hillsides – including one woman who was a regular…

  29. Bonus Episode: A Murder On Tour, Southern Bands and Brother Bands

    · 32 min · S28 E283 · Bonus · Explicit

    The murder from Allman Brothers Band history that didn’t make it into our full episode, your take on the greatest southern bands, and more on this bonus episode of Disgraceland. For more great stories from the…

  30. Bonus Episode: Addressing the Tila Tequila Rumor, Billy Corgan’s Shapeshifter, and a Glorious Rock ‘N’ Roll Jimmy Kimmel Performance.

    · 34 min · S28 E283 · Bonus · Explicit

    I wanted to talk this week about Billy Corgan’s outrageous shapeshifting claim and how it relates to who he is as a musician, but the Internet had other plans. It was all about to go to sh*t until Low Cut Connie saved…

  31. Bonus Episode: Tribute to Sick of it All’s Lou Koller, Plus More John Frusciante and River Phoenix

    · 36 min · S28 E282 · Bonus · Explicit

    We pay tribute to Sick Of It All’s Lou Koller, dive deeper into the theories surrounding River Phoenix’s death and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante’s alleged involvement, and of course answer your…

  32. Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante and the Death of River Phoenix

    · 47 min · S28 E282 · Explicit

    Someone handed River Phoenix a deadly drink containing a liquid speedball. Some claim Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante handed it to him. This is the story of how River Phoenix really died. To listen to…

  33. Bonus Episode: Extreme Music, Extremely Bad Things, and Always Doing the Right Thing

    · 36 min · S28 E281 · Bonus · Explicit

    On this episode, Jake is stuck in Boston so guest host Dr. Lundy is talking about extreme music being blamed for extremely bad things, from Slipknot to Ozzy to Judas Priest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

  34. Bonus Episode: My Summer Listening, Reading, Watching Recs And More

    · 30 min · S28 E281 · Bonus · Explicit

    Disgos, the World Cup is over and rock ‘n’ roll lost, so now what? Well, here are my recommendations on how to pass time for the rest of your summer; my fav summer listening, reading, watching and binging recs, and…

  35. Dolly Parton: How the Country Icon Nearly Became the Subject of Her Own Murder Ballad

    · 43 min · S28 E281 · Explicit

    They tried to take her songs. They tried to take her fame. They even threatened to take her life – not once, but multiple times. Listen to find out how Dolly Parton avoided becoming just another tragic heroine in a…

  36. Bonus Episode: A Rock ‘N’ Roll World Cup, Criminal Minded English Musicians and Here’s Wonderwall

    · 35 min · S28 E280 · Bonus · Explicit

    England? Argentina? Spain? You know who the winner of this year’s World Cup really is? Oasis. Plus, it’s Happy Mondays week in Disgraceland, has us asking, who do you think is the most transgressive, debaucherous band…

  37. Happy Mondays: How Thieves, Drug Dealers, and Would-Be Kidnappers Took Over Madchester’s Music Scene

    · 42 min · S28 E280 · Explicit

    Explores the influential Madchester group's influence on UK culture and transgressive behavior involving the planned kidnappings of Donovan and the Smith's Johnny Marr. To see the full list of contributors, see the…

  38. Bonus Episode: The Best, Wildest, and Most Unbelievable Jim Morrison Death/Faked Death Theories.

    · 31 min · S27 E279 · Bonus · Explicit

    Disgos, Jim Morrison is dead, and he didn’t die in a night club in Paris, but this doesn’t make the wild theories about Jim any less interesting, nor does it prevent us from discussing the insane Jim Morrison…

  39. Jim Morrison: Who Killed Jim Morrison?

    · 43 min · S27 E279

    But wait, Jim Morrison overdosed on heroin because he was a drug addict rockstar just like Janis Joplin, right? Wrong. Who exactly was “the Count," the French aristocrat who was there at the scene of Jim’s death? The…

  40. Bonus Episode: My Chance Encounter With One of My Favorite Artists on the Streets of Europe

    · 31 min · S27 E278 · Bonus · Explicit

    Art is tough business. Wendy O. Williams’ tragic end taught us that this week, but beauty is everywhere if you know where to look. Especially when it’s into the eyes of one of your favorite artists on the streets of…

  41. Wendy O. Williams: The Shocking Final Act of a Shock Rock Provocateur

    · 43 min · S27 E278 · Explicit

    This is the story of one of the most extreme shock rockers in music history. On stage, Wendy O. Williams would smash TV sets with a sledgehammer, chainsaw electric guitars in half, and blow up Cadillacs. Her reputation…

  42. Bonus Episode: The Sonic Youth New York Kool Thing Walking Tour

    · 32 min · S27 E277 · Bonus · Explicit

    A mythic trip through some of New York City’s most rock ‘n’ roll addresses. Beyond the Chelsea to beatdowns with Bob Dylan, stoopside hangs with the Stones, Miles backstage with Iggy, Jackson and Nico, Yoko and John,…

  43. Sonic Youth: The Murders Behind One of the Coolest Album Covers of All Time

    · 47 min · S27 E277 · Explicit

    This is the story of one of the coolest album covers of all time, Sonic Youth’s Goo, and how the band was unaware of the shocking murders behind their own album art. A true crime involving a pair of serial killers and…

  44. Bonus Episode: Country Music Artists as Dangerous and True Crimey As They Come

    · 37 min · S27 E276 · Bonus · Explicit

    They were slick, clean cut, conservative compared to the punks, rockers, and metalheads, but they were perhaps more dangerous, more transgressive, more wild, and they sang about infidelity, loss, loneliness, and murder…

  45. Bonus Episode: Soccer Hooligans, Rockstars, Britpop Battles and War

    · 36 min · S27 E276 · Bonus · Explicit

    Which metal bassist could have been a Soccer star? A Rod Stewart myth busted (no, not THAT one), Sir Elton, the Cartel, and the Battle of Britpop on the pitch and beyond. It’s a special rock ‘n’ roll World Cup bonus…

  46. Bonus Episode: Mafia Murders and the Music Behind Them

    · 34 min · S27 E276 · Bonus · Explicit

    Adele’s love of Al Pacino led us into a Mafia/Music Murder Rabbit Hole. Help us climb out of it in this bonus episode. Plus your voicemails, texts, emails, comments, DMs—and as always, a whole lotta Rosie. See…

  47. Adele: The Pop Star Repurposed by the Criminal Underworld

    · 42 min · S27 E276 · Explicit

    With the release of her smash sophomore album 21, Adele became one of the most beloved pop stars of the 21st century. Her songs were the most played at karaoke bars, weddings, and funerals – not to mention a criminal…

  48. Bonus Episode: 1994. We Didn’t Know How Good We Had It

    · 35 min · S27 E275 · Bonus · Explicit

    How great was 1994 for music? The year Weezer’s “Blue Album” was released? Well, pretty tough to beat. This is a nostalgia episode so turn Beavis and Butt-Head off in the background, throw some Hot Pockets in the…

  49. Weezer: How a "Dorky" Rock Band Found Their Dark Side

    · 45 min · S27 E275 · Explicit

    A frontman obsessed with Kurt Cobain. A band trying to outrun its own dorky image. A bass player who burned hot, disappeared, and later seemed to predict his own death. Harvard isolation, hotel-room debauchery,…

  50. Bonus Episode: Punk Albums By Artists Who Weren’t Punk, and Rolling Stone Rage Baits All Punk Rockers Everywhere, and Weezer is coming to Disgraceland

    · 32 min · S27 E274 · Bonus · Explicit

    Sonic Youth and the new Rolling Stone Magazine list of 100 Greatest Punk Albums of All Time has us asking about what the definition of punk rock even is—plus a preview of our upcoming Weezer episode—and your…

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