DISGRACELAND
Double Elvis Productions
You know the myths. You’ve seen the biopics. But if you’re the kind of music fan who craves the rest of the story—the stuff they buried or cleaned up for streaming and theaters—this is your podcast. DISGRACELAND is the award-winning show that reveals the deeply human, highly dramatic, true crime–fueled chaos behind legendary musicians like Amy Winehouse, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sean “Diddy” Combs, the Grateful Dead, Blondie, and more. While we dig into the dark side, we do so with reverence for the artists—and an understanding of the extreme highs, lows, and personal costs that come with fame and making great art. This is music history like you’ve never heard it—edge-of-your-seat stories exploding with drama and the kind of information that’ll make you dangerous at dinner parties.
New, fully scripted and sound-designed episodes drop every Tuesday. On Thursdays, we hand the mic to you—and feature listener voicemails, texts, and emails in our interactive bonus episodes. And on Fridays, we revisit the wildest stories from our 250+ episode archive with “Rewind” drops that’ll transport you back into music history’s most entertaining moments.
DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast—it’s an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are occasionally fictionalized for dramatic effect, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com.
To hear every episode ad-free––and get access to exclusive exclusive, bonus, and behind the scenes content––the stories they don't want you to hear—become a Disgraceland All Access member at www.disgracelandpod.com/membership.
New, fully scripted and sound-designed episodes drop every Tuesday. On Thursdays, we hand the mic to you—and feature listener voicemails, texts, and emails in our interactive bonus episodes. And on Fridays, we revisit the wildest stories from our 250+ episode archive with “Rewind” drops that’ll transport you back into music history’s most entertaining moments.
DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast—it’s an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are occasionally fictionalized for dramatic effect, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com.
To hear every episode ad-free––and get access to exclusive exclusive, bonus, and behind the scenes content––the stories they don't want you to hear—become a Disgraceland All Access member at www.disgracelandpod.com/membership.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 5, 2022 • 40min
Billie Holiday: Heroin Hounds, ‘Whorehouse Music,’ and the Queen of Jazz
Billie Holiday ascended from the rough and tumble streets of Baltimore and Harlem, through reform school, brothels, and Welfare Island, right to the top of the music game. Her childhood fascination with “whorehouse music” filled a void in her lost innocence, but she soon found a second stabilizer: Heroin. Just when her sensational “Strange Fruit” brought her to Columbia Records, her dependency on hard drugs landed her behind bars. Her mesmerizing voice ensnared listeners unlike any other jazz singer of her day, but in the end, it was narcotics that eventually ensnared Billie Holiday and sealed her fate.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners and includes descriptions of sexual assault.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 29, 2022 • 37min
The Eagles Pt. 2: Death, a Plane Crash, and Innocence Lost at What Cost
In the 1970s, The Eagles made taking off into the upper stratosphere of the charts look easy. Their near decade-long reign of rock afforded them hobbies like dismantling hotel rooms with chainsaws, playing chicken with private jets, and joining delirious drug dealers on high-speed Corvette rides. But after nearly a solid decade of stadium sell-outs, No. 1 singles, top-selling albums and enough cocaine, sex and tension to make even the hardest, wildest, ’70s rock ‘n’ rollers cry uncle, the Eagles had burned out. They were at the top of their game in a decade that they owned, yet somehow, the greatness they sought had destroyed them.For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.comThis episode was originally published on March 29, 2022.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 8, 2022 • 36min
The Eagles Pt. 1: International Drug Smuggling, Endless Cocaine, and California Excess
From games of chicken on private planes to one member surviving a private plane crash, the Eagles as a group very narrowly survived themselves. During their early days, they dosed out on Peyote and reimagined and reconfigured a new FM sound for the ages that would result in unimaginable success and excess. When their debut record was released on Geffen Records in 1972, America couldn’t have been more ready for their breezy, countrified Southern California sound. Yet something else came with their that heady, golden age of California in the 1970s, that era of endless cocaine, groupies, money, and excess beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. As the Eagles would soon learn, that “peaceful easy feeling” they were peddling wasn’t built to last.
For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com
This episode was originally published on March 8, 2022.
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
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TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 23, 2022 • 34min
Bonus Episode: Just A Cook, Napkin Hats, and Big Country
This week Jake talks the inspiration and background behind this week's brand-new DISGRACELAND episode on Anthony Bourdain, plus your emails, voicemails, texts, and DMs. What did you think of the Bourdain episode? What other icons should we cover this year? Get in touch at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party.Enter the new DISGRACELAND contest to win exclusive prizes and unlock rewards. Visit DISGRACELANDCONTEST.COMHurry, the contest ends on March 6th, 2024! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 22, 2022 • 46min
Hank Williams: Sanatoriums, Poison Pills, and Fired from the Grand Ole Opry
Hank Williams defined the genre we now call country with a guitar in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. In between stints in the local drunk tank, he cultivated a knack for blue-collar blues that would spread far beyond the backwoods South Hank called home. His self-proclaimed “hillbilly music” logged him more than 30 hit songs and membership at the Grand Ole Opry, fulfilling Hank’s lifelong dream. But his frequent bouts with the bottle would ultimately strip him of that membership, sending him from the Ryman Auditorium to the sanatorium – and ultimately, an early grave.This episode was originally published on February 22, 2022.For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.comTo 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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 8, 2022 • 41min
Sublime: Hoodlums, Police Helicopters, and Getting Dirty at Denny’s
With their newfangled ska-punk, Sublime preached the gospel of Long Beach’s seedy shores unlike any band before them. They also incited a riot at the first show, vandalized their record label’s headquarters, and did unspeakable deeds to a Dennys kitchen with their mobile home’s septic tank. The group’s musical legacy is inseparable from their reputation as hoodlums and hedonists, in part because those are precisely the people Sublime wrote about. Sublime was born in California, raised in California, but before they could get much farther, Sublime died in California, too.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 25, 2022 • 45min
Tom Petty: House Fires, Hiding a Heroin Habit, and Run-Down Dreams
When a mystery arsonist set Tom Petty’s house on fire in the late 1980s, he barely escaped with his life. But there was another danger looming around the corner — a heroin addiction that drove him into a pit of isolation from his family, his fame, and his bandmates. Petty barely hoisted himself of it. The Heartbreakers’ bass player, Howie Epstein, wasn't so lucky. After the first phase of Tom Petty’s career burned to the ground, the stage was set for a descent into depression, dependency, and a triumphant turn-of-the-century return. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.This episode was originally published on January 25, 2022.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 11, 2022 • 43min
Taylor Swift: Horrifying Stalkers
Taylor Swift has a list of stalkers longer than her stadium tour setlists. One drove over 900 miles to hand-deliver his “love” letters to her then-record-label, Big Machine Records. Others have showed up to her homes bearing rope, lock picks, and tools to break her windows. The threats on her life have become so persistent that her security team once installed facial recognition software at the venues she performed in, specifically to distinguish her stalkers from her fans. While making some of the most recognizable pop songs in music history, Taylor Swift also became one of the most recognizable women in the celebrity sphere – a title that on many occasions has nearly cost her life.This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including descriptions of stalking and sexual assault.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 7, 2021 • 39min
Derek and the Dominos: Clapton, Cocaine, Motorcycles, and Murder
In 1960s London, for young guitar enthusiasts, believing that “Clapton is God” was practically the 11th Commandment. In 1970 he lent his big, sticky tone to yet another band: Derek and the Dominos. The group’s white-hot blues burned bright for barely more than a year, but their impact was massive. Guided by drug, alcohol and heartbreak free-fall, Eric Clapton created one of rock’s most recognizable guitar riffs, while drummer Jim Gordon contributed God’s great piano coda. Except Gordon was guided by something far more sinister — something that started with incessant voices in his head, and ended with a hammer, a butcher knife, and a dead mother.To see the full list of contributors see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com.This episode was originally published on December 6, 2021.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 16, 2021 • 44min
Woodstock Pt. 2: A Disaster Movie
The original Woodstock was a literal disaster, declared so on its first day by the state of New York. There were fights, onstage, armed black-shirted hippie gestapo on patrol, and most notably, two dead kids on record. The festival was born of violence, sparked into existence out of organizer Michael Lang’s standoff with hillbilly armed guards and cops from down in Florida. The lasting image of Woodstock as a time of idyllic harmony is a nostalgic gimmick, as is the 1970 documentary about the events that took place up in Bethel, New York that fateful weekend. If any director were to make a truly realistic movie about Woodstock, their film would be an unhinged disaster movie.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 NEWSLETTERFollow Jake and DISGRACELAND:InstagramYouTubeX (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan GroupTikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
