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. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DISGRACELAND

Hank Williams: Sanatoriums, Poison Pills, and Fired from the Grand Ole Opry

In Sonny Rollins week, Jake ponders the powers of talent and craft, and what makes musicians great. Plus, your voicemails, texts, and DMs. Who is the GOAT musician? What are the best duets? What's your desert island Dead album? And is talent or craft more important? Jake wants to know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus Episode: Talent vs. Craft, Meatloaf, and Another Look at Nookie

Homemade bombs, bricks of weed, deranged stalkers, an old family curse, an attempted presidential assassination, and one of the most violent murder crews in American history. It's all happening in a brand new season of Badlands. Badlands Season 8: Hollywoodland launches August 9, 2023, with new episodes on Johnny Depp, Bill Murray, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Brandon Lee, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, and Jane Fonda. New episodes are released every Wednesday, with bonus episodes released every Friday. Badlands is a true-crime anthology podcast from Jake Brennan, creator and host of the award-winning music and true crime podcast DISGRACELAND. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Badlands Season 8: Hollywoodland (Trailer)

Sonny Rollins did time at Rikers Island twice: first for armed robbery and again for using dope. He was a fiend and a pickpocket. He nearly got himself killed when he ran to Miles Davis’ defense after a bloody scuffle with a cop outside Birdland. At the same time, Sonny Rollins was universally acknowledged as the greatest living tenor saxophone player. But he wanted to get better. He knew he could kick dope and kick petty crime. He also knew that in doing so, he could improve his own playing. So at the age of 29, at the height of his musical powers, he disappeared. He left thousands of dollars on the table and retreated to the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, where he practiced nearly every day, alone, for hours at a time – in hopes that his life would turn around. This episode features Copper Nelson on saxophone. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonny Rollins: Armed Robbery, Rikers Island, and the Return of the Saxophone Colossus

On this episode of the Pre-Party, Jake talks Sonny Rollins and the myth of the sixties. Jazz heads, what are your recommendations? And which rock star would you want showing up at your high school reunion? Let Jake know with a text or voicemail at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com with your answers, and stay tuned for our episode on Sonny Rollins, dropping on Tuesday August 1st. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mini Episode: Debauchery Through the Decades, Jazz Heads, and Bob Dylan Crashes His High School Reunion

Jake connects his a-ha moment with country to the greats, specifically this week's DISGRACELAND subject Merle Haggard. Jake takes voicemails, texts, and DMs, and offers his best post-punk bands list. What are your top five music movies of all time? Introduce yourselves! Hit Jake up at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus Episode: Classic Country Gateways, the Best Post-Punk Bands, and Peter Cetera's Bauhaus Tee

Merle Haggard was what authorities liked to call a “repeat offender.” He was arrested for riding trains, for skipping school, for stealing cars, for robbing gas stations, and for attempting to knock over a restaurant – during the Christmas Eve rush. He was committed to juvenile halls, correctional facilities, and reform schools 17 times, and 17 times he escaped. When he was arrested for the final time, he was sent to do hard time at San Quentin. He turned 21 in prison. And it was in prison that he found the freedom he’d been running towards his whole life – freedom that was delivered from an unlikely source. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merle Haggard: 17 Arrests, 17 Breakouts, Hard Time at San Quentin, and the Lonesome Fugitive

Jake kicks off Merle Haggard with some insight on the legendary criminal musician, and provides some updates on current artists caught up with the law. We take a minute to remember the late Jane Birkin, and Jake takes some emails. What musicians are still in need of biopics? Let Jake know with a text or voicemail at 617-906-6638, on socials @disgracelandpod, or disgracelandpod@gmail.com with your answers, and stay tuned for Merle Haggard, dropping on Tuesday July 25th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mini Episode: Musicians Who Need Biopics, RIP Jane Birkin, Six Years in Prison for Speaking Out

Britney Spears’ 13-year conservatorship was an arrangement so strict and unfeeling that it left her without any control of her career, loopy on lithium, and completely silenced for the sake of seeing her sons and boyfriend. As Britney suffered in silence, she worked nearly non-stop, generating more hits — and revenue — so her father could claim his cut of the profits. But after hundreds of shows in Las Vegas and $137 million in box office sales, Britney buckled and told her conservators “no.” Then her social media went radio silent in 2019. This is the story of what came next — and how Britney Spears finally broke free.  For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Britney Spears (Pt. 2): Lithium, Las Vegas, and a Long-Awaited Emancipation

No musician owned pop music quite like Britney Spears at the turn of the century. After graduating from Mississippi tween queen to full-fledged American superstar, her fame exploded at a time when tabloids circled celebrities like prey. 30 to 45 predatory paparazzi would follow Britney’s every move during 12 to 14 hour shifts, eager to document the collapse of her marriage and social circle. As her public image crumbled, it’s no wonder Britney ended 2007 with a bald head and a “blackout.” The conservatorship that came next, however, surprised everyone—even Britney herself. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and suicide. If you're thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Britney Spears (Pt. 1): Family Trauma, Predatory Paparazzi, and Mrs-Extra-Extra-This-Just-In

On this week's After Party, Jake is talking the classic film Almost Famous, John Lee Hooker's baseball song Grinder Man, and taking your voicemails and texts. Who are the greatest English groups of the post-punk era? Does New Order make the cut? Jake wants to get to know you. Plus, what is "it" about your favorite artists? was 1994 the best year for music? Is Almost Famous the best movie about music? And what is so appealing about Jon Bon Jovi? Let Jake know at 617-906-6638, disgracelandpod@gmail.com, or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus Episode: Grinder Men, The Jon Bon Jovi Effect, and the Greatest English Groups of the Post-Punk Era

New Order proved that a rock band could make dance music and actually become cooler in the process. The musical hybrid they created helped define the sound of the 1980s. It also defined the growing subculture in their hometown of Manchester, England, specifically at the Haçienda, the nightclub they owned. But beyond a fine time, the club scene brought gang violence, a notorious crime family, cocaine, ecstasy, a mental breakdown, and an arrest at the height of New Order’s fame. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Order: Blood on the Dance Floor, E in the Bloodstream, and Inventing the 1980s

It's New Order week in DISGRACELAND - and speaking of new orders, Morgan Wallen's reign has finally been usurped! Jake takes emails and DMs, gets in to some current music history-in-the-making, discusses a lost episode, and asks the question: who invented rock n' roll? Send a text or leave a voicemail at 617-906-6638 or on socials @disgracelandpod with your answers, and check out the next episode on New Order, dropping on Tuesday July 18th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mini Episode: Morgan Wallen is Dead, Who Invented Rock ‘N’ Roll?, and NWA are Kings

After a week's break from the After Party, Jake catches up on voicemail, wraps up our musical mashup conversation, and explores Billboard's top rap groups kerfuffle. We get into season two of The Bear, Fourth of July songs, and Jake offers some insight into his own history. What is your favorite hip hop group? Can you recommend some weird, obscure 90s hip hop? Leave a message for Jake at 617-906-6638 or on socials @disgracelandpod, and come join the After Party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus Episode: Aerosmith Encounters, The Jake Brennan Story, and Ariana Grande

On May 22, 2017, a terrorist detonated a bomb outside Ariana Grande’s performance at Manchester Arena. The blast killed 22 people. It injured over a thousand more. The attack remains one of the most heartbreaking events in music history. Parents were terrified. Younger fans suddenly feared going to concerts. But Manchester’s story doesn’t end on May 22, or in the days that followed. It ends with one woman organizing the One Love concert, healing a new generation of young pop devotees. This is the story of hope in the face of terror. This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including graphic depictions of violence. For the full list of contributors, visit disgracelandpod.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ariana Grande: Terror on Tour, Tragedy in Manchester, and Learning to Sing Again

Disgraceland is the award winning music podcast hosted by Jake Brennan that explores the alleged true crime antics and criminal connections of musicians we love like Jerry Lee Lewis, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, David Bowie, Cardi B, the Grateful Dead, Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, and more. Disgraceland is a scripted, single voice narrative storytelling podcast that melds true crime, music history, mystery, and misadventure. 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 disgracelandpod.com. Full scripted episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus “After Party” episodes are released every Thursday. Disgraceland is available wherever you get your podcasts.

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DISGRACELAND

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