Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 8: Turning off the Love Light, Long-Awaited Redemption, and a Deadly Diagnosis

27 Club

iHeartPodcasts and Double Elvis

Society & Culture, Music

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2022

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

A dark cloud of death hung over the Grateful Dead as they went into the studio to make what is arguably their masterpiece, American Beauty. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones…they were all gone. All dead at the age of 27. But time didn’t stop. Time marched on. The cold hands of death could close in on any of them. But who? When would they go? And how would they go?

Sources:

A Long Strange Trip: The Inside Story of the Grateful Dead, by Dennis McNally

Living with The Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead, by Rock Scully with David Dalton

Searching for the Sound, by Phil Lesh

The Grateful Dead FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Greatest Jam Band in History, by Tony Sclafani

This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead, by Blair Jackson and David Gans

Euphoria Ballroom - July 16, 1970 (Dead.net)

The Story Behind the Song: The burden lifted by Grateful Dead's 'Box of Rain' (Far Out)

Grateful Dead live at Winterland, 10/4/1970

The Story of the Grateful Dead 'American Beauty' (Classic Album Sundays)

50 Years Later; Grateful Dead's American Beauty (Open Chord Music)

How Grateful Dead Rose Above Hard Times on 'American Beauty' (Ultimate Classic Rock)

October 1970: Jerry Garcia Interview (Dead Sources)

Pigpen Solo Projects 1969, 1971, 1973 (Why?) (Lost Live Dead)

“Operator” take 5

Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Operator" (Dead.net)

Janis Joplin Remembered After Her Death (Rolling Stone)

The Day Grateful Dead's Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan Died (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Dies | World History Project (World History Project)

For behind the scenes info and news on this episode, follow:

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Twitter: @DoubleElvisFm @Disgracelandpod

Tik Tok: @Disgracelandpod

Pinterest: @doubleelvisfm

Facebook: Double Elvis Productions

Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and many more musical icons all died at the age of 27. Scandalous, tortured, dramatic, and incredibly talented, these artists torched a wild path to their early graves and shifted and shaped our culture along the way. 27 Club tells their stories. 27 Club is hosted and created by Jake Brennan, host and creator of the award-winning music and true crime podcast DISGRACELAND. 27 Club is not a journalistic podcast. It is an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. For more shows like 27 Club, check out www.doubleelvis.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1995, Detective Tony Richardson was trying to figure out who killed a fellow officer.
0:11.5	The case comes down to who is believed and who is ignored.
0:15.8	Oh my goodness, we did connect to Innocent Man.
0:19.1	I'm Beth Shelburn from Lava for Good Podcasts.
0:22.6	This is Ear Witness.
0:24.9	Come to Ear Witness on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
0:32.3	Coming to Hulu this Friday and Saturday night, don't miss our 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival.
0:37.8	The biggest superstars from all genres of music on one stage.
0:41.6	Food Fighters, Fallout Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Lenny Kravitz, Travis Scott, Tim McGraw, TLC,
0:47.1	and more.
0:48.1	From T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it's the Can't Miss Music Events of the Year.
0:53.1	Ear iHeartRadio Music Festival, stream it live only on Hulu, and listen on iHeartRadio
0:57.8	stations.
0:58.8	Friday night and Saturday night, starting at 10 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Pacific.
1:02.8	Sometimes the pop culture we love just teens hits differently in retrospect.
1:06.7	Maybe it's a tabloid story we couldn't get enough of, or an illicit student-teacher relationship
1:11.2	on our favorite show.
1:12.8	We're Susie Bannakerum and Jessica Bennett, posts of the new podcast in retrospect.
1:17.5	Where each week we'll revisit a cultural moment from the past that shaped us, and probably
1:21.6	you.
1:22.6	To try to understand what it taught us about the world, and our place in it.
1:25.4	You're the first person that I've talked to about this for years and years.
	...

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