Get ready for Season 5 of the 27 Club to take the strange and not-so-long trip of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, a founding member of the Grateful Dead. Pigpen wasn't just a member of the Dead. He was the Dead. But just like Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones or Syd Barrett in Pink Floyd, Pigpen felt his role in the Grateful Dead shrink as the rest of the band members expanded their minds and their sound. The story of Pigpen is about a major musical and cultural shift that took place as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s. It’s a story of acid tests and bottles of Thunderbird, of angels from hell and a nine-fingered wizard, of busts down on Bourbon Street and shakedowns in the Haight…and of the man who tried to pull his band back down to earth as they continued to get pulled higher into the cosmos. It's a story that ends tragically...at the age of 27.

The 27 Club is hosted by Jake Brennan, creator and host of the award-winning Disgraceland podcast, and produced by iHeartRadio and Double Elvis. Season 5, all about Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and the Grateful Dead, launches Thursday, June 9, 2022.

For more info on the 27 Club and other great shows, visit the Double Elvis website and follow Double Elvis on Twitter and Instagram.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.