27 Club

Ron “Pigpen” McKernan Episode 4: Rushed in the Studio, A Midnight Hour Secret, and Busted Down on Ashbury Street


Listen Later

As the Grateful Dead’s star continued to rise, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan felt he would rather be a dark star, invisible to the world. But he couldn’t hide. Not from the throngs of fans. And not from the San Francisco Police Department. Maybe they saw Pig’s leather vest and cowboy hat and figured he was an outlaw. Or maybe they just wanted to outlaw his type and the whole freaky scene along with him. And they tried to do just that in the fall of 1967, as the sun set on the Summer of Love and the Dead waited like sitting ducks at their house at 710 Ashbury Street.

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

Why the Grateful Dead's Debut Was So Hastily Recorded (Ultimate Classic Rock)

Joe Smith Digital Collection (Library of Congress)

RCA's Studio B, 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA (Jerry’s Brokedown Palaces)

Joe Smith Ran Record Labels and Signed the Grateful Dead (Wall Street Journal)

Grateful Dead first record contract (Julien’s)

The Grateful Dead: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Album Review (Pitchfork)

That Time Joe Smith Sent the Grateful Dead a Letter Complaining About Their Work Ethic (Rolling Stone)

Grateful Dead Guide: The Very Short Tale of Golden Road (Dead Essays)

Joe Smith obituary (The Guardian)

Brian Jones at Monterey Pop (YouTube)

Monterey Pop Festival – 40 Years Ago (YouTube)

Opinion | The Greatest Music Festival in History (NY Times)

Anatomy of a Love Festival - Part Two (Criterion)

Today in 1967: Otis Redding at the Monterey Pop Festival (Rhino)

The Grateful Dead Did Get It: Reporters and Cops (Rolling Stone)

Big Event: Grateful Dead and '67 Ashbury drug bust (SF Gate)

Grateful Dead 1967 Ashbury Street bust (YouTube)

Grateful Dead Pot Bust 1967 (SF Chronicle)

50 years later, Grateful Dead’s drug bust looks much different (SF Chronicle)

Grateful Dead press conference, October 1967 (KPIX)

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

Instagram: @DoubleElvis @Disgracelandpod 

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.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

27 ClubBy iHeartPodcasts and Double Elvis

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

1,588 ratings


More shows like 27 Club

View all
WTF with Marc Maron Podcast by Marc Maron

WTF with Marc Maron Podcast

29,519 Listeners

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know by iHeartPodcasts

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

10,275 Listeners

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark by Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

171,669 Listeners

And That's Why We Drink by Christine Schiefer, Em Schulz

And That's Why We Drink

23,527 Listeners

DISGRACELAND by Double Elvis Productions

DISGRACELAND

12,895 Listeners

Crime Junkie by audiochuck

Crime Junkie

367,412 Listeners

Dear Young Rocker by Chelsea Ursin

Dear Young Rocker

429 Listeners

Morbid by Morbid Network | Wondery

Morbid

98,291 Listeners

Dateline NBC by NBC News

Dateline NBC

47,504 Listeners

Theories of the Third Kind by Theories of the Third Kind

Theories of the Third Kind

6,312 Listeners

Radio Rental by Tenderfoot TV & Audacy

Radio Rental

32,587 Listeners

Citizen Critic by iHeartPodcasts & Double Elvis

Citizen Critic

245 Listeners

Park Predators by audiochuck

Park Predators

17,852 Listeners

GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST by Grateful Dead

GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST

2,168 Listeners

BLOOD ON THE TRACKS Season 4: The Brian Wilson Story by iHeartPodcasts and Double Elvis

BLOOD ON THE TRACKS Season 4: The Brian Wilson Story

281 Listeners

About A Girl by Double Elvis

About A Girl

410 Listeners

HOLLYWOODLAND by Double Elvis

HOLLYWOODLAND

1,559 Listeners

Here Comes the Break by iHeartPodcasts and Double Elvis

Here Comes the Break

233 Listeners

Curious Creatures by Lol Tolhurst & Budgie

Curious Creatures

151 Listeners

The Deck by audiochuck

The Deck

11,224 Listeners

Who Took Misty Copsey? by ID

Who Took Misty Copsey?

5,453 Listeners