1 00:00:00,070 --> 00:00:19,250 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 2 00:00:19,340 --> 00:00:23,340 Speaker 1: story about how rock and roll pioneer Screamin' Jay Hawkins 3 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,730 Speaker 1: may have been murdered. It's a story about an operatic 4 00:00:27,790 --> 00:00:32,030 Speaker 1: boogeyman who freaked out America in the conservative 1950s by 5 00:00:32,090 --> 00:00:35,290 Speaker 1: jumping out of a coffin on stage. And it's also 6 00:00:35,430 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: about an unreliable narrator, an arrest for statutory rape, polygamy, 7 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:45,260 Speaker 1: and the 57-plus children fathered by the co-author of the 8 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:50,300 Speaker 1: classic rock and roll song, I Put a Spell on You, Mr. Screamin' 9 00:00:50,380 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins. A man who made great music. Unlike that 10 00:00:56,020 --> 00:00:58,300 Speaker 1: clip I played for you at the top of the show, 11 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from 12 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:08,089 Speaker 1: my Mellotron called Caped Creepy Crooner MK1. I played you 13 00:01:08,130 --> 00:01:11,630 Speaker 1: that loop because I can't afford the rights to I 14 00:01:11,709 --> 00:01:15,229 Speaker 1: Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden. And why would 15 00:01:15,250 --> 00:01:20,550 Speaker 1: I play you that specific slice of unlikely Y2K cheese? 16 00:01:20,690 --> 00:01:24,860 Speaker 1: Could I afford it? Because that was the number one 17 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: song in America on February 12, 2000. And that was 18 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,020 Speaker 1: the day that Screamin' Jay Hawkins died at the age 19 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: of 70. A death that officials said was caused by 20 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: an aneurysm, but which some later alleged was actual murder. 21 00:01:42,620 --> 00:01:48,330 Speaker 1: On this episode, the boogeyman, polygamy, fathering at least 57 children, 22 00:01:48,630 --> 00:01:53,730 Speaker 1: murder allegations, and rock and roll pioneer... Screamin' Jay Hawkins. 23 00:01:54,670 --> 00:02:07,380 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. 24 00:02:10,860 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: Some people think that Screamin' Jay Hawkins was murdered. Yes, 25 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:18,660 Speaker 1: that's right. The I put a spell on you guy. Murdered. 26 00:02:19,510 --> 00:02:23,109 Speaker 1: The official cause of death was multiple organ failure following 27 00:02:23,250 --> 00:02:27,890 Speaker 1: emergency surgery to treat an aneurysm. But some believe he 28 00:02:27,930 --> 00:02:32,090 Speaker 1: was slowly poisoned and that the poisoning could have led 29 00:02:32,169 --> 00:02:36,570 Speaker 1: to intestinal obstruction, which could have then triggered his aneurysm 30 00:02:36,910 --> 00:02:41,399 Speaker 1: and the multiple organ failure and all the rest of it. Now, 31 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:44,540 Speaker 1: this is ironic as hell, by the way, because Screamin' 32 00:02:44,580 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: Jay wrote and sang a song called Constipation Blues, which 33 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,430 Speaker 1: literally sounds like a guy trying to dramatically pass a 34 00:02:52,500 --> 00:02:56,770 Speaker 1: bowel movement for about four minutes straight. And this murder 35 00:02:56,850 --> 00:03:00,250 Speaker 1: theory is not widely talked about, but it's out there, 36 00:03:00,690 --> 00:03:02,950 Speaker 1: and not just in Reddit threads on the internet. There's 37 00:03:02,970 --> 00:03:06,709 Speaker 1: a book about Screamin' Jay that was published in 2019, 38 00:03:06,710 --> 00:03:09,570 Speaker 1: which mentions this theory a few times from a few 39 00:03:09,610 --> 00:03:14,450 Speaker 1: different sources, albeit briefly and at the very end. I 40 00:03:14,490 --> 00:03:17,630 Speaker 1: was completely floored when I first stumbled across these murder 41 00:03:17,690 --> 00:03:22,540 Speaker 1: allegations while researching this episode. I've always wanted to tell Screamin' 42 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,610 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins' story because it's weird and it's wild and 43 00:03:25,630 --> 00:03:28,330 Speaker 1: it's mythic, like all the best stories about rock stars. 44 00:03:28,370 --> 00:03:31,630 Speaker 1: And I always assumed that the angle of our episode 45 00:03:31,690 --> 00:03:35,090 Speaker 1: would be how when Jay died, it was revealed that 46 00:03:35,150 --> 00:03:37,970 Speaker 1: he had at least 57 children out there, most of 47 00:03:38,010 --> 00:03:42,740 Speaker 1: them illegitimate and most of them unknown to him. But 48 00:03:42,780 --> 00:03:45,300 Speaker 1: then I read about how Screamin' Jay may not have 49 00:03:45,340 --> 00:03:49,460 Speaker 1: died as we were told, how he may have been murdered. 50 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: And suddenly, everything changed. On February 12, 2000, Screamin' Jay 51 00:03:57,180 --> 00:04:00,580 Speaker 1: Hawkins was 70 years old and living outside Paris, France. 52 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,620 Speaker 1: He continued to tour and perform his eccentric brand of 53 00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,220 Speaker 1: rock and roll, mostly in Europe. And like a lot 54 00:04:08,260 --> 00:04:11,470 Speaker 1: of 20th century jazz musicians, Jay found that he was 55 00:04:11,500 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: appreciated more abroad than he was in the States. Audiences 56 00:04:15,140 --> 00:04:17,820 Speaker 1: there liked his newer material just as much as they 57 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: dug his biggest hit, his calling card, the song I 58 00:04:20,060 --> 00:04:23,260 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier, I Put a Spell on You. You know 59 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,300 Speaker 1: this song. It's been covered hundreds of times by everyone 60 00:04:27,339 --> 00:04:30,540 Speaker 1: from Nina Simone to Creedence Clearwater Revival. You've heard it 61 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,110 Speaker 1: in countless movies and TV shows, and contestants on American 62 00:04:34,290 --> 00:04:36,610 Speaker 1: Idol and The Voice regularly drag it out to sing 63 00:04:36,630 --> 00:04:39,890 Speaker 1: it to the rafters. Because it's a song you want 64 00:04:40,130 --> 00:04:44,350 Speaker 1: to remember. It's a song that will last forever. It's 65 00:04:44,370 --> 00:04:46,610 Speaker 1: what the cockroaches will be listening to while they feed 66 00:04:46,650 --> 00:04:50,750 Speaker 1: off Twinkies in the post-apocalypse wasteland. I Put a Spell 67 00:04:50,830 --> 00:04:54,030 Speaker 1: on You is such a monster tune that the Rock 68 00:04:54,070 --> 00:04:57,510 Speaker 1: and Roll Hall of Fame in Jay's hometown of Cleveland 69 00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 1: selected it for its list of 500 songs that shaped 70 00:05:02,100 --> 00:05:06,359 Speaker 1: rock and roll. Jay planned to keep playing this song 71 00:05:06,380 --> 00:05:10,540 Speaker 1: to audiences for a long time because even at 70, 72 00:05:10,540 --> 00:05:13,700 Speaker 1: despite some minor health issues that had begun to pop up, 73 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,060 Speaker 1: he remained in good spirits, and he continued to perform 74 00:05:18,140 --> 00:05:22,250 Speaker 1: enthusiastically to audiences like at the famed Olympia in Paris. 75 00:05:23,089 --> 00:05:26,770 Speaker 1: That is, until one day in February 2000, when Screamin' 76 00:05:26,810 --> 00:05:29,970 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins suddenly fell ill and was rushed to a 77 00:05:30,010 --> 00:05:34,779 Speaker 1: hospital in a Parisian suburb. A few days later, on 78 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:40,650 Speaker 1: February 12th, Screamin' Jay Hawkins was dead. The New York 79 00:05:40,690 --> 00:05:42,810 Speaker 1: Times reported that Jay had been taken to the hospital 80 00:05:42,850 --> 00:05:45,849 Speaker 1: for emergency surgery to treat an aneurysm, and that he 81 00:05:45,890 --> 00:05:50,510 Speaker 1: died in recovery, suffering from the failure of multiple organs. Okay, 82 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: makes sense. Aneurysms can come out of nowhere and impact 83 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: even the healthiest of people. And so this was accepted 84 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,220 Speaker 1: as fact, but not everyone was buying it. Two people, 85 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,350 Speaker 1: in fact, two people who were very close to screaming Jay, 86 00:06:05,990 --> 00:06:08,570 Speaker 1: They had reason to believe that Screamin' Jay Hawkins didn't 87 00:06:08,630 --> 00:06:13,550 Speaker 1: die simply of an aneurysm, but a foul play. And 88 00:06:14,029 --> 00:06:22,630 Speaker 1: therein lies the million-dollar question. Was Screamin' Jay Hawkins murdered? Screamin' 89 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,300 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was on the front lines of rock and roll. 90 00:06:26,060 --> 00:06:28,380 Speaker 1: He was part of the first wave of luminaries who 91 00:06:28,460 --> 00:06:31,940 Speaker 1: mashed up rhythm and blues, gospel, jazz, and country music 92 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,130 Speaker 1: to create something new and exciting. But before he was 93 00:06:36,190 --> 00:06:40,229 Speaker 1: making music alongside better-known names such as Little Richard, Big 94 00:06:40,270 --> 00:06:43,849 Speaker 1: Joe Turner, and Chuck Berry, Screamin' Jay Hawkins was in 95 00:06:43,890 --> 00:06:47,690 Speaker 1: the Army Air Force, and after that, he was a boxer. 96 00:06:48,550 --> 00:06:51,950 Speaker 1: Although he was from Cleveland, Jay allegedly beat a Golden 97 00:06:51,990 --> 00:06:55,450 Speaker 1: Gloves champion from Alaska to clinch the title in that state. 98 00:06:56,210 --> 00:06:58,610 Speaker 1: And this could be a true story, but it's hard 99 00:06:58,650 --> 00:07:01,430 Speaker 1: to know for sure because Jay just so happened to 100 00:07:01,450 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: be one of the most unreliable narrators in rock and roll. 101 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,580 Speaker 1: He'd tell you he was born in a taxi as 102 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:10,340 Speaker 1: it was crossing state lines, or that he was left 103 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: at an orphanage and taken in by a family of 104 00:07:12,740 --> 00:07:18,370 Speaker 1: Blackfoot Indians. Not necessarily unbelievable stuff, just not backed up 105 00:07:18,430 --> 00:07:22,510 Speaker 1: by any hard proof. At times, it is near impossible 106 00:07:22,550 --> 00:07:25,510 Speaker 1: to separate fact from fiction when it comes to screaming 107 00:07:25,550 --> 00:07:31,210 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins. But this much is true. Jay's God-given singing 108 00:07:31,270 --> 00:07:36,570 Speaker 1: style was by turn soulfully operatic and completely unhinged, punctuated 109 00:07:36,650 --> 00:07:41,010 Speaker 1: by grunts and shrieks and guttural rumblings. It's right there 110 00:07:41,050 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: in his name. Screamin' Jay was a force. But Screamin' 111 00:07:47,020 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: Jay was also weird. People tend to forget that rock 112 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:56,140 Speaker 1: and roll was weird as fuck in the early days. Sure, 113 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: Sun Records was home to Elvis and Jerry Lee, but 114 00:07:58,660 --> 00:08:01,600 Speaker 1: it was also the label behind Billy Lee Riley's Flying 115 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: Saucer rock and roll and Malcolm Yelvington's hillbilly take on 116 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: Stick McGee's Drinking Wine's Fodioti. To an American public lullabied 117 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,380 Speaker 1: by Pat Boone and the Everly Brothers, Screamin' Jay was 118 00:08:13,490 --> 00:08:19,010 Speaker 1: beyond weird. He was downright disturbing. When OK Records, an 119 00:08:19,330 --> 00:08:22,790 Speaker 1: R & B imprint of Columbia, released Jay's song I 120 00:08:22,850 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: Put a Spell on You in 1956, Audiences were so 121 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,940 Speaker 1: freaked out by his snorting and snarling at the end 122 00:08:29,980 --> 00:08:32,460 Speaker 1: of the track that the label had to remix and 123 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:37,090 Speaker 1: repress the single with the offending vocals removed. And even 124 00:08:37,230 --> 00:08:42,270 Speaker 1: with those edits made, radio stations banned it. One DJ 125 00:08:42,330 --> 00:08:46,050 Speaker 1: was fired for playing it. Screamin' Jay, it seemed, was 126 00:08:46,110 --> 00:08:51,570 Speaker 1: some kind of rock and roll boogeyman. Alan Freed, the 127 00:08:51,730 --> 00:08:56,290 Speaker 1: influential and disgraced DJ and concert promoter, was the one 128 00:08:56,309 --> 00:08:58,429 Speaker 1: to suggest that Jay emerged from a coffin like a 129 00:08:58,470 --> 00:09:02,569 Speaker 1: creature of the night on stage. This gimmick led to others. 130 00:09:03,110 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: Plastic snakes, mechanical severed hands, fuse boxes that produced fire 131 00:09:08,340 --> 00:09:11,900 Speaker 1: and smoke, a human skull that appeared to smoke cigarettes 132 00:09:11,940 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: while perched atop Jay's walking cane. If screaming Jay Hawkins 133 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,860 Speaker 1: could have peered into a crystal ball, He would have 134 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,829 Speaker 1: seen Iggy Pop, Frank Zappa, Alice Cooper, Kiss, The Cramps, 135 00:09:23,350 --> 00:09:27,390 Speaker 1: and even Lady Gaga all staring back at him. But 136 00:09:27,429 --> 00:09:31,030 Speaker 1: there was no crystal ball, and there was only this moment. 137 00:09:31,730 --> 00:09:35,050 Speaker 1: And in this moment, Screamin' Jay was not only a 138 00:09:35,190 --> 00:09:39,179 Speaker 1: weird and frightening force, the weird and frightening parts of 139 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:45,660 Speaker 1: him soon became a liability. In 1956, the National Casket 140 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: Association complained that Jay's shtick made fun of the dead, 141 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,929 Speaker 1: so funeral homes stopped renting coffins to him. The NAACP 142 00:09:53,970 --> 00:09:56,510 Speaker 1: took issue with the bone Jay clipped to his nose, 143 00:09:56,929 --> 00:10:02,180 Speaker 1: accusing him of perpetuating racial stereotypes. Even worse, Jerry Lee 144 00:10:02,220 --> 00:10:05,220 Speaker 1: Lewis thought Jay was nothing but a novelty act. And 145 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 1: this hurt Jay because Jay and Jerry Lee shared the 146 00:10:07,870 --> 00:10:11,490 Speaker 1: stage on Alan Freed's Big Beat tour. And Jay considered 147 00:10:11,530 --> 00:10:14,010 Speaker 1: Jerry Lee to be an equal, and Jay wanted a 148 00:10:14,090 --> 00:10:17,329 Speaker 1: career like Jerry Lee's. But it wouldn't be long before 149 00:10:17,470 --> 00:10:21,590 Speaker 1: any semblance of a career was put in peril, when Screamin' 150 00:10:21,610 --> 00:10:25,170 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was arrested for a serious crime and faced 151 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:31,190 Speaker 1: decades behind bars. They found Screamin' Jay Hawkins inside one 152 00:10:31,210 --> 00:10:34,490 Speaker 1: of the 250 rooms at Cleveland's Majestic Hotel with a 153 00:10:34,530 --> 00:10:37,340 Speaker 1: young girl from Akron. Jay was 28. She was 15. 154 00:10:37,340 --> 00:10:39,679 Speaker 1: It was the year 1958, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins was fucked. 155 00:10:45,860 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: This was the same year that Jerry Lee Lewis was 156 00:10:48,179 --> 00:10:50,280 Speaker 1: busy working up a scandal of his own with his 157 00:10:50,300 --> 00:10:54,380 Speaker 1: 13-year-old cousin. It was the same year Buddy Holly would die. 158 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:56,880 Speaker 1: And it was the year that Elvis broke millions of 159 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,070 Speaker 1: hearts by putting his career on hold after being drafted 160 00:11:00,110 --> 00:11:03,589 Speaker 1: into the Army. And it was the year that Screamin' 161 00:11:03,610 --> 00:11:07,910 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was convicted of statutory rape and possession of narcotics. 162 00:11:08,890 --> 00:11:12,010 Speaker 1: He was given a 2 to 20-year sentence in an 163 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,250 Speaker 1: Ohio prison, where every day he wondered, How much longer? 164 00:11:16,850 --> 00:11:19,990 Speaker 1: How much longer will I have to sit here, alone, 165 00:11:20,490 --> 00:11:23,470 Speaker 1: tormented by the demons and the devils of my mind? 166 00:11:25,890 --> 00:11:29,750 Speaker 1: The cell is small and smells of mildew and piss. 167 00:11:30,429 --> 00:11:34,380 Speaker 1: It's also dark. Jay doesn't like the dark. The dark 168 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,500 Speaker 1: is where the bad things creep from a shadow in 169 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:38,980 Speaker 1: the corner, like Jay creeps out of one of his 170 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: rented coffins. He tries to think of something else to 171 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:47,510 Speaker 1: settle his nerves, but All he has are memories. He's 172 00:11:47,570 --> 00:11:51,710 Speaker 1: not 28 anymore. He's 18, 19, give or take, and 173 00:11:52,050 --> 00:11:54,849 Speaker 1: he's rotting on the floor of another cell just like 174 00:11:54,910 --> 00:11:58,090 Speaker 1: this one. He's reliving one of the stories he likes 175 00:11:58,150 --> 00:12:01,449 Speaker 1: to tell so much. The story of how his captors 176 00:12:01,490 --> 00:12:05,319 Speaker 1: loomed large above him. Boogeymen from another shadow in another 177 00:12:05,380 --> 00:12:09,679 Speaker 1: corner in another part of the world. These boogeymen spoke Japanese, 178 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,690 Speaker 1: and they laughed at him, fucked with him, and beat him. 179 00:12:13,690 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: He had no way of knowing how long he'd been there, 180 00:12:16,140 --> 00:12:18,959 Speaker 1: when the only door into this godforsaken hovel was at 181 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,220 Speaker 1: last knocked down, and when the rising sun pierced the 182 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:26,140 Speaker 1: veil of torture, and Jay's squad was at last liberated. 183 00:12:27,210 --> 00:12:30,630 Speaker 1: Now the tables were turned. Now Jay had the upper hand. 184 00:12:31,210 --> 00:12:34,530 Speaker 1: And with that hand, he shoved a standard-issue grenade down 185 00:12:34,590 --> 00:12:37,970 Speaker 1: one of his captor's throats. Jay got some satisfaction from 186 00:12:38,030 --> 00:12:40,890 Speaker 1: watching the man gag on the cast-iron pineapple, but the 187 00:12:40,980 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: real thrill was in pulling the pin. to see this 188 00:12:43,740 --> 00:12:50,329 Speaker 1: boogeyman's head blow completely apart. Thinking of this memory in 189 00:12:50,370 --> 00:12:52,850 Speaker 1: his Ohio jail cell gives Jay what he needs to 190 00:12:52,929 --> 00:12:56,790 Speaker 1: endure another night, another week, another month in this hellhole. 191 00:12:57,730 --> 00:13:00,110 Speaker 1: But when he finally gets out of this cell, when 192 00:13:00,130 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: he's released back into the world, that world won't recognize him. 193 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: And it's then that the story of Screamin' Jay Hawkins 194 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:40,010 Speaker 1: really begins. Screaming Jay Hawkins told variations of that POW 195 00:13:40,050 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: story his entire life, but it's not true. Jay joined 196 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,820 Speaker 1: the Army Air Force in the Special Services Division as 197 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:50,820 Speaker 1: a musician, and there is no evidence to support that 198 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,370 Speaker 1: he was a prisoner of war. Understanding his proclivity for 199 00:13:54,429 --> 00:13:58,450 Speaker 1: bullshit only complicates the question, was Screaming Jay Hawkins murdered? 200 00:13:59,070 --> 00:14:01,949 Speaker 1: Because as you sift through all these details, much of 201 00:14:01,990 --> 00:14:04,579 Speaker 1: them offered up by Jay himself is you wind up 202 00:14:04,700 --> 00:14:08,350 Speaker 1: asking yourself another question, and that question is, what exactly 203 00:14:08,530 --> 00:14:12,170 Speaker 1: do I believe? Do I believe that Screamin' Jay Hawkins 204 00:14:12,250 --> 00:14:14,990 Speaker 1: once kicked the ass of Atlantic Records honcho Ahmet Erdogan 205 00:14:15,030 --> 00:14:18,030 Speaker 1: because he told Jay to sing more like Fats Domino 206 00:14:18,070 --> 00:14:21,270 Speaker 1: in the studio? Do I believe that Screamin' Jay Hawkins 207 00:14:21,310 --> 00:14:24,150 Speaker 1: took on all five members of the Drifters and roundly 208 00:14:24,210 --> 00:14:26,820 Speaker 1: kicked all their asses as well after they locked him 209 00:14:26,860 --> 00:14:30,520 Speaker 1: in his stage coffin? Perhaps, but do I believe that Screamin' 210 00:14:30,540 --> 00:14:33,910 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins' first wife, left him for another woman, as 211 00:14:33,950 --> 00:14:36,390 Speaker 1: he once proclaimed. No, I do not. But when it 212 00:14:36,430 --> 00:14:38,490 Speaker 1: comes to that last one, what actually happened was that 213 00:14:38,530 --> 00:14:41,890 Speaker 1: Jay left his first wife, Anna Mae, and their three 214 00:14:41,930 --> 00:14:45,270 Speaker 1: young children. I do believe that Anna Mae was so upset, 215 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 1: so insulted, that every time Jay came back to Cleveland, 216 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:50,340 Speaker 1: she called the cops to have him arrested for not 217 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,860 Speaker 1: paying child support. And I further believe that when Jay 218 00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: was granted parole and released from prison in November 1960, 219 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: two years after his arrest for statutory rape, He needed 220 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:03,660 Speaker 1: to get as far away from Ohio as he could. 221 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,380 Speaker 1: He also needed to go where there was work and opportunity. 222 00:15:08,110 --> 00:15:12,130 Speaker 1: And in the early 1960s, opportunity came calling for Screamin' 223 00:15:12,170 --> 00:15:22,090 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins in Hawaii. 1964, Honolulu. Jay didn't see that 224 00:15:22,130 --> 00:15:25,540 Speaker 1: Pat had a knife. He didn't notice the steel catch 225 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,980 Speaker 1: the light from a nearby lamp as she raised the 226 00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:31,340 Speaker 1: blade into the air. How could he? he had his 227 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: back turned to her. Besides, he never would have expected 228 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 1: Pat to do something so dramatic. Pat Newborn, aka Shoutin' Pat, 229 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:44,100 Speaker 1: was a lot of things. She was 15 years younger 230 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,359 Speaker 1: than 35-year-old Jay Hawkins, and she was a singer, hence 231 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,500 Speaker 1: the wild stage name with the apostrophe just like Jay, 232 00:15:51,540 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: and she had recently recorded a song called Ashes with 233 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:59,580 Speaker 1: Jay for Chancellor Records. Shoutin' Pat was also just as 234 00:15:59,630 --> 00:16:03,739 Speaker 1: sexually adventurous as Screamin' Jay. She brought other women home 235 00:16:03,780 --> 00:16:06,940 Speaker 1: to their place in Honolulu, and then Jay would have 236 00:16:06,980 --> 00:16:09,940 Speaker 1: sex with that woman while Pat watched, or Pat would 237 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:12,140 Speaker 1: have sex with Jay while the woman watched, or more 238 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,060 Speaker 1: often than not, all three of them would just go 239 00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:19,580 Speaker 1: at it all together. Shoutin' Pat was also Screamin' Jay's fiancée, 240 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,210 Speaker 1: even though Jay was still legally married to his first wife, 241 00:16:23,570 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: Anna Mae. Like all the women in Jay's life, Pat 242 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:30,130 Speaker 1: was on a need-to-know basis, and Pat didn't need to 243 00:16:30,210 --> 00:16:32,810 Speaker 1: know about Anna Mae, and she also didn't need to 244 00:16:32,850 --> 00:16:35,530 Speaker 1: know that Jay had gone and proposed to yet another woman, 245 00:16:36,050 --> 00:16:39,170 Speaker 1: Ginny Sabalona, even though he was already engaged to Pat 246 00:16:39,210 --> 00:16:42,690 Speaker 1: and still married to Anna Mae. In Jay's experience, it 247 00:16:42,710 --> 00:16:46,450 Speaker 1: was best not to let everyone know everything. But Honolulu talked. 248 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: The doormen, the barbacks, the maid men, the strippers, everyone 249 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,510 Speaker 1: talked in Jack Sione's nightclubs. Jay liked to tell people 250 00:16:54,570 --> 00:16:56,410 Speaker 1: that the reason he'd come to the island in the 251 00:16:56,460 --> 00:16:58,820 Speaker 1: first place was because his life was on the line. 252 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:01,900 Speaker 1: That he'd gone to a music publisher to insist upon 253 00:17:01,940 --> 00:17:04,580 Speaker 1: receiving a higher royalty rate for I Put a Spell 254 00:17:04,660 --> 00:17:07,260 Speaker 1: on You, seeing that it was quickly becoming a popular 255 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:10,919 Speaker 1: song that other artists liked to cover. His demands were 256 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,379 Speaker 1: so strong, his tone so threatening, that the publishing company 257 00:17:14,420 --> 00:17:17,619 Speaker 1: had no choice but to respond with intimidation. And before 258 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,980 Speaker 1: too long, mafia goons were on his trail. Or so 259 00:17:22,050 --> 00:17:26,970 Speaker 1: Jay said. In reality, Honolulu entrepreneur Jack Sione had caught 260 00:17:27,090 --> 00:17:29,490 Speaker 1: wind of this rock and roll animal recently out of 261 00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: the clink, looking for work, and who worked for a 262 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: rate that wasn't as high as your Ike and Tina's 263 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,740 Speaker 1: or your Fats Domino's, and so Jack Sione brought Jay 264 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: Hawkins to the island with the promise of a steady gig. 265 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,700 Speaker 1: The island was exile for Screamin' Jay. He had quickly 266 00:17:46,740 --> 00:17:51,460 Speaker 1: become rock and roll's forgotten outlier, Jerry Lee's punchline. a 267 00:17:51,540 --> 00:17:55,290 Speaker 1: cape-wearing ghoul climbing from a coffin on a Honolulu stage 268 00:17:55,330 --> 00:17:58,550 Speaker 1: for $ 250 a week and a percentage of that night's 269 00:17:58,650 --> 00:18:03,190 Speaker 1: liquor sales. It was exile, but it was also where 270 00:18:03,270 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: Jay's resentment really began to build up. Imagine you co-wrote 271 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,239 Speaker 1: a song, a great song, a song that will go 272 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: down as one of the greatest of all time, a 273 00:18:12,580 --> 00:18:15,780 Speaker 1: song that defines rock and roll and other people and 274 00:18:15,859 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: bands cover that song like it's going out of style. 275 00:18:18,770 --> 00:18:22,130 Speaker 1: Nina Simone, The Animals, Manford Mann, Alan Price, the list 276 00:18:22,170 --> 00:18:25,409 Speaker 1: goes on, and yet here you are doing your Halloween 277 00:18:25,530 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: act for whoever stumbled into Jack Sione's joint that night. Surfers, stoners, riffraff. Chicks, man, 278 00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:37,180 Speaker 1: the chicks. The chicks, according to you, Screamin' Jay, are hot. 279 00:18:37,500 --> 00:18:41,350 Speaker 1: You've never seen women like this before, so you compartmentalize. 280 00:18:41,380 --> 00:18:44,310 Speaker 1: You close the door on resentment. You let it fester 281 00:18:44,350 --> 00:18:47,810 Speaker 1: like mold in a damp closet, and you party. Shouting 282 00:18:47,850 --> 00:18:50,520 Speaker 1: Pat brings home a new girl every night. And every 283 00:18:50,580 --> 00:18:53,920 Speaker 1: night she earns that epithet and you earn yours. Shouting 284 00:18:53,940 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: and screaming to beat the band. It's almost as if 285 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 1: you could go on like this forever. And at one 286 00:18:58,460 --> 00:19:02,120 Speaker 1: point you resign yourself to the idea that Honolulu was forever. 287 00:19:02,540 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 1: It was forever with a nice beach and a decent sunset. 288 00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:11,100 Speaker 1: But then, then Pat found out about Ginny. Pat found 289 00:19:11,180 --> 00:19:15,120 Speaker 1: out because Jay told her. And Jay told her because 290 00:19:15,380 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: the wanderer and philanderer that Jay was, he decided he 291 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,440 Speaker 1: was done with Pat and he went ahead and pulled 292 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:25,160 Speaker 1: the trigger and made it official. He married Ginny Sabalona. 293 00:19:25,850 --> 00:19:28,709 Speaker 1: Never mind that he was engaged to shouting Pat and 294 00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:31,250 Speaker 1: never mind that he was still married to Anna Mae. 295 00:19:32,210 --> 00:19:35,429 Speaker 1: Pat was beside herself. She went in and got the 296 00:19:35,470 --> 00:19:39,010 Speaker 1: knife in the kitchen, nine inches long, more than enough 297 00:19:39,030 --> 00:19:41,550 Speaker 1: to fuck Jay up. And she chose to strike when 298 00:19:41,590 --> 00:19:45,020 Speaker 1: his back was turned because fuck him. Jay's arms shot 299 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,170 Speaker 1: out at his sides when he felt the blade sink 300 00:19:47,210 --> 00:19:49,969 Speaker 1: into his flesh. It sounded like he was singing the album. 301 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:52,560 Speaker 1: of his big hit song as Pac gave the handle 302 00:19:52,619 --> 00:19:55,570 Speaker 1: a twist and then ran the knife down the length 303 00:19:55,609 --> 00:19:58,669 Speaker 1: of his back. Perhaps getting stabbed by one of the 304 00:19:58,690 --> 00:20:01,050 Speaker 1: many women he was sleeping with and proposing to had 305 00:20:01,330 --> 00:20:04,990 Speaker 1: at last opened Jay's eyes and given him perspective. Or 306 00:20:05,050 --> 00:20:09,609 Speaker 1: perhaps opportunity had packed its bags and flown east. Whatever 307 00:20:09,650 --> 00:20:13,630 Speaker 1: the case... Shortly after he was attacked by Pat, Jay 308 00:20:13,670 --> 00:20:17,399 Speaker 1: Hawkins left Hawaii and Jack Sione's nightclubs for New York, 309 00:20:17,980 --> 00:20:20,980 Speaker 1: and then for London, where he hoped at long last 310 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: to receive the respect he deserved. It was the notorious 311 00:20:28,660 --> 00:20:33,490 Speaker 1: gangster and music impresario Don Hardy. father of Sharon Osbourne, 312 00:20:33,550 --> 00:20:37,470 Speaker 1: who provided Jay Hawkins the opportunity to tour the UK 313 00:20:37,570 --> 00:20:42,169 Speaker 1: and to record at famed Abbey Road Studios. This was 314 00:20:42,330 --> 00:20:46,230 Speaker 1: in 1966. Around the same time, Don Arden walked into 315 00:20:46,290 --> 00:20:48,550 Speaker 1: the office of his rival and threatened to toss him 316 00:20:48,590 --> 00:20:50,619 Speaker 1: out the window if he ever tried to poach one 317 00:20:50,630 --> 00:20:55,060 Speaker 1: of his bands again. If anyone could strong-arm screaming Jay 318 00:20:55,100 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: Hawkins back into the cultural consciousness, it was Don Arden. 319 00:21:00,369 --> 00:21:03,320 Speaker 1: But the album that Jay made at Abbey Road, The 320 00:21:03,380 --> 00:21:06,859 Speaker 1: Night and Day of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, released on the 321 00:21:06,900 --> 00:21:10,740 Speaker 1: Planet Records label, was an attempt to mainstream Jay, or 322 00:21:10,780 --> 00:21:13,600 Speaker 1: at least drain some of the weirdness from his sound 323 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:19,350 Speaker 1: and turn him into a crooner. It didn't work. Neither 324 00:21:19,390 --> 00:21:21,530 Speaker 1: did the other albums and singles that Jay made for 325 00:21:21,590 --> 00:21:26,290 Speaker 1: so many other labels. Over the years, Jay recorded for Decca, Roulette, Hotline, 326 00:21:26,369 --> 00:21:29,540 Speaker 1: Red Top, Koala, Blue Phoenix, Mercury, and Rika. The list 327 00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 1: goes on and on. He bounced between record labels like 328 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:35,480 Speaker 1: he bounced between wives and girlfriends in one night stands. 329 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,290 Speaker 1: Until all that bouncing around from city to city, country 330 00:21:40,330 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: to country, woman to woman, finally caught up with him. 331 00:21:44,150 --> 00:21:48,149 Speaker 1: And perhaps, as some will tell you, it all eventually 332 00:21:48,210 --> 00:22:03,140 Speaker 1: led to murder. We'll be right back after this word, word, word. Screamin' 333 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:07,619 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins always believed that he deserved better. In his mind, 334 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: R & B singer Chuck Willis started wearing turbans because 335 00:22:10,810 --> 00:22:14,230 Speaker 1: Jay wore turbans. When Little Richard began to wear capes, 336 00:22:14,369 --> 00:22:16,689 Speaker 1: Jay said it was because he had worn capes first. 337 00:22:17,570 --> 00:22:21,409 Speaker 1: He saw himself reflected in the culture from 70s blaxploitation 338 00:22:21,470 --> 00:22:24,890 Speaker 1: films like Shaft and Blacula to the tens of thousands 339 00:22:24,910 --> 00:22:28,369 Speaker 1: of white hippie kids dancing to Creedence Clearwater Revival as 340 00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:33,090 Speaker 1: they performed his signature song at Woodstock. But seeing this 341 00:22:33,230 --> 00:22:36,719 Speaker 1: gave him no satisfaction because he felt that the culture 342 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:41,340 Speaker 1: refused to see him in return. And what did Jay refuse? 343 00:22:42,060 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 1: Jay refused to be second best. So when he thought 344 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,820 Speaker 1: that his one-time agent, Don Arden, was paying too much 345 00:22:48,859 --> 00:22:52,540 Speaker 1: attention to another artist, John Lee Hooker, Jay called up 346 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,420 Speaker 1: Don pretending to be John Lee. Jay had the voice 347 00:22:55,460 --> 00:22:58,020 Speaker 1: down and everything and convinced Don that John Lee Hooker 348 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:01,830 Speaker 1: was in jail in the U.K. Don Arden literally sent 349 00:23:01,890 --> 00:23:03,810 Speaker 1: a guy to bail out John Lee Hooker, who, of course, 350 00:23:04,109 --> 00:23:07,990 Speaker 1: was not in need of bailing out. Now, you did 351 00:23:08,030 --> 00:23:10,250 Speaker 1: not fuck with a man like Don Arden like this. 352 00:23:11,030 --> 00:23:13,840 Speaker 1: Most people would also piss themselves if Don Arden stuck 353 00:23:13,859 --> 00:23:16,340 Speaker 1: a pistol in their face, but when he did so 354 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,419 Speaker 1: to Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Jay simply took it as his 355 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,500 Speaker 1: cue that their professional relationship was coming to its natural conclusion. 356 00:23:25,260 --> 00:23:27,580 Speaker 1: A few years later, Jay wound up in New York 357 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: City as punk and disco were slugging it out in 358 00:23:30,420 --> 00:23:33,930 Speaker 1: the trenches. In the early 1980s, he played places like 359 00:23:33,950 --> 00:23:37,030 Speaker 1: the Mud Club, while Basquiat nursed a margarita somewhere in 360 00:23:37,070 --> 00:23:40,590 Speaker 1: the crowd. He befriended younger musicians out on the margins, 361 00:23:40,650 --> 00:23:43,930 Speaker 1: like Rudy Petrucci, whose garage rock band The Fuzztones would 362 00:23:44,290 --> 00:23:48,879 Speaker 1: sometimes back Jay up. And then the indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, 363 00:23:48,940 --> 00:23:51,139 Speaker 1: a former member of the New York no-wave band the 364 00:23:51,180 --> 00:23:55,419 Speaker 1: Del Byzantines, used Jay's original recording of I Put a 365 00:23:55,460 --> 00:23:59,750 Speaker 1: Spell on You in his acclaimed 1984 film Stranger Than Paradise. 366 00:24:00,690 --> 00:24:03,210 Speaker 1: A new generation heard this song for the first time 367 00:24:03,290 --> 00:24:06,890 Speaker 1: because of Jarmusch's movie. And soon that song, as well 368 00:24:06,930 --> 00:24:10,100 Speaker 1: as Jay's whole shtick, was being adopted by a new 369 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: crop of indie musicians. Down Under in Australia, Nick Cave 370 00:24:15,020 --> 00:24:18,310 Speaker 1: and the Bad Seeds were performing their own unhinged cover 371 00:24:18,330 --> 00:24:21,930 Speaker 1: of Jay's immortal song. But Jay was unmoved by the tribute. 372 00:24:22,470 --> 00:24:25,230 Speaker 1: Because when Jay flew to Australia to tour and discovered 373 00:24:25,270 --> 00:24:27,510 Speaker 1: that he would be opening for Nick Cave and not 374 00:24:27,530 --> 00:24:32,300 Speaker 1: the other way around, Jay was outraged. Nick Cave hadn't 375 00:24:32,340 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 1: paid his dues, he said. Actually, what Jay really said was, 376 00:24:36,140 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: my records were being sold here before his daddy knew 377 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,439 Speaker 1: how to get an erection. And Jay had no choice 378 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,220 Speaker 1: but to upstage Nick Cave. The coffin, the severed hand, 379 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:49,950 Speaker 1: the plastic snakes, the fire, the cigarette-smoking skull. As a performer. 380 00:24:50,470 --> 00:24:53,990 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was impossible to follow. But by doing so, 381 00:24:54,450 --> 00:24:57,020 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was also biting the hand that wanted to 382 00:24:57,100 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: feed him, so to speak. And Jay found nothing wrong 383 00:25:00,540 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 1: with this approach, of course, because that's what the boogeyman does. 384 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:10,800 Speaker 1: He bites. The cultural impact that artists like Nick Cave 385 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: and Jim Jarmusch had by elevating Screamin' Jay Hawkins cannot 386 00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:17,909 Speaker 1: be overstated. It was similar to how British invasion bands 387 00:25:17,970 --> 00:25:20,970 Speaker 1: in the 1960s shone a light on American blues and 388 00:25:21,090 --> 00:25:24,619 Speaker 1: R & B. And for his fourth feature film, Mystery Train, 389 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:29,100 Speaker 1: instead of simply using Jay's music, Jarmusch cast Jay to 390 00:25:29,140 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 1: portray a Memphis hotel night clerk. It was around this 391 00:25:33,140 --> 00:25:35,540 Speaker 1: time that Jay began to record for the Bizarre and 392 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,440 Speaker 1: Straight record labels, which were originally co-founded by Frank Zappa 393 00:25:39,540 --> 00:25:43,820 Speaker 1: in the late 60s. In 1991, Jay released the album 394 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:46,750 Speaker 1: Black Music for White People, in which he remained as 395 00:25:46,830 --> 00:25:50,230 Speaker 1: uncompromising as ever with songs like Ignit and Shit and 396 00:25:50,590 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: I Want Your Body. On the album's cover, Jay is 397 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:57,460 Speaker 1: wearing the same getup that the NAACP took offense to 398 00:25:57,540 --> 00:26:00,860 Speaker 1: decades earlier, the bone in his nose and all that, 399 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:06,050 Speaker 1: while draped across his left arm is an unconscious white woman. Suddenly, 400 00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:10,450 Speaker 1: Jay found himself creatively rejuvenated. He was seeing more money 401 00:26:10,470 --> 00:26:12,250 Speaker 1: than he had in a long time, and he was 402 00:26:12,330 --> 00:26:15,270 Speaker 1: finally able to purchase his first house in Los Angeles. 403 00:26:15,980 --> 00:26:18,460 Speaker 1: Jay was also continuing to add to his list of 404 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:23,020 Speaker 1: sexual conquests and continuing to rack up ex-wives. But Jay 405 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,590 Speaker 1: was addicted to more than sex. Jay was addicted to 406 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,090 Speaker 1: something else which threatened to completely upend his good fortune. 407 00:26:31,930 --> 00:26:34,449 Speaker 1: Robert Duffy, the producer who worked with Jay on his 408 00:26:34,510 --> 00:26:38,110 Speaker 1: Bizarre and Straight album, said that by the 1990s, Jay 409 00:26:38,130 --> 00:26:42,129 Speaker 1: had become a full-blown codeine addict. He was taking codeine 410 00:26:42,290 --> 00:26:44,610 Speaker 1: all the time, whether he was in the studio or not. 411 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,960 Speaker 1: According to Duffy, Jay took so much that by 4 p.m. 412 00:26:49,070 --> 00:26:53,050 Speaker 1: every day, he was completely out of it. Jay claimed 413 00:26:53,070 --> 00:26:55,150 Speaker 1: that the reason he took so much codeine was because 414 00:26:55,170 --> 00:26:57,889 Speaker 1: of the PTSD he suffered from his time as a 415 00:26:57,950 --> 00:27:02,550 Speaker 1: prisoner of war. But that's not true. Jay took codeine 416 00:27:02,609 --> 00:27:05,169 Speaker 1: for the same reason that a lot of people take codeine, 417 00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:08,690 Speaker 1: or take any drug for that matter. Jay took codeine 418 00:27:08,730 --> 00:27:11,080 Speaker 1: because it made him feel good. It made him forget 419 00:27:11,140 --> 00:27:13,060 Speaker 1: about the things he didn't want to think about, like 420 00:27:13,140 --> 00:27:16,030 Speaker 1: skinny Aussie punks named Nick Cave who were headlining the 421 00:27:16,090 --> 00:27:19,510 Speaker 1: shows that Jay should be headlining. But there were things 422 00:27:19,570 --> 00:27:23,470 Speaker 1: that Jay could not ignore, no matter how much codeine 423 00:27:23,510 --> 00:27:29,510 Speaker 1: he took. In the mid-90s, Screaming Jay Hawkins left L.A. 424 00:27:29,570 --> 00:27:32,189 Speaker 1: in the first house he'd ever bought and moved to France. 425 00:27:33,340 --> 00:27:36,440 Speaker 1: According to Jay's fifth wife, Colette, the reason for this 426 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 1: was because they were an interracial couple. and Jay had 427 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: grown tired of casual racism in America. He had always 428 00:27:43,900 --> 00:27:46,640 Speaker 1: felt more comfortable in Europe, and had always felt more 429 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:50,530 Speaker 1: appreciated as an artist there. Colette had only been married 430 00:27:50,550 --> 00:27:53,429 Speaker 1: to Jay for three years, but even after they split 431 00:27:53,470 --> 00:27:57,250 Speaker 1: and Jay married his sixth and final wife, Monique, Jay 432 00:27:57,290 --> 00:28:01,389 Speaker 1: and Colette remained tight. Colette helped Jay kick codeine, and 433 00:28:01,470 --> 00:28:06,379 Speaker 1: Colette kept all of Jay's secrets. Colette knew everything when 434 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,020 Speaker 1: it came to her ex, Screamin' Jay Hawkinson. She knew 435 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,780 Speaker 1: about how he did time for statutory rape. She knew 436 00:28:12,820 --> 00:28:15,220 Speaker 1: about all the children he fathered and all the child 437 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,680 Speaker 1: support payments he failed to make. But the biggest secret 438 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,030 Speaker 1: Colette knew had to do with Jay's health and how 439 00:28:22,070 --> 00:28:26,310 Speaker 1: that was seemingly connected to Jay's new marriage. In Steve 440 00:28:26,350 --> 00:28:29,070 Speaker 1: Bergman's book, I Put a Spell on You, The Bizarre 441 00:28:29,130 --> 00:28:33,740 Speaker 1: Life of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Colette alleges that Jay would call, write, 442 00:28:33,859 --> 00:28:37,720 Speaker 1: and fax her well after they divorced and Jay had remarried. 443 00:28:38,530 --> 00:28:42,050 Speaker 1: And in these calls and letters, Collette says, Jay complained 444 00:28:42,110 --> 00:28:45,790 Speaker 1: about his current wife, Monique. He would tell Collette about 445 00:28:45,830 --> 00:28:49,910 Speaker 1: how Monique's cooking was making him sick and that he 446 00:28:49,950 --> 00:28:53,090 Speaker 1: needed help getting Monique and her family out of his life. 447 00:28:54,030 --> 00:28:57,230 Speaker 1: And she talks about this in Bergman's book. She wonders 448 00:28:57,310 --> 00:29:01,430 Speaker 1: out loud, quote, did she kill him, unquote, and then 449 00:29:01,590 --> 00:29:05,730 Speaker 1: answers herself with this. That's what Jay thought was happening. 450 00:29:08,510 --> 00:29:13,969 Speaker 1: February 12, 2000. Screamin' Jay Hawkins was dead at age 70, 451 00:29:13,970 --> 00:29:17,430 Speaker 1: and his widow, Monique, was going through his things. She'd 452 00:29:17,510 --> 00:29:21,430 Speaker 1: changed the locks on the apartment. No one was allowed inside. 453 00:29:22,110 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: No friends, no family, no lovers, no lawyers, and no ex-wives. 454 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: The apartment was full of Jay's costumes, capes, jewelry, and photographs. 455 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:35,800 Speaker 1: But there was something else here, too. Copies of the 456 00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:38,810 Speaker 1: letters that Jay had faxed to his fifth wife, Colette, 457 00:29:39,590 --> 00:29:42,930 Speaker 1: the ones in which Colette alleged Jay complained about getting 458 00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:46,960 Speaker 1: sick from Monique's food and asked for help getting Monique 459 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: out of his life. Monique suspected that Colette had copies 460 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,900 Speaker 1: of these letters and she wanted them back so that 461 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,920 Speaker 1: no one else would see them because they were unflattering 462 00:29:56,980 --> 00:30:00,610 Speaker 1: at best. But when she called Colette to propose a trade, 463 00:30:01,170 --> 00:30:03,240 Speaker 1: copies of the letters in exchange for a bunch of 464 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:07,340 Speaker 1: Colette's things that had been left in Jay's apartment, Colette refused. 465 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,380 Speaker 1: The tension between the two women remained high at Jay's funeral, 466 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:16,180 Speaker 1: where not one of Jay's 57-plus children were present. In 467 00:30:16,220 --> 00:30:19,510 Speaker 1: their place were rumors, now coming to a boil like 468 00:30:19,550 --> 00:30:22,430 Speaker 1: a kettle left too long on a hot stove. And 469 00:30:22,450 --> 00:30:27,250 Speaker 1: the rumors weren't coming from Colette alone. There was Jay's friend, 470 00:30:27,310 --> 00:30:31,130 Speaker 1: concert promoter Dimitra Mizuka, who said that Jay was afraid 471 00:30:31,170 --> 00:30:34,430 Speaker 1: of Monique. And there was another friend, John Lang, an 472 00:30:34,590 --> 00:30:37,930 Speaker 1: animator who went even further, alleging that Monique was physically 473 00:30:38,010 --> 00:30:41,530 Speaker 1: abusive to Jay. There was Rudy Petrucci, the guy from 474 00:30:41,570 --> 00:30:43,870 Speaker 1: the Fuzz Tones, the New York garage rock band that 475 00:30:43,910 --> 00:30:47,270 Speaker 1: sometimes backed up Jay. Rudy Petrucci said that one of 476 00:30:47,310 --> 00:30:52,780 Speaker 1: Jay's bandmates, quote, insinuated that Monique killed him, unquote. And 477 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:56,930 Speaker 1: then there was Jay Hawkins as well. Jay's will had 478 00:30:56,950 --> 00:31:00,550 Speaker 1: gone missing for years, and only now had it resurfaced. 479 00:31:01,490 --> 00:31:03,770 Speaker 1: And there was hope that the will would provide clarity, 480 00:31:04,270 --> 00:31:07,950 Speaker 1: that it would answer outstanding questions. But the will did 481 00:31:07,970 --> 00:31:12,320 Speaker 1: the opposite. It raised new questions, and it made the 482 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:16,980 Speaker 1: death and legacy of Screamin' Jay Hawkins as murky as 483 00:31:17,060 --> 00:31:40,340 Speaker 1: one of his tall tales. Before I get into screaming 484 00:31:40,380 --> 00:31:44,220 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins will, let's recap what we've uncovered so far. 485 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,660 Speaker 1: We have numerous friends who are on the record saying 486 00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:50,900 Speaker 1: that Jay was afraid of his final wife, Monique. We 487 00:31:50,940 --> 00:31:55,100 Speaker 1: have a bandmate who insinuated that Monique murdered Jay. And 488 00:31:55,140 --> 00:31:57,739 Speaker 1: we have an ex-wife who alleged that Jay believed that 489 00:31:57,770 --> 00:32:01,410 Speaker 1: Monique was killing him. We also have Monique changing the 490 00:32:01,450 --> 00:32:04,670 Speaker 1: locks on Jay's apartment and bargaining with Jay's ex, Colette, 491 00:32:05,110 --> 00:32:08,110 Speaker 1: to get copies of letters or faxes back from her. 492 00:32:08,170 --> 00:32:10,709 Speaker 1: Letters in which, as Colette has said, Jay may have 493 00:32:10,750 --> 00:32:14,430 Speaker 1: made claims that Monique's cooking was making him sick and 494 00:32:14,450 --> 00:32:17,590 Speaker 1: that he wanted out of the marriage. But there's something 495 00:32:17,650 --> 00:32:20,370 Speaker 1: else here, too. And I didn't catch it until much 496 00:32:20,420 --> 00:32:23,310 Speaker 1: later in my research. As I said at the top 497 00:32:23,330 --> 00:32:26,310 Speaker 1: of the episode, the official cause of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 498 00:32:26,390 --> 00:32:30,850 Speaker 1: death was multiple organ failure following emergency surgery to treat 499 00:32:31,110 --> 00:32:34,270 Speaker 1: an aneurysm. That's what was reported in the New York 500 00:32:34,330 --> 00:32:38,110 Speaker 1: Times and other major news outlets. But the French press 501 00:32:38,170 --> 00:32:41,510 Speaker 1: gave a slightly different cause. In an article published in 502 00:32:41,530 --> 00:32:44,580 Speaker 1: the newspaper Le Monde, Just two days after Jay's death, 503 00:32:45,020 --> 00:32:48,510 Speaker 1: the reason given is not multiple organ failure. Instead, the 504 00:32:48,570 --> 00:32:54,450 Speaker 1: cause of death was occlusion intestinale. In other words, intestinal blockage. 505 00:32:55,370 --> 00:32:59,120 Speaker 1: Which makes me wonder, let's say hypothetically that Jay was 506 00:32:59,210 --> 00:33:04,140 Speaker 1: being poisoned. Could that have led to an intestinal blockage? Yes, 507 00:33:04,260 --> 00:33:07,660 Speaker 1: it can. I looked it up. And more curiously, why 508 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,530 Speaker 1: were the words intestinal blockage used? not in the New 509 00:33:10,550 --> 00:33:13,630 Speaker 1: York Times obituary, which was published on the very same 510 00:33:13,690 --> 00:33:18,370 Speaker 1: day as the article in Le Monde, February 14th. Honestly, 511 00:33:18,390 --> 00:33:22,090 Speaker 1: I don't know. Even in death, it's hard to separate 512 00:33:22,170 --> 00:33:26,050 Speaker 1: fact and fiction in the Screamin' Jay Hawkins story. Harder 513 00:33:26,190 --> 00:33:28,810 Speaker 1: still would you find out what was in his will. 514 00:33:31,910 --> 00:33:34,750 Speaker 1: A single copy of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' will was found 515 00:33:34,790 --> 00:33:37,470 Speaker 1: in the possession of one of his former managers, Seth Greenkey. 516 00:33:38,410 --> 00:33:41,100 Speaker 1: But with its discovery came the revelation that the will 517 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,040 Speaker 1: had not been updated since the 1970s. So it won't 518 00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,060 Speaker 1: come as a surprise to you to learn that Jay 519 00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:49,980 Speaker 1: left his estate not to his widow, Monique, but in 520 00:33:50,020 --> 00:33:53,310 Speaker 1: the hands of one of his many ex-wives. But which 521 00:33:53,570 --> 00:33:57,390 Speaker 1: ex-wife was written in Jay's will depends on who's telling you. 522 00:33:58,550 --> 00:34:03,190 Speaker 1: In Steve Bergsman's 2019 biography of Screamin' Jay, he writes 523 00:34:03,250 --> 00:34:08,390 Speaker 1: that Jay's ex-wife, Ginny Sabalona, was named the beneficiary. Remember Jeannie? 524 00:34:08,750 --> 00:34:10,950 Speaker 1: She was the woman Jay married while also engaged to 525 00:34:10,989 --> 00:34:13,860 Speaker 1: Shelton Pat Newborn, a treacherous act that got him the 526 00:34:13,890 --> 00:34:16,720 Speaker 1: knife in the back. But numerous articles written at the 527 00:34:16,739 --> 00:34:20,360 Speaker 1: time of Jay's death and reputable outlets like NPR and 528 00:34:20,380 --> 00:34:24,060 Speaker 1: The Guardian say that the estate was left to another ex-wife, 529 00:34:24,700 --> 00:34:28,670 Speaker 1: a woman named Mary Lou Ahuna. These articles refer to 530 00:34:28,710 --> 00:34:31,890 Speaker 1: Mary Lou Ahuna as Jay's fifth wife, yet Bergman's book 531 00:34:31,950 --> 00:34:35,009 Speaker 1: says that Colette was Jay's fifth wife. But hold up. 532 00:34:35,690 --> 00:34:37,420 Speaker 1: If the will was written back in the 70s, then 533 00:34:37,460 --> 00:34:40,279 Speaker 1: how could Jay's fifth wife, whoever she was, be in it? 534 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:44,660 Speaker 1: The fifth wife hadn't happened yet. You confused? Here's something 535 00:34:44,700 --> 00:34:47,540 Speaker 1: else that you probably already picked up on. The name 536 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,469 Speaker 1: Mary Lou Ahuna is never mentioned in Steve Bergman's book, 537 00:34:52,070 --> 00:34:55,029 Speaker 1: which appears to be the only real biography out there 538 00:34:55,210 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 1: on Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Again, Bergman names Colette as Jay's 539 00:35:00,580 --> 00:35:04,060 Speaker 1: fifth wife, the woman Jay had been confiding in near 540 00:35:04,100 --> 00:35:07,910 Speaker 1: the end of his life. I don't know, maybe Colette 541 00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:12,270 Speaker 1: and Mary Lou Ahuna are the same person? But Bergman's 542 00:35:12,310 --> 00:35:17,569 Speaker 1: book curiously leaves out another important piece of information. Immediately 543 00:35:17,650 --> 00:35:21,509 Speaker 1: after Jay died and the will was located, Jay's widow, Monique, 544 00:35:21,950 --> 00:35:25,120 Speaker 1: launched a legal challenge against the will in order to 545 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,200 Speaker 1: get what she thought was her fair share of Jay's estate. 546 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: And so now you're asking yourself two questions. One, how 547 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,210 Speaker 1: much was Jay's estate actually worth? And two, how does 548 00:35:36,230 --> 00:35:37,950 Speaker 1: this get us any closer to finding out whether or 549 00:35:37,969 --> 00:35:41,750 Speaker 1: not Screamin' Jay Hawkins was murdered? Let's tackle the first 550 00:35:41,810 --> 00:35:45,759 Speaker 1: question first. Maybe you'd think that Screamin' Jay Hawkins had 551 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:48,380 Speaker 1: a lot to leave behind. After all, he was the 552 00:35:48,420 --> 00:35:50,920 Speaker 1: co-author of a song that will be forever enshrined at 553 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:53,400 Speaker 1: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But if you've 554 00:35:53,420 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 1: been actually listening to this episode, you know better than 555 00:35:55,780 --> 00:35:58,700 Speaker 1: to think that Jay left behind millions of dollars. Jay 556 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:01,880 Speaker 1: was a working musician. He continued to tour and perform 557 00:36:01,940 --> 00:36:04,879 Speaker 1: at age 70, not only because he knew of nothing else, 558 00:36:04,940 --> 00:36:07,580 Speaker 1: but because he had bills to pay. He had long 559 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: since sold away the rights for I Put a Spell 560 00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:14,180 Speaker 1: on You, so while he still earned income from performance royalties... 561 00:36:14,130 --> 00:36:16,510 Speaker 1: he did not see a dime from the more lucrative 562 00:36:16,610 --> 00:36:21,339 Speaker 1: publishing royalties, which are royalties that songwriters earn. And it's 563 00:36:21,390 --> 00:36:24,540 Speaker 1: hard to know exactly when Jay sold his publishing rights, 564 00:36:24,940 --> 00:36:26,940 Speaker 1: for pittance, by the way, if Jay himself is to 565 00:36:26,980 --> 00:36:29,620 Speaker 1: be believed, but we know that he'd done so at 566 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,509 Speaker 1: least by 1984 when Jim Jarmusch made his film Stranger 567 00:36:33,530 --> 00:36:37,629 Speaker 1: Than Paradise. Jarmusch remembers paying a licensing fee to use 568 00:36:37,670 --> 00:36:40,510 Speaker 1: the song and being saddened to find out the hefty 569 00:36:40,570 --> 00:36:45,170 Speaker 1: sum was not going to Jay. In reality, Jay's estate 570 00:36:45,210 --> 00:36:50,230 Speaker 1: consisted of a modest annuity plus about $ 100, 000 in accrued royalties. 571 00:36:51,030 --> 00:36:54,410 Speaker 1: The 57 or more suspected children of Screamin' Jay Hawkins 572 00:36:54,469 --> 00:36:57,290 Speaker 1: did not know what their father's estate was worth because 573 00:36:57,610 --> 00:37:00,370 Speaker 1: they did not know their father. They didn't know Jay. 574 00:37:01,090 --> 00:37:03,170 Speaker 1: Even the three children he was aware of from his 575 00:37:03,250 --> 00:37:06,580 Speaker 1: first marriage hardly knew him. But when Jay was on 576 00:37:06,620 --> 00:37:09,830 Speaker 1: his deathbed, he supposedly asked a new friend of his, 577 00:37:10,250 --> 00:37:14,149 Speaker 1: an investment banker named Miral Nagolian, to track down all 578 00:37:14,170 --> 00:37:18,210 Speaker 1: 57-plus of his kids so they could, I don't know, 579 00:37:18,590 --> 00:37:21,310 Speaker 1: get together and shed a tear over their dearly departed 580 00:37:21,410 --> 00:37:24,700 Speaker 1: deadbeat dad whom they'd never known? Stay with me here 581 00:37:24,739 --> 00:37:26,799 Speaker 1: because I'm going somewhere with all of this. Jay was 582 00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:31,759 Speaker 1: unfazed by fatherhood. When Honolulu nightclub owner Jack Sione asked 583 00:37:31,820 --> 00:37:34,160 Speaker 1: Jay if he ever sent his children money, Jay responded, 584 00:37:34,500 --> 00:37:38,030 Speaker 1: that's the mother's problem. But here we are, being told 585 00:37:38,350 --> 00:37:40,770 Speaker 1: that his dying wish was to round up the kids 586 00:37:40,810 --> 00:37:43,779 Speaker 1: he ignored his whole life. And he asks this of 587 00:37:43,820 --> 00:37:47,700 Speaker 1: a third act character in his life, Miral Nagolian, an 588 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:52,239 Speaker 1: investment banker who is routinely referred to as Jay's biographer, 589 00:37:52,260 --> 00:37:54,150 Speaker 1: but who has not written a biography on Jay in 590 00:37:54,170 --> 00:37:58,910 Speaker 1: the 26 years since he died. Anything's possible. This all 591 00:37:58,930 --> 00:38:03,299 Speaker 1: just strikes me as a little strange. Meral Nagolian went 592 00:38:03,340 --> 00:38:07,820 Speaker 1: ahead and set up a website, jayskids.com, and did receive 593 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:12,180 Speaker 1: upwards of 2,500 submissions from people claiming to be Jay's progeny. 594 00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:15,899 Speaker 1: We can only assume that the majority of those were 595 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:20,020 Speaker 1: bogus claims, scammers looking to make a buck. But then again, 596 00:38:20,780 --> 00:38:25,950 Speaker 1: who the hell knows? Here's what we do know. Approximately 597 00:38:26,190 --> 00:38:29,950 Speaker 1: one year after Jay's death, a total of 36 legit 598 00:38:30,050 --> 00:38:34,230 Speaker 1: children have been identified. But we don't know what happened 599 00:38:34,330 --> 00:38:38,089 Speaker 1: beyond that first year because, well, because the papers stopped 600 00:38:38,110 --> 00:38:40,970 Speaker 1: printing stories about it. Just like the papers stopped printing 601 00:38:41,010 --> 00:38:44,790 Speaker 1: stories about what eventually happened with Jay's estate. Did it 602 00:38:44,830 --> 00:38:48,620 Speaker 1: go to his ex, Ginny Sabalona, as Steve Bergsman's book said? 603 00:38:49,180 --> 00:38:52,219 Speaker 1: Did it go to Mary Lou Ahuna, another alleged ex-wife 604 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:55,160 Speaker 1: who was never even mentioned in that book? Or was 605 00:38:55,239 --> 00:38:58,700 Speaker 1: Jay's widow, Monique, successful in her challenge of the will? 606 00:38:59,820 --> 00:39:03,950 Speaker 1: And speaking of Monique... If she murdered Jay as Colette 607 00:39:04,030 --> 00:39:08,730 Speaker 1: and others have suggested, then why? For money? We've already 608 00:39:08,790 --> 00:39:12,040 Speaker 1: established that Jay didn't have a fortune. But then perhaps 609 00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,959 Speaker 1: $ 100, 000 in royalties and a modest annuity was good enough. 610 00:39:16,340 --> 00:39:22,950 Speaker 1: All we're left with are questions. Questions, allegations, and suspicious behavior. 611 00:39:23,890 --> 00:39:27,610 Speaker 1: But there is simply not enough evidence to prove that Screamin' 612 00:39:27,650 --> 00:39:31,910 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins was murdered discreetly. what has been said about him. 613 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,500 Speaker 1: Here's a few more things that we do know. For one, Screamin' 614 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:40,560 Speaker 1: Jay Hawkins fathered more children than anyone in rock and 615 00:39:40,580 --> 00:39:44,919 Speaker 1: roll history. And also, in his hotly contested will, Jay 616 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,960 Speaker 1: left his three legitimate children, the children he had with 617 00:39:48,020 --> 00:39:53,430 Speaker 1: his first wife, Anna Mae, One dollar each. One dollar each. 618 00:39:54,390 --> 00:39:57,950 Speaker 1: Imagine that. Imagine you're one of Jay's kids. One of 619 00:39:57,989 --> 00:40:01,570 Speaker 1: his only kids that he acknowledged in his lifetime. Imagine 620 00:40:01,610 --> 00:40:04,259 Speaker 1: that your dad walks out on the family when you're little. 621 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:07,259 Speaker 1: You barely remember what he looked or smelled like. All 622 00:40:07,300 --> 00:40:09,940 Speaker 1: you remember is how it was like that stupid cliche. 623 00:40:10,300 --> 00:40:12,400 Speaker 1: How he actually went out for cigarettes or milk or 624 00:40:12,420 --> 00:40:15,640 Speaker 1: whatever and never came back. But he was out there, 625 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:19,990 Speaker 1: wearing his capes, playing with his skulls and his plastic snakes, 626 00:40:20,450 --> 00:40:23,430 Speaker 1: climbing out of coffins, rubbing elbows with Fats Domino and 627 00:40:23,469 --> 00:40:26,330 Speaker 1: Jerry fucking Lee Lewis and Jim Jarmusch and Nick Cave, 628 00:40:26,390 --> 00:40:29,130 Speaker 1: sleeping with countless women, while back home, you and your 629 00:40:29,190 --> 00:40:31,860 Speaker 1: siblings and your mom struggled to keep food on the table. 630 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,940 Speaker 1: You try to reach out to your dad, to find him, 631 00:40:34,960 --> 00:40:37,540 Speaker 1: to hear it directly from his mouth that he's happier 632 00:40:37,580 --> 00:40:40,500 Speaker 1: without you, that he doesn't miss you, that he doesn't 633 00:40:40,560 --> 00:40:43,740 Speaker 1: think about you, because honestly, you simply can't believe that 634 00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:47,259 Speaker 1: to be true. But you never find him. Because he's 635 00:40:47,300 --> 00:40:50,480 Speaker 1: a boogeyman. And the boogeyman doesn't want to be found. 636 00:40:51,140 --> 00:40:54,279 Speaker 1: And when he finally does die, you find out that 637 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,160 Speaker 1: it's not just you and your two siblings, but that 638 00:40:57,180 --> 00:41:01,310 Speaker 1: you have 57 or possibly more half-brothers and half-sisters all 639 00:41:01,430 --> 00:41:04,130 Speaker 1: over the world. And all you get out of it 640 00:41:04,870 --> 00:41:11,969 Speaker 1: is a buck. That's a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan, and 641 00:41:12,090 --> 00:41:34,960 Speaker 1: this is Disgraceland. All right. Thanks for hanging with us 642 00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:39,500 Speaker 1: in this incredibly weird episode on Screamin' Jay Hawkins. My God, 643 00:41:39,540 --> 00:41:42,120 Speaker 1: what a character. What do you think? Was Screamin' Jay 644 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,469 Speaker 1: Hawkins murdered? Let me know. You know, I actually tend 645 00:41:46,489 --> 00:41:48,890 Speaker 1: to think he was. We couldn't find all the facts 646 00:41:48,910 --> 00:41:50,850 Speaker 1: to say definitively, but I got to say where my 647 00:41:50,910 --> 00:41:52,569 Speaker 1: gut goes on this. I'm not going to tell you 648 00:41:52,610 --> 00:41:54,149 Speaker 1: here who I think did it. We can talk about 649 00:41:54,190 --> 00:41:56,089 Speaker 1: that in the after party. We can talk about that 650 00:41:56,870 --> 00:41:59,430 Speaker 1: on the socials. You can hit me up at disgracelandpod. 651 00:41:59,469 --> 00:42:03,310 Speaker 1: You can hit us up 617-906-6638. Leave us your opinion 652 00:42:03,370 --> 00:42:05,650 Speaker 1: on voicemail and text. You might hear yourself in the 653 00:42:05,730 --> 00:42:12,500 Speaker 1: next bonus episode of Disgraceland. Here comes some credits. Disgraceland 654 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:15,380 Speaker 1: was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership 655 00:42:15,420 --> 00:42:19,440 Speaker 1: with Double Elvis, The Exactly Right Network, and iHeart Podcasts. 656 00:42:20,100 --> 00:42:22,319 Speaker 1: Credits for this episode can be found on the show 657 00:42:22,380 --> 00:42:26,839 Speaker 1: notes page at disgracelandpod.com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland 658 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,680 Speaker 1: All Access member, thank you for supporting the show. We 659 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:32,360 Speaker 1: really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a 660 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:37,660 Speaker 1: member right now by going to DisgracelandPod.com slash membership. Members 661 00:42:37,700 --> 00:42:41,640 Speaker 1: can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad-free. Rate and 662 00:42:41,660 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 1: review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 663 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:48,890 Speaker 1: and Facebook at DisgracelandPod and on YouTube at YouTube.com slash 664 00:42:49,130 --> 00:42:58,060 Speaker 1: at DisgracelandPod. Rock and roll up. He's a bad, bad man.