1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: Disgraceland as a production of Double Elvis. A quick head's 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,880 Speaker 1: up for those who may be triggered by tales of 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,880 Speaker 1: sexual abuse and violence. This episode of Disgraceland depicts both 4 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: the stories about funk superstar Rick James are insane. He 5 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: was heavily addicted to crack cocaine. He ran drugs for 6 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,959 Speaker 1: the Colombian cartel. He escaped from prison and was then 7 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: released early for fear he would get away with it again. 8 00:00:39,520 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: He was in a band with Neil Young Neil Young. 9 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: Rick James may have been born into a life of crime, 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,520 Speaker 1: but he was determined to make his way in life 11 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: through music. He intimidated George Clinton, inspired Prince and more 12 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: than likely saved Jim Morrison's life. Rick James was rock 13 00:00:56,640 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: and roll zelig. He was also sex crazed ands but 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: Rick James put a hurt on the funk. He made 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: great music. That music you heard at the top of 16 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: the show that wasn't great music. That was a preset 17 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: loop for my melotron called slow Waltz Guitar Low MK two. 18 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 19 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 1: rights to End of the Road by Boys to Men, 20 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:24,840 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 21 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: Motown Philly Cheese, could I afford it? Because that was 22 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: the number one song in America on November fifth, nineteen 23 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: ninety two, and that was the day that Rick James 24 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: turned himself in for the kidnapping and torture of not one, 25 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: but two different women. On this episode, heavy Funk, Crack, Cocaine, 26 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: Motown Philly Cheese, and Rick James, I'm Jake Brennan. 27 00:01:49,040 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 2: In this this Disgraceland. 28 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: Professional recording studios are hive like workspaces where serious minded 29 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: crafts men and women turn the sounds and emotions soiling 30 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: around in their heads into stone cold hits. But the 31 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: best studios are also clubhouses, helmed by talented producers with 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: expansive rolodexes who surround themselves with established and up and 33 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: coming rock stars. A session players, groupies, and hangers on, 34 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: not to mention drug dealers, to make sure there is 35 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: an ample supply of weed, coke, uppers, downers, booze, and 36 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 1: anything else needed to fuel a recording session. Historically, from 37 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: the seventies to the present, most recording studios have operated 38 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: under an unspoken anything goes so long as the work 39 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,240 Speaker 1: gets done and the cops don't show up mandate. This is, 40 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,960 Speaker 1: after all, the music business, not IBM, and definitely not 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: fucking we work. Even the most serious sessions operate under 42 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: a cloud of smoke, despite being intense affairs with taskmaster 43 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,840 Speaker 1: producers obsessing over take after take. Most sessions, though, are 44 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,799 Speaker 1: the opposite, loose affairs where music is made when the 45 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: muse appears. But of course some are flat out parties 46 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:15,040 Speaker 1: where a producer sits at the console amidst the rager, 47 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: yet somehow manages to concentrate on the musician tracking in 48 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: the booth. There's a lot of socializing and a lot 49 00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: of hanging around waiting to record, and because of the 50 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: well connected studio owners and rockstar clientele, you never know 51 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: who you're going to run into in a studio. I, 52 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,320 Speaker 1: for one, was once kicked out of a studio by 53 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: James Taylor for simply sitting next to him while he 54 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: ate his burrito in the studio lounge. My friend Bill 55 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,880 Speaker 1: Janovitz from the indie band Buffalo Tom, has a great 56 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: picture of his bandmate Chris Colburn sitting in the lounge 57 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: at LA's Cherokee Studios watching the finale to the television 58 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: show cheers with none other than Rick James himself, and 59 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: in his autobiography, Rick James tells the story of Stephen 60 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: Tyler of Arrowsmith poking his head into an early session 61 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: of Rick's, sharing a coup lines of coke and telling 62 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: Rick he could hear his star in the making. There 63 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: are a million stories like these, but no doubt the 64 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: most insane one also involves Rick James, a motherfucker of 65 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: a musician for sure, But this story doesn't illustrate Rick 66 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: stone cold musicianship. It illustrates that Rick James was a 67 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: stone cold criminal. Rick James, like a lot of musicians, 68 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:26,679 Speaker 1: was a bit of a studio rat. He liked the action. 69 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: Even when he wasn't recording, He'd hang out at Cherokee 70 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: Studios in Hollywood to kill time. His buddy Rod Stewart 71 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: had practically made Cherokee a second home. Bowie recorded there 72 00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 1: Petty Steely Dan. In the early nineties, while Rick's career 73 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: was at an all time low, and while in the 74 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: throes of a heavy addiction to crack, Cherokee was also 75 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: hosting Evan Dando of the Lemonheads, who at the time 76 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: was breaking hearts all over Alternative Nation with his arresting 77 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: good looks and chesty, emotional raw vocals, Dando and Rick 78 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: made for an odd couple, Rick with his highly stylized, 79 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: over sexed punk funk and Dando with his ditsy, pretty 80 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:10,080 Speaker 1: boy vibe and indifferent alt rock. Despite the different music 81 00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: they played in different images they portrayed they shared one 82 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 1: strong bond, a love of hard drugs. So in the 83 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: spring of nineteen ninety two, while Rick hung out in 84 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: the lounge and watched TV and while Dando worked on 85 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: single Edits for is about to be released breakthrough album, 86 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:30,799 Speaker 1: It's a Shame About Ray, and started setting up shop 87 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: for his follow up smash Come On Field the Lemonheads. 88 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: When not recording, the two got down to the business 89 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,240 Speaker 1: of getting high Rick James style. And it was all 90 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: good until it wasn't. The news came fast, first over 91 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: the television, then by word of mouth from studio visitors. 92 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: Los Angeles was on fire. It started in south central 93 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: Normandy and seventy first, just east of Englewood. Kid threw 94 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: a rock at a cruiser. Then they pulled a long 95 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: hair from his truck and bashed him in the head 96 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,239 Speaker 1: with a brick, and then the looting began. South Central 97 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: LA was pissed Rodney King's assailants the LAPD had gotten 98 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: off without so much as a blemish on any of 99 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: the officer's records. The anger had been building for years, 100 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,159 Speaker 1: and on April twenty ninth, nineteen ninety two, the pressure 101 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: blew the motherfucking roof off. The Sucker riots unlike anything 102 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: America had seen since Watts back in sixty five. But 103 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 1: this was different. La in ninety two had a lawlessness 104 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: to it, a violence that was hyper real. Maybe it 105 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: was that now the anger ran that much deeper. Maybe 106 00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: it was that now it was all televised twenty four 107 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: to seven on cable news. Whatever the reason, the La 108 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: riots were very real, and very scary, and spreading with 109 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: no end in sight. Day one turned to day two, 110 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 1: and the looting, beatings, and fires spread from South Central 111 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 1: north to downtown and then back west the Hollywood Boulevard, 112 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: and by now Rick James, Evan Dando, and the rest 113 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,599 Speaker 1: of the crew at Cherokee were in full lockdown. They 114 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: could see the violins spreading straight to their Hollywood location 115 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: on the television, and luckily they were armed. For whatever reason, 116 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: most likely cocaine fuel paranoia, The studio housed the small 117 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: arsenal of weapons, fully automatic AK forty seven's, semi automatic blocks, 118 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: and of course a police caliber thirty two with a 119 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: double action revolver as old school as the custom tried 120 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: in a range mixing console in Cherokee's control room. Rick 121 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: grabbed an AK and headed to the roof. The rest 122 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: of the studio regulars mounted up and followed the super 123 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: freak up the stairs. Dando grabbed a glock and brought 124 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,080 Speaker 1: up the rear. When they get to the roof and 125 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: looked east, they could see the smoke stretching out over 126 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,600 Speaker 1: the low slung storefronts and spreading into the Fairfax neighborhood. 127 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: They dug in. The sun started to fall, the smoke 128 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: continued to rise. Cops nowhere in sight, turns in the 129 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: distance helicopters a mile or so north, hovering above Hollywood Boulevard, 130 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: and then the voices, the screams, yells, banjees in the street, 131 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: broken glass, more smoke and flames rising up in the 132 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,440 Speaker 1: near distance. Fuck this makes some noise, shoot the moon 133 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: let the whoode looters know that Cherokee was armed, not 134 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 1: to be fucked with from if they made it down 135 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: to seven fifty one Fairfax. They'd best move on down 136 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: the line to seven fifty three lest they want to 137 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: catch some lead. The regulars fired to the sky were 138 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:34,520 Speaker 1: abandon letting out drunken war cries. Evan Dando by now 139 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: had his hands on an AK, making for quite the 140 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,920 Speaker 1: sight the stone nouveaux hippie dippy alternative firing an automatic 141 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: weapon with reckless abandon into the sky only in Hollywood. 142 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: The sound of helicopters in the distance, the sound of sirens, 143 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: the yelling from the roof, from the street, it was 144 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: pure fucking chaos. Dando could feel his heart racing. He 145 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 1: lowered his weapon, took a second. Where was Rick? 146 00:08:59,640 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 2: He thought? 147 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: He turned around and looked to the northeast side of 148 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: the roof, and there alone, crouched military style on one knee, 149 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: with his eye fixed down the scope of his AK 150 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: forty seven, Rick James could be seen not firing warning 151 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:16,200 Speaker 1: shots off into the air like everyone else, but instead 152 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: firing shots off into the streets with the precision of 153 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:41,560 Speaker 1: a dispassionate assassin. Rick James led a life of crime. Literally. 154 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 1: It's hard to imagine now given his status as an entertainer, 155 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,119 Speaker 1: but there is no doubt Rick James, from his childhood 156 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: to his grave, led a criminal life. Rick James also, 157 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,400 Speaker 1: of course, led a musical life. His story is peppered 158 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,359 Speaker 1: by encounters with some of rock and roll's biggest personalities. 159 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: Miles Davis and Eda James, along with a slew of 160 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: other great entertainers from back in the day, were seen 161 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: up close and personal while little Ricky James ran hipside 162 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: his mom, who ran numbers for the mob back in 163 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: Buffalo nightclubs where she collected bets and debts. And this 164 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: upbringing also afforded Rick a view into how to make 165 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: it out in the margin society, just like his mom, 166 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: by any means necessary. As a fifteen year old, Rick 167 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,040 Speaker 1: got hooked on heroin and started pulling small time robberies 168 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,760 Speaker 1: to finance his habit. At sixteen, he went a wall 169 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:35,439 Speaker 1: from the Navy. How does a sixteen year old even 170 00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,439 Speaker 1: end up in the Navy? Rick lied about his age 171 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:40,880 Speaker 1: and joined the Navy Reserve as a means to avoid 172 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: being drafted into the Vietnam War. It was a serious mistake. 173 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: Military life didn't take, and so Rick took off away 174 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: without leave and over the border to Toronto to skip 175 00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: out on the navy and out on the war completely. 176 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: Upon entering Toronto, three Canadian meats, big squares with crew 177 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: cuts and shitty tattoos, barreled toward him from around a corner, 178 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: and they were drunk but still able to identify Rick 179 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,439 Speaker 1: for what he was, an American draft dodger, there to 180 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:15,080 Speaker 1: drink their beer and screw their women. And they were 181 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,439 Speaker 1: ontumn fast raining down punches. Rick was used to holding 182 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: his own with his fist, but three on one it 183 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: was too much. Then suddenly the punches stopped, but there 184 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: was still more commotion. Others had joined in the melee 185 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,320 Speaker 1: and were fighting off the meatheads. Rick was quick to 186 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:33,480 Speaker 1: his feet and they soon had the drunken squares in 187 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: the run. And Rick James dusted himself off and looked 188 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: up to the two dudes who had just saved his ass. 189 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: Weird looking, skinny dudes. It kind of looked like the 190 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: greasers who'd beat on Rick back in Buffalo, except these 191 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: guys had some weirdo hippie farmer vibe going on too. 192 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: Didn't matter, they were all right with Rick. The two 193 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 1: introduced themselves as Levonne and Garth told Rick they were musicians. 194 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: They hated the squares and knew the beating was unjust, 195 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: and they informed Rick they played in a rock billy 196 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,720 Speaker 1: band called the Hawks, and asked him if he'd heard 197 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,040 Speaker 1: of their band leader, Ronnie Hawkins. He hadn't, but Rick 198 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:08,440 Speaker 1: told them he too was a musician and was there 199 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 1: in Toronto to get his music going, so they set 200 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: him off to a coffee shop to get stoned. Toronto 201 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: in the mid sixties was a wild place to a 202 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:22,720 Speaker 1: young black man who loved R and B and rock 203 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: and roll, Toronto was a dream. The culture was permissive. 204 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: Drugs were everywhere, hot coke, acid, and so were the hippies. 205 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,439 Speaker 1: And these weren't bandwagon esqu hippies. These were the real deal, 206 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,160 Speaker 1: tune in, drop out, dress however you want, sleep with 207 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 1: whoever you want, and listen to whatever you want type 208 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: of hippies at a time when squares still ruled the roost. 209 00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:46,960 Speaker 1: It was a time when it was legitimately subversive and 210 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,960 Speaker 1: not yet trendy to be hicky, and this felt right 211 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,080 Speaker 1: to Rick, especially coming out of the lips of Joni Mitchell, 212 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:56,640 Speaker 1: a young Canadian songstress who Rick met through a friend. 213 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: Joni was the shit. She'd got music she dug on 214 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,200 Speaker 1: rock and roll, jazz, folk, and like everyone else in 215 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:07,679 Speaker 1: Toronto at the time, R and B. She turned Rick 216 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: on to Mose Allison and they both sat up together 217 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: night after night dissecting Miles Davis's sketches of Spain. So 218 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 1: when Rick needed a guitar player for his new band, 219 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,600 Speaker 1: The Minor Birds, and Jony recommended her friend Neil. Rick 220 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:23,320 Speaker 1: didn't that we think about it twice. If this Neil 221 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,880 Speaker 1: cat was all right with Joni, then Rick was in. 222 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:30,560 Speaker 1: But first Rick needed some new duds, so he pulled 223 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 1: a job with a guy he'd met in the nightclubs. 224 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,079 Speaker 1: It was a little boutique that featured all the high 225 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: end hippie fashion items of the time, Denham fringes, beads 226 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,559 Speaker 1: and bengals, that sort of thing. And Rick's guy had 227 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 1: a guy, so fencing the goods wouldn't be a problem. 228 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,319 Speaker 1: And it wasn't, and they were in and out in 229 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: no time, and Rick was flush again and able to 230 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: focus on putting his band together and of course looking 231 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: good in the process. Neil Young could give a shit 232 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: about looking good. Neil Young was too concerned with tearing 233 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,480 Speaker 1: the paper off of the horsehair walls inside of Toronto's nightclubs. 234 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,800 Speaker 1: With his gut wrenching, emotionally chaotic guitar playing, Jony was right. 235 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: The dude knew his shit, and Jony Mitchell never lies. 236 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,319 Speaker 1: Neil dug on Black R and B in Motown more 237 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: than most of the black kids Rick tried playing with 238 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: back in Buffalo. Neil was a student, a fucking assassin 239 00:14:19,400 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 1: with that guitar. So in nineteen sixty six, with Neil 240 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: Young now in Rick James's band, the Minor Birds headed 241 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,880 Speaker 1: to Detroit to score a deal with the most happening 242 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: record label in the world at the time, Motown Records, 243 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:36,160 Speaker 1: and label president Barry Gordy didn't get to be Barry 244 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,800 Speaker 1: Gordy by not being able to identify immense talent, so 245 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: of course the Minor Birds were signed to Motown. They 246 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: quickly recorded a single called It's My Time and endeavored 247 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,000 Speaker 1: to become the next big thing. But next big things 248 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: need more than talent to become next big things. They 249 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: need all the little things to fall into place. And 250 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,280 Speaker 1: when your singer is a criminal and a wall from 251 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:01,560 Speaker 1: the Navy and the middle of a war, it's hard 252 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: to conquer the charts. Once the Motown advance came through. 253 00:15:05,520 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: Rick's manager ratted him out to keep the bread to himself, 254 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 1: and when Motown got winned, they dropped the minor birds. 255 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: And worse than that, the FBI turned up the heat 256 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: on Rick. They heard about the Motown deal and put 257 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,040 Speaker 1: the word out to every record label that Rick James 258 00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: was a fugitive and he was not to be signed. 259 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 1: Rick was sunk. He did the only thing he could do. 260 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: Put Ray Charles on the turntable, rolled the joint, took 261 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: a big hit and turned it up. Then he turned 262 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:35,040 Speaker 1: himself in. 263 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,200 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this word word word. 264 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: Rick was dreaming. The past few years had been intense. 265 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: He'd gone from hanging with his Motown heroes Marvin Gay 266 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:52,520 Speaker 1: and Stevie Wonder to being locked up in the brig 267 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: for desertion, and then he broke out a prison, a 268 00:15:55,480 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: legit jail break. The excitement of that moment never left 269 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: him when her dream came. It was the prison break 270 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: that jazzed him the most. He could still taste the 271 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: adrenaline even now a year later, in his sleep. It 272 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: got his dick hard, and it was so powerful. Not 273 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,960 Speaker 1: that Rick James needed help getting his dick hard before 274 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: and after prison. He'd been on a tear through the 275 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 1: new era of free love, and free love was one thing, 276 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: freedom was another. Rick may have escaped the brig, but 277 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: he wasn't free. His boys back in Toronto got their 278 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: shit together without Rick. Neil was in a band with 279 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,680 Speaker 1: that Stephen Stills cat Buffalo Springfield and they were legit 280 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: rock stars. And Joni had her thing Garth and Levon 281 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,560 Speaker 1: backed Bob fucking Dylan and started the band. And here 282 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,600 Speaker 1: was Rick James, dodging g men and dealing coke to 283 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: get by in his dream though he was free, free 284 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: on stage anyway, whipping through Stevie's fingertips, with Hendrix next 285 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:54,600 Speaker 1: to him on stage and Miles looking on approvingly from 286 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: the audience. It made no sense. But then again it 287 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: made total sense. Rick was a fucking star and he 288 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: knew it. He knew he had the same talent running 289 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:06,439 Speaker 1: through him that Jimmy, Stevie and Miles had. But the 290 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: truth ratchet it up the anxiety. The truth was that 291 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: he wasn't a musician like Jimmy, Stevie or Miles. He 292 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,439 Speaker 1: was a fucking criminal, common ordinary and definitely not free. 293 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,120 Speaker 1: The g men were on his tail, hell hounds, white devils. 294 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 1: The heat got to be too hot, and this is 295 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 1: where the dream usually went from fever pitch to hyper real. 296 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: Rick's heart raced as his brain called back to when 297 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,120 Speaker 1: he turned himself in that second time, not for going 298 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: a wall, but for breaking out of the brig and 299 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: he was received by the other prisoners as a conquering hero. 300 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,920 Speaker 1: But the guards had a different opinion. Fuck this guy. 301 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,880 Speaker 1: The beatings were merciless, and the brass must have known 302 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,200 Speaker 1: Rick was going to bounce a third time and embarrass 303 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: them further, so they ended up settling with his attorney 304 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,640 Speaker 1: and processing him out of his court martial on a technicality, 305 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,680 Speaker 1: something about enlisting as a minor. And this is usually 306 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: when Rick would awake, buoyed by freedom, his dick rock hard, 307 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: his eyes winting through the late morning California sunshine, and 308 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: his head weighed down in the morass of last night's party, 309 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: Rick got up off the couch, careful not to step 310 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: on the half naked bodies sleeping on the floor. Empty 311 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,640 Speaker 1: wine bottles and overflowing ashtrays were everywhere, and the air 312 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:20,399 Speaker 1: stank of grass, and Rick had to piss bad. He 313 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 1: couldn't remember where the nearest bathroom was. This place was huge. 314 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 1: Stephen Stills had too much house whatever. Stills was a 315 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: rock star. He could afford it. Plus Stills through gray 316 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: parties and was cool enough to let Rick crash while 317 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,439 Speaker 1: getting his shit together, Rick Duck walked through the kitchen, 318 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: careful not to wake anyone there the first floor bathroom. 319 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 1: Thank god. Rick came to a passway between the kitchen 320 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:46,159 Speaker 1: and the bathroom and stopped dead in his tracks. The 321 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: blood was everywhere and flowing fast. The hippie was still 322 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:52,959 Speaker 1: conscious despite the blood torrenting from his forearms, and he 323 00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 1: was mumbling. Wait was he mumbling or doing something else? 324 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: The motherfucker was chanting and bleeding profusely from his self 325 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:04,520 Speaker 1: inflicted wounds. Rick freaked out, started screaming and ran straight 326 00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:07,719 Speaker 1: for Stills's bedroom. Stills was already on his feet, fastening 327 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: the belt of his robe and shaking his head. Shit, 328 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:13,400 Speaker 1: he's done it again, hasn't he. He's cutting himself right, 329 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: Still's some stone. Dude is bleeding out in your hallway. 330 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,439 Speaker 1: Still's hurried toward his kitchen. Rick followed. The blood had 331 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:23,399 Speaker 1: now formed a sizeable puddle on the floor around the hippie. 332 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:25,920 Speaker 1: Stills pulled the belt of his robe, grabbed a dish 333 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: rag hanging from the oven, and quickly fashioned two makeshift 334 00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 1: tourniquets around the cross legged hippie's arms to stop the 335 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:34,879 Speaker 1: deluge's blood. And through it all, the hippie kept slowly 336 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: rocking his shoulders and chanting. The Stills gave him a 337 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,879 Speaker 1: couple of hard slaps on the cheek to snap him 338 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: out of it. Jim, Jim, Wake up, Jim. The bleeding stopped, 339 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:48,280 Speaker 1: and the hippies slowly opened his eyes and they were beautiful, 340 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,879 Speaker 1: if not distant. They found their way to Rick, who 341 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: was looking on in shock, and the hippie opened his mouth. 342 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 2: Hey brother, it's a beautiful morning, isn't it. 343 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,320 Speaker 1: I had no idea what the fuck was going on. 344 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: Stephen Stills took a step back, let out a sigh 345 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: of relief, and said, Rick James, meet Jim Morrison. Fucking Hollywood. 346 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: You couldn't take a piss without running into somebody. So 347 00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: Rick James used his Hollywood connections to get his music 348 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,439 Speaker 1: career off of the ground, but it was slow going, 349 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 1: one false start after another, and Rick, frustrated with the momentum, 350 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: his friends had found in the music business and the 351 00:20:27,920 --> 00:20:31,040 Speaker 1: had eluded him. Said fuck it, a man's going to eat, 352 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:33,199 Speaker 1: and if the music business wasn't going to provide, then 353 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:35,919 Speaker 1: Rick was going to make it happen by any means necessary, 354 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 1: just like his mama had done with the mob back 355 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: in Buffalo. Cocaine was fast becoming the drug of choice 356 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: as the sixties turned into the seventies, and of course 357 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: Rick knew a guy, and that guy knew a guy, 358 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: and before Rick knew it, he was in Columbia, squirreling 359 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,679 Speaker 1: away fifteen grams of cartel cocaine into his luggage. The 360 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,920 Speaker 1: flight to Canada, where Rick had planned on unloading the coke, 361 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:02,480 Speaker 1: was first class, but upon landing things went south. Who 362 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: was a sharp dressed black American with a stickpin and 363 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: expensive luggage. Rick was braced by airport security and thoroughly searched, 364 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:12,679 Speaker 1: but not thoroughly enough. He made it through with the 365 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: blow undetected, but was rattled enough to give up drug 366 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,920 Speaker 1: dealing and give the music business one more shot. And finally, 367 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,639 Speaker 1: his timing was right on. Rick's vision of creating an aggressive, 368 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:26,159 Speaker 1: sexy new form of music that combined the best of 369 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,600 Speaker 1: R and B and rock and roll suddenly had a 370 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: chance in a decade where disco, punk, rock, and theatrical 371 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 1: funk and heavy metal were all in vogue. Rick, for 372 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,879 Speaker 1: the first time in his life, disciplined himself. He pulled 373 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: together some serious musicians from back home in Buffalo, away 374 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,040 Speaker 1: from the party scene in Hollywood, dubbed them the Stone 375 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: City Band, and set about to make his mark on 376 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: music history, just like Jimmy Miles. 377 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 2: And Stevie before him. 378 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:54,640 Speaker 1: And that's exactly what he did. Rick james first few 379 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,720 Speaker 1: seventies records, Come and Get It, Bustin out of l 380 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 1: seven in nineteen eighty one, Streets Off are in a word, 381 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: unfucking believably good is not a word. It doesn't matter. 382 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 1: Rick James put a new kind of herd on the phone. 383 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:10,520 Speaker 1: It was George Clinton without the bad acid trip. It 384 00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:13,719 Speaker 1: was Sly Stone without the mannek insanity. It was Kisses 385 00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: heavy metal but with musicians who could play. It was 386 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,720 Speaker 1: Marvin Gaye but with a sense of humor. It was 387 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: James Brown without the preachy's social consciousness. It was disco 388 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: without the cheese. It was disco rock dudes could get into. 389 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: It was a party. It was all of these things. 390 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,919 Speaker 2: It was huge. 391 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:35,040 Speaker 1: You and I Mary Jane, come and get it. Give 392 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: it to me, baby, super freak. Put those songs on now, 393 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: even now, and try not to move, Try not to 394 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,360 Speaker 1: crack that second bottle of wine, try not to get lead. 395 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 1: Those songs are infectious, undeniable hits, and when Rick James 396 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: unleashed them on the world, the world loved them. And 397 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,160 Speaker 1: Rick loved the world right back. It was his time, 398 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: and he'd be damned if he weren't going to enjoy himself. 399 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: Rick was suddenly involved in high demand, suddenly brought his heroes, 400 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,920 Speaker 1: The Temptations back from the dead with Standing on the Top, 401 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,439 Speaker 1: a song he penned and produced for them as a 402 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: favor for Barry Gordy. And Rick had taken his friend 403 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:11,760 Speaker 1: actor Eddie Murphy all the way to number two in 404 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: the charts with Party All the Time, another track he'd 405 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:19,719 Speaker 1: written and produced. With success, the party grew more wild. Sex, 406 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: always a thing that was available to with James whenever 407 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:25,200 Speaker 1: he wanted. It soon became sex with two women at 408 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,240 Speaker 1: a time, then three women, and then the orgy started 409 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:33,360 Speaker 1: with regularity. Rick moved through a succession of high profile 410 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 1: relationships with beautiful women Linda Blair from the Exorcists, the 411 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:41,160 Speaker 1: Duce of Hazard's Katherine Bach, Marvin Gay's wife, jan Hunter, 412 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 1: Johnny Carson's girlfriend, Kelly Patterson, and eventually a young Elizabeth 413 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:50,080 Speaker 1: Shut all the while his drug use got more serious. 414 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: His cocaine use ratcheted up about ten notches in the 415 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, just like it did for the rest of 416 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: the entertainment business. But Rick, criminal minded as ever, took 417 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: it to another level and began freebasing, or as he 418 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: put it, sucking the devil's dick, and by the early nineties, 419 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:26,879 Speaker 1: Rick James had fallen into the funk. Rick was high 420 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: all the time, heavily addicted to crack, and depressed over 421 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: the state of his career, which was at a new low. 422 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,320 Speaker 1: Despite receiving a songwriting credit and winning a Grammy for 423 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: mc hammers You Can't Touch This, a monster hit that 424 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: relied on a sample of Rick Super Freak. It was 425 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 1: his first Grammy, and the original version scored a nomination 426 00:24:47,119 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty two for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, 427 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 1: but lost out to Jesse's Girl and Fuck Rick Springsteen 428 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 1: or Whoever. Didn't matter. Rick couldn't spend his new money 429 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,159 Speaker 1: fast enough, he was spinning off of the face of 430 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: the earth. The only thing keeping him grounded, he thought, 431 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,640 Speaker 1: was the sex. And that's what was going through his mind. 432 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:09,320 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety one. When the prostitute walked into his crackdown, 433 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,199 Speaker 1: it was hard to see her. Rick had blackened out 434 00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 1: the room by covering the windows with a tinfoil, and 435 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: a dense fog of weed, crack and cigarette smoke hung 436 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:23,280 Speaker 1: just below the ceiling. Rick's girlfriend, Tanya, brought her in, ah, 437 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: Rick thought, a gift. She'll never let your spirits down. 438 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:30,120 Speaker 1: And once you get her off the street, she's all right. 439 00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:32,919 Speaker 1: And they get down to a quick fucking and sucking 440 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,119 Speaker 1: right there in the middle of Rick James's own circle 441 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:40,880 Speaker 1: of madness. Rick, his girlfriend the prostitute would fuck, smoke, crack, fuck, smoke, crack, 442 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: fuck some more, and then smoke some more crack. And 443 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 1: when the prostitute would get out of line, Rick would 444 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: smack her around and get her back on the pipe 445 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,280 Speaker 1: and then back on her back, and if that failed, 446 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:53,520 Speaker 1: Rick would hold her down, take the hot end of 447 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: the crack pipe and give her skin a little sine 448 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: to let her know who was boss. And this went 449 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 1: on for two weeks until the split, and when she 450 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,679 Speaker 1: made it back to her pimp without any money for 451 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: her two weeks sabbatical to funky Town, the pimp beat 452 00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:09,920 Speaker 1: her mercilessly, and without anywhere to go, she returned to 453 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,160 Speaker 1: Rix with fresh bruises. Tania took her to the hospital 454 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: on Rix Jaguar. The er workers, after dressing her wounds, 455 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: called the cops and told them what was up. Later 456 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:22,640 Speaker 1: that night, thirty of LA's finest busted down the door 457 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,879 Speaker 1: at Ricks and arrested him and Tanya for assault. They 458 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: had it wrong. Rick told him it didn't matter. His 459 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: bail was set for a million dollars and he was 460 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:35,440 Speaker 1: locked up for a week. He could do that time 461 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: standing on his head. He was used to it and 462 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 1: it wasn't all that bad. The time and lockup allowed 463 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: him to clean up off the crack, but it didn't last. 464 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:48,160 Speaker 1: His trial was coming up. Despite being out on bail, 465 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,520 Speaker 1: Rick was tense. He and Tanya hit argyle on Yuga 466 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: down in Hollywood to score. Rick bought eight rocks for 467 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: eight bucks. Shit, no wonder people lost their mind on crack. 468 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 1: It was practically Freak appeared to cocaine just then before 469 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,040 Speaker 1: Rick could get the crack into his pocket. Two playing 470 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 1: cost cops with guns out pointing straight at Rick and 471 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: Tanya behind the windshield of their jag started coming for 472 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: Rick freaked out, popped all eight rocks into his mouth 473 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,639 Speaker 1: and swallowed hard. The cops tore the car apart and 474 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 1: in the end and found nothing. But Rick James was 475 00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:25,160 Speaker 1: off to the races, feeling of liberation swept over. Fucked 476 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: the police. My girl wants to party all the time, 477 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,479 Speaker 1: and this reason to celebrate. Tani was pregnant with Rick's baby. 478 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: Let's get high one more time. The two rented the 479 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,280 Speaker 1: suite at the Saint James on Sunset and waited on 480 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: their dealer front to show up. More crack was always needed. 481 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: The dealer arrived, Rick had no idea who he was, 482 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,359 Speaker 1: but let him in any way, Half convinced that he 483 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: was the devil himself. Rick was gonna suck his dick. 484 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,040 Speaker 1: But when he passed Rick the pipe, a halo appeared 485 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:56,479 Speaker 1: over his head. Shit, this wasn't the devil, the sweet 486 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: man was an angel. But then the horn started growing 487 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: for over his head. Rick was super freaked out. Something happened. 488 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,240 Speaker 1: The dealer split, and Rick and Tanya set about destroying 489 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,360 Speaker 1: your luxurious suite, tossing the sofa cushions, up ending the tables, 490 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:14,520 Speaker 1: throwing wineglasses against the wall, pulling the stuffing out of 491 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: the pillows, frisbeeing room service placed to the ceiling, and 492 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,000 Speaker 1: kicking the television over. It was a much needed release 493 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: to the pressure of the impending trial. And once they 494 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,280 Speaker 1: were done, they sat on the floor, had sex and 495 00:28:26,359 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: got high. This cycle went on for days, sex, cracked, violence, repeat, 496 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:35,920 Speaker 1: And then she showed up Lady M, the music business 497 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,720 Speaker 1: colleague of Rick's, who towed the line between a supportive 498 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: friend and world class nag. Lady M had a message 499 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: for Rick. Get your shit together now, right now, or 500 00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: you're done. Ain't no record label going to put your 501 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:50,560 Speaker 1: music out if all you do is smoke crack, beat 502 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:55,840 Speaker 1: on women in trash hotel rooms. Oh yeah, Rick thought an. 503 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 2: Unleash on Lady M. 504 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,520 Speaker 1: He beat her senses and when he was done, he 505 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: looked down at her, crumpled on the floor, bleeding, crying, shivering, 506 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: her eyes black. He did the only thing he knew 507 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: how to comfort her, offered her crack for her paint. 508 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: She accepted and hit the pipe, and from then on 509 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 1: it was like the beating never happened, crack cocaine as 510 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: a hell of a drug. After a couple of days, 511 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: Lady m split and not soon after decided fuck Rick James, 512 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: bitch and went to the police. Rick awoke soon after 513 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: to the news blasting back at him from the television 514 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:34,760 Speaker 1: that he was being sought by police for the kidnapping 515 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: and torture of a West Hollywood woman. While being out 516 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: on bail for kidnapping and torture charges for another woman. 517 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:43,600 Speaker 1: Rick thought of running, but he was too old for 518 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:46,560 Speaker 1: that shit. He knew what to do. He'd done it 519 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: before when he was a wall from the Navy, and 520 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,000 Speaker 1: after that when he'd escaped from the brig A good 521 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,560 Speaker 1: criminal knows when he's caught, just like a good musician 522 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,920 Speaker 1: knows when it's time to step off the stage. Rick 523 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:02,640 Speaker 1: James the musician, James the draft dodger, Rick James the 524 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: coke dealer, Rick James the crackhead, Rick James, the weak minded, 525 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: physically abusive creek tortured women for the kicks. Rick James 526 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: the criminal, turn himself in such a disgrace, I'm Jake Brennan. 527 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 2: Yes, this disgrace, sand. 528 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,760 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 529 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 530 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 531 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: If you're listening as a Disgraceland All Access member, thank 532 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:48,760 Speaker 1: you for supporting the show. We really appreciate it, and 533 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:51,120 Speaker 1: if not, you can become a member right now by 534 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,479 Speaker 1: going to disgrace lampod dot com. Slash Membership members can 535 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad free, Plus you'll 536 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,720 Speaker 1: get one brand new exclusive episode every month, weekly unscripted 537 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise 538 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:12,760 Speaker 1: and events. 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