Hey, Blood on the Tracks fans! Listen to Season 5 of the 27 Club to hear the insane details behind the life of one of rock's greatest icons — ​​Ron "Pigpen" McKernan. A founding member of the Grateful Dead. Pigpen wasn't just a member of the Dead. He was the Dead. But just like Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones or Syd Barrett in Pink Floyd, Pigpen felt his role in the Grateful Dead shrink as the rest of the band members expanded their minds and their sound. The story of Pigpen is about a major musical and cultural shift that took place as the 1960s gave way to the 1970s. It’s a story of acid tests and bottles of Thunderbird, of angels from hell and a nine-fingered wizard, of busts down on Bourbon Street and shakedowns in the Haight…and of the man who tried to pull his band back down to earth as they continued to get pulled higher into the cosmos. It's a story that ends tragically...at the age of 27.

Listen and subscribe to 27 Club on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.