DISGRACELAND - The Rolling Stones: Sleeping With the First Lady and Trafficking Heroin

Episode Date: May 1, 2018

In the 1970s, the world regarded the Rolling Stones as an insular band of hedonistic and glamorous pansexual junkies. But all of the trouble they’d stirred up during the ’60s and early ’70s would be dwarfed by the mess they would cause in Canada in 1977. Up until that point, the band’s money and collective luck had been enough to fend off destruction. But the scandal they embroiled themselves in touched the highest levels of government, and threatened to destroy the band and their as-yet indestructible guitar player, Keith Richards. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode was originally published on May 1, 2018. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at disgracelandpod.com/membership. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter)  Facebook Fan Group TikTokSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is exactly right. Double Elvis. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed, I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that.

David O'Yellowo. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Dennis Leary, Gaten Madarazzo from Stranger Things, Tana Monsu, Camilla Marone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just like great shoes, great books take you places.

Through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget. I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like, like butterflies. I'm Danielle Robay, and this is bookmarked by Reese's Book Club from Hello Sunshine and IHeart Podcast, where we dive into the stories that shape us on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars, and more for conversations that will make you laugh, cry, and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Brought to you by Cotton.

of our lives. Disgrace Land is a production of double Elvis. In the 1970s, the Rolling Stones were a mess. They were busted countless times for heroin, marijuana, illegal possession of guns. Keith Richards, in particular, was a special kind of indestructible mess. He drove his Bentley off the road too many times to count. While smoking heroin and cocaine, he'd lit multiple homes on fire

including the Playboy Mansion. And he may or may not have had something to do with stealing the dead body of his friend and fellow musician, Graham Parsons. But Keith Richards, in his band, the very dangerous Rolling Stones, made great music, especially in the 70s. That music you were hearing at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Fox Trot Swinging Saxes, MK2. I pledged you that loop because I can't afford the license for New Kid in Town by the Eagles.

And why would I play you that awful piece of Johnny Come Lately, Peaceful Easy Cheese, Could I Afford It? Because that was the number one song in America on February 27, 1977. And that was the day that Keith Richards was busted for heroin trafficking. Just days before, members of his group, the most dangerous band on the planet, the Rolling Stones, would sleep with the First Lady of Canada and set off an international incident. On this episode, Fox Trot swinging saxes,

the Rolling Stones, lots of sex, even more drugs, and great rock and roll. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is disgrace land. The Rolling Stones, it should be noted,

for the purpose of this podcast, are probably my favorite band of all time. It's a toss-up between them and the bad brains, and depends on my mood and how organized my record collection is when you ask me. But to me, the Rolling Stones embody everything good and bad about rock and roll. And by bad, I mean, even when they were bad, they were good. Let me rephrase that. Even when things were bad, they were fucking great, especially in the 70s.

Don't believe me? Okay. When their founding member, Brian Jones, got fucked up and drowned in a pool, A kid from John Males' blues breakers, Mick Taylor, overfilled Brian's big shoes to help the Stones make their most creatively consistent run of records. Let it bleed, sticky fingers, and exile on Main Street. When the band missed out on playing in front of half a million people at Woodstock, because their singer Mick Jagger was off in Australia, making a western nobody would ever see called Ned Kelly,

the Stones created their own Woodstock up in Northern California, a free concert for their own fans at a speedway called Altamont, less universal flower power and more stone-centric. When things went sideways at Altamont, because the Hells Angels, the biker gang, the band hired to run security, killed a dude in the audience, the stones found themselves at the center of a generation punctuating moment. The 70s were about to begin,

and the stones got credit for putting a dagger into the heart of the flower children. Rock and roll was meant to be dangerous, and the stones were now the most dangerous band on the planet. They then hit the road with a circus of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, a true traveling outlaw roadshow, scared the shit out of Middle America, cops, parents, holy rollers, and left almost as many casualties as they claimed in converts. They sold countless records and sold out stadiums,

and in the process led the music industry into a new era of bank-making, concert tour. And all of this, it happened before 1974. Given what the Rolling Stones have become, a cultural institution, dad rock that band Martin Scorsese makes videos for, an expensive night out with the wife, one where your Instagram posts from their concert will engender both envy and snark from your friends. Given all of this, it's hard to imagine or remember if you were there, just how dangerous the stones actually were in the 70s. In 1970, the band owed their record label, Deca, one more single, which they did not want to

deliver. The relationship had long since soured, and the stones were eager to move on. But contracts, being what they are, the band had to give the label something. So they went into the studio and recorded a simple mid-temple blues, but with lyrics referencing anal and oral sex, and with Mick Jagger gleefully singing, screaming, and moaning from the receiving end of both. Knowing the lyrical content would make the song unsellable for the label, they took it a step further and delivered the song to deco with the title,

Cock Suckers Blues. In 2018, it's hard to imagine any mainstream artists bucking their industry kingmakers with so much attitude, but this happened in 1970. By the mid-70s, guitarist Mick Taylor, despite being able to match Keith Richards' lick-for-lick on guitar, could not match Keith's drinking and drugging, and suddenly up and quit the band to save his own life. He was replaced by Rod Wood,

which is like replacing a flickering out light bulb with a bolt of lightning. Woody quickly fit into the stone's way of doing things, both on and offstage. And offstage, in the 70s, the stones were a disaster. They were arrested almost too many times to count. For heroin, marijuana, illegal possession of handguns, rifles. Keith, in particular, was a special kind of disaster. He regularly drove his cars off the road too many times to count,

to the point where Mick Jagger was convinced that his guitar player's end was near. Keith and the Stone's sax player, Bobby Keyes, almost burned down the Playboy Mansion while getting high in Heff's bathroom. To get through their live shows, the band relied on ultra-pure pharmaceutical-grade cocaine and an elaborate tunnel system behind beneath their stage, where they could quickly disappear in the middle of a show, do a bump or two, and get back to their marks. Another fire, this one, a rager, had Keith escaping out of a girlfriend's son. Laurel Canyon home wearing only a t-shirt and left to poo bear it to safety. He survived unscathed, as did his friend, his gun, and 500 rounds of ammunition. In the 1970s, the world regarded the Rolling Stones as an insular band of hedonistic,

but glamorous rock and roll outlaws and dangerous pansexual junkies. But all the trouble they had stirred up to this point would be dwarfed by the trouble they would find themselves in in Canada in 1977. Up until that point, Keith's Constitution, the band's money, and their collective luck had fended off death and destruction. But the scandal they were about to embroil themselves in would touch the highest levels of government and threatened to destroy the band and their so far indestructible guitar player. There's two golden rules that any man should live by.

Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends, Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck.

I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe.

On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do.

Rather be disappointed in. Do that. Dennis Leary. I wake up and I'm hitting him in the head with a water bomb. And Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance. Like he's about to attack me. Like making karate noises. And the entire the Kardashian family over there, everybody's going.

And the air marshal is trying to grab my arms and screaming. And I immediately know that I've been sleepwalking. David O'Yellow. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Guy Branham. So anyway, Nicole Kimman broke up with Keith Thurban. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead. Oh, interesting.

I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gait and Madarazzo from Stranger Things. Tena, Monsu. Camilla Marone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, was five years old in 1977. His father, Pierre Trudeau, was at the time, Canada's prime minister, a popular and respected

liberal leader of a free Western country. Pierre's wife, Justin's mom, Margaret, was nearly 30 years younger than her husband. In 1977, Margaret Trudeau, the First Lady of Canada, was a beautiful and glamorous 29-year-old. She was also filled with intense restlessness, the kind that only a glamorous woman in her 20s, who has been romantically involved with and married to a powerful man nearly 30 years older than her since her late teens can feel. After the Trudeau's married, they were content. Margaret gave birth to three children and ran the home and took to photography while Pierre ran the country. And for the most part, Canadians loved their prime minister and his young flower child wife and growing family.

But for Margaret, any contentment she'd felt would soon make way for that pesky restlessness. Domesticity was no match for the waiting jet set. The First Lady enraged Canadians when word got out that on the eve of Canada's national elections, she was in London partying at the Tramp Nightclub. The Tramp was no ordinary nightclub. It was a private, members-only club that catered to London's celebrity elite. Ringo Starr and Liza Minnelli had their wedding receptions there. It was where Shirley MacLean felt comfortable enough to pass out for the night on one of the club's tables

and wake up in the morning to start drinking all over again. It's where the hoo's Keith Moon would strip down to his birthday suit for a quick laugh and where Mel Brooks would get on all fours and howl at the moon. My point, the Tramp Nightclub wasn't exactly the environment one would expect the First Lady to hang out in. But young Margaret Trudeau would prove to be full of surprises. Her restless promiscuity from this time is legend. She betted Prince Charles, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy,

Jack Nicholson, the darker corners of the internet, would have you believe that her rumored affair with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro led to the illegitimate birth of her first son and current Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau. Keep that in mind next time you read or hear Justin Trudeau's fawning tribute to Fidel Castro after his death. You might want to check the resemblance, too. But I digress. In March of 1977, Margaret and Pierre Trudeau,

We're about to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary, and Oh, Canada was all hell about to break loose. We'll be right back after this word, word, word. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends.

I'm Anna Sinfield and in this new season of The Girlfriends Oh my God, this is the same man A group of women discover They've all dated the same prolific con artist I felt like I got hit by a truck I thought how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care

So they take matters into their own hands I said, oh hell no I vowed I will be his last target He's gonna get what he deserves Listen to the Girlfriends Trust me babe on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia

Clark. When like young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. Dennis Leary. I wake up and I'm hitting him in the head with a water bomb and bring. Bruce Jenner is on the aisle in a karate stance, like he's about to attack me, like,

making karate noises. And his entire the Kardashian family over there, everybody's going, and the air marshal is trying to grab my arms and screaming. I immediately know that I've been asleepwalk. David O'Yello. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts. Guy Branham.

So anyway, Nicole Kimman, broke up with Keith Thurban. Being half of a country couple was always a hat she was going to wear, not like a life she was going to lead. Oh, interesting. I like that. Did you practice that on your way over? Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things.

Tena Monsu. Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1976, Mick Jagger and Rolling Stones manager, Peter Rudge, began scouting for a small venue to complete their double-live album, Love You Live. It was decided that the intimate Elma Camba nightclub in Toronto would be the place. It was perfect, small, good sound, and situated so the production logistics would be relatively uncomplicated.

If the Rolling Stones, the biggest and baddest band on the planet, were to perform in a 400 capacity club, secrecy was of the utmost importance. If word got out, the ensuing shit show would prevent the gig from going off, and the whole trip would be a waste of time and money. In February 1977, band members, with the exception of Keith, were already in Toronto under the guise of rehearsing for their upcoming summer stadium tour. Keith and his wife, Anita Palinberg, rolled into Canada late, as junkies are wont to do. When their plane landed, authorities were waiting for the notoriously drugged out rockster.

Keith had fixed on the plane, but somehow the spoon ended up in Anita's pocket. She got busted. Keith, once again, had managed to escape, but the Canadian Mounties were now onto him. While Mrs. Richards pondered her uncertain fate, Keith and the rest of the rock and roll circus took over six floors at the Harbor Castle Hilton in downtown Toronto. The entourage was immense. Management, publicists, attorneys, aides, security, crew, techs, wives, girlfriends, groupies, journalists, local scenesters, and other assorted hangers on. The party was endless. While Stone's management tended to the setup of the Elma Combo shows, the band rehearsed at night and fell back afterward into the ongoing entourage party back at the hotel into the morning.

Meanwhile, the Mounties descended upon the hotel with undercover cops dressed as waiters to take in the scene and scope out where amongst this madness, Keith was holed up with his stash. They soon determined which room he was copping in and waited until he passed out before beginning their raid. When they entered the room on February 27, 1977, Keith was passed out. He'd been awake for days, rehearsing, and partying. It took some time for the Mounties to rouse.

When they finally did, Keith reminded them that he needed to be conscious in order to be arrested. The joke didn't land. The Mounties found Keith's entire stash. Some coke, a bit of weed, and the mother load. 22 grams of heroin. The Mounties knew their stuff, too. This wasn't low-grade local swag.

This was grade A smack. The kind of Royal Canadian Mounted Police took pride in keeping off of their streets. The quantity and origin meant one thing, intent to distribute. They had Keith on trafficking. This meant a minimum of seven years. And this wasn't some back county local sheriff who could be bought off,

or some local constable who owed the band's high-powered attorney of favor. This was pissed off police, feds who'd felt they'd been embarrassed at the airport, made to look like fools for allowing this traveling shit show to establish its own private Gomorrah in the middle of downtown Toronto. Fuck this. Bring the scrawny prick in, throw the book at them, send them away for seven years, and teach the rest of the world, not to fuck with the Mounies. But the Mownies themselves fucked up.

They booked Keith in a police station out of their jurisdiction, and because of this technicality, Keith bounced after paying a next-to-nothing-no-deposit bail. But the pending trial and looming seven-year prison stent hung heavy on the minds of the band and their handlers. This could very well mean the end of the Rolling Stones. But the band pressed on. They continued to prep for their secret show,

that somehow still remained a secret, rehearse, and of course, party, even with an increased Mountie presence hanging out in the hotel lobby. The date of the shows couldn't come soon enough. On March 4, 1977, pedestrians passing by the Elma combo heard what they thought was a Rolling Stones tribute band rehearsing in preparation for that evening show with Canadian rock band, April Wine. But later that evening, when the First Lady of Canada, Margaret Trudeau, was spotted backstage, it was clear that this was no tribute band.

Ladies and gentlemen, this was the Rolling Stones. Burning through an intimate club show, their first in 13 years, and there were no flies on Keith, inspired by Ronnie's new take on Early Stones covers of blues classics like Chuck Berries around and around, Howling Wolf's Little Red Rooster, and Hellen. bent originals like brown sugar and jumping jack flash, the stones laid waste to the tiny Elmacombo. Sweat, sex, pure rock and roll. The crowd was mesmerized. For a minute, they'd forgotten that the First Lady was in the house. But when the show ended and Margaret Trudeau was spotted hopping into a limo with Mick and Ronnie, things took a turn. The press noted that this was the sixth

the anniversary of her marriage to the country's prime minister. What was she doing out alone with the most dangerous rock and roll band in the world? Rumors started to circulate that back at the hotel, Mrs. Trudeau was seen running through the halls wearing only a bathrobe. The press, as the cliche goes, had a field day. But that didn't stop Maggie from hanging out while the band remained in Toronto for their last show at El Macomba. She hung out at the hotel, looked after Keith's young son, And in her own words, it was innocent. All she did was, quote, smoke a little hash, play dice, and drink a little wine, unquote. Keith later claimed that she did, in fact, do a bit more than that.

To be blunt, Keith claimed she'd slept with both Mick and Ronnie at the same time. Maggie hit the second show in the company of both men. The press could not believe what they were seeing. asked for a comet while posing for a picture with the First Lady. The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts claimed, I wouldn't want my wife associating with us. The whole thing turned into an international incident. The New York Daily News proclaimed,

Ron Wood is Mrs. Trudeau's very special stone. Mick Jagger, who was married to Biancagher, who was married to Bianca, at the time, issued a press release in the New York Post, saying that he and Margaret Trudeau had no romantic ties just to, quote, passing acquaintance for two nights, unquote. And the prime minister himself weighed in with dry wit, saying of his wildflower wife, I hope she doesn't start to see the Beatles. It wouldn't be the Beatles. It would first be the famous dancer, Mikhail Beryshnikov, then the famous photographer, Richard Avedon. After arriving in New York, with the stones, after the Elma Combo mess.

But not all of the stones would make the trip out of Canada. Left behind in the wreckage was illegally vulnerable, strung out Keith Richards, hold up in a hotel with his wife and young son, alone and afraid in a country he had just made a mockery of and that had lost its patience with him, awaiting trial for a sentence that was likely to lock him up and break up his band. Keith's fate, and ultimately the fate of the band would be decided in court soon.

It was tough to gauge public opinion one way or the other. The stones had their fans for sure, but a good portion of Canadians were pissed. The band had blown through their town and disrespected their laws and their leader. In the months before the trial, Keith publicly sweated the end of his band, putting it out to the press that if you were to go to jail, the band wouldn't continue. Mick sang a different tune, claiming the show must go on. In 1978, who could have possibly replaced Keith Richards in a band made in his image? Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jeff Beck,

or would they go with a relative unknown, someone like Johnny Thunders, perhaps? I'm guessing Mick had a plan to talk Mick Taylor out of retirement. Or was this hit for the Rolling Stones? Who was going to carry the weight for rock and roll? The Beatles were gone. The Eagles were huge, but come on, the Eagles? Led Zeppelin? Maybe.

I mean, maybe this was it for rock and roll. Disco had taken over the charts. Punk was making waves on both sides of the Atlantic. And up in the Bronx, a bunch of kids were starting to rhyme over mixtapes from local DJs and producers. And what the hell was that all about? The what-ifs weighed on everyone, especially Keith. The day of the trial finally arrived on October 23rd. By now, Keith had kicked smack in rehab, but always the renegade.

He faced the judge wearing white socks and a three-piece tan suit with shoes more scuffed than buffed. Keith's lawyers flew in Toronto-Native Saturday Night Live producer Lauren Michaels to testify on Keith's behalf. Prosecutors were not impressed. They sought the maximum penalty. Life imprisonment for trafficking. Keith pled guilty to possession of heroin, but not to drug trafficking. Then, in a stunning development, the judge dropped the trafficking charges altogether and accepted Keith's plea. What just happened? A guardian angel, that's what just happened.

The judge had been prevailed upon by a young blind girl who was a fan of Keith's. She wrote the judge countless letters detailing Keith's kindness toward her. When they went on answered, she went to the judge's house to make her case in person. She claimed whenever the band had come to town, Keith had sought her out, made sure she had a great time, and made it home safely, instructing his road crew to see to it. A kindness the rock star took upon himself to see to, was a kindness the judge would see to repaying with leniency.

He sentenced Keith to probation, and mandated the stones perform a benefit for the blind within six months. Keith later claimed that, This chick went to the judge's house in Toronto, personally, and she told him this simple story, you know. And from there, I think he figured out the way to get Canada himself and myself off of the hook. And so I was sentenced to a concert for the blind, which I gladly performed, you know, and my blind angel came through. Bless her heart. After the incident, with Keith free from the grips of heroin, the Rolling Stones went on to become a bigger force than ever.

Their next album, Some Girls, became an instant masterpiece. Their 1980 release, Tattoo You, would rocket the band to a level of superstardom that even they would have been unable to imagine in the 70s. They embarked upon the biggest tour in the history of the music business and were on their way to becoming a cultural institution. No band in the history of music has been able to achieve and sustain the level of success that the Rolling Stones have. Would that have happened without the intervention of a blind guardian angel?

Probably not. And judging from the honky tonk send-up on side two of some girls, aptly titled Far Away Eyes, Mick and Keith seem to agree with me. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Disgraceland was created by yours truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be found on the show notes page at Disgracelandpod.com. If you're listening as a Disgraceland All-Axist member, thank you for supporting the show.

We really appreciate it. And if not, you can become a member right now by going to disgracelandpod.com slash membership. Members can listen to every episode of Disgraceland ad-free. Plus, you'll get one brand new exclusive episode every month. Weekly unscripted bonus episodes, special audio collections, and early access to merchandise and events. Visit disgracelampod.com slash membership for detail.

Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook at Disgracelam pod, and on YouTube at YouTube.com slash at disgraceland pod. Rock a roll. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe, on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This season on Dear Chelsea, with me, Chelsea Handler, we have some fantastic guests like Amelia Clark. When, like, young people come up to me and they want to be an actor or whatever. My first thing is always, can you think of anything else that you can do? Rather be disappointed in. Do that. David O'Yellow. I love this podcast, whether it's therapy or relationships or religion or sex or addiction or you just go straight for the guts.

Dennis Leary, Gaten Moderato from Stranger Things, Tana Monsu, Camilla Morone, Carrie Kenny Silver, and more. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Just like great shoes, great books take you places. Through unforgettable love stories and into conversations with characters you'll never forget. I think any good romance, it gives me this feeling of like butterflies. I'm Danielle Robe, and this is bookmarked by Rees's Book Club from Hello Sunshine and IHeart Podcast, where we dive into the stories that shape us, on the page and off. Each week I'm joined by authors, celebs, book talk stars, and more for conversations that

will make you laugh, cry, and add way too many books to your TBR pile. Listen to Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Cotton, the fabric of our lives.