G.G. Allin Beyond the Grave

While he was alive, G.G. Allin was best known for his blood-and-guts live show, which included such crowd pleasers as defecating on stage and brawling with the audience. In other words, everything but his music. But since his heroin-related death in 1993, Allin's legend has spread, thanks in part to the Todd Phillips-directed documentary Hated and artists like Mike Patton, CKY and Hank Williams III covering his songs.

According to Allin's brother (and bassist for his last-ever backing band, the Murder Junkies) Merle, demand for new G.G. product is at an all-time high. And by offering CDs, videos and merchandise on ggallin.com, Merle plans to keep feeding the growing market. Tops on the list is an in-the-works documentary by filmmaker Mark Hejnar, which threatens to dig even deeper than Hated. "He traveled with us back in the early Nineties," explains Merle. "He's got tons of interviews with G.G. and footage that I've never seen."

Also upcoming is a DVD of 2003's "10 Year Anniversary Show," which was held this past summer in Littleton, New Hampshire, where G.G. is buried. The event featured reunion sets by G.G.'s original band, the Jabbers, as well as the Murder Junkies, with Antiseen frontman Jeff Clayton assuming G.G.'s spot behind the mike.

And Merle has more tributary plans: "I'm going to start working on a scrapbook/photo album, and then eventually a real book. Other then that, we're trying to put out some singles collection compilations."

With so many holes in G.G.'s discography, a career-spanning box set might seem a natural next step, but don't hold your breath. "I don't think there will ever be a G.G. box set," Allin says. "There's just too many fucking labels involved."

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter