Skip to content
Lost Notes: Groupies podcast artwork

PODCAST · music

Lost Notes: Groupies

by KCRW

This season on Lost Notes: Groupies. Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk. From KCRW and Golden Teapot.

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 13, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. 8: The Groupie Dream

    As the first wave of LA punk started to take hold in Hollywood, both on and off the Sunset Strip, the girls of the rock n roll underground flattened scene hierarchy by carrying the torch of the sexually charged, “I do what I want” spirit exemplified by the most notorious Hollywood groupies–in...

  2. 7: The Dawn of Punk

    In the mid 1970s, as glam rock fizzled out, new kids began to trickle in on the block–kids who looked up to the groupies as party girl icons, as rock’n’roll legends, who went out there and got what they wanted…come hell or high platforms. Kid Congo Powers, Alice Bag, Pleasant Gehman, and Theresa...

  3. Supreme Glamour (from "Dressed")

    Hello Lost Notes fans! The final two episodes of Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk are coming later this week. But first, we want to share an episode of the podcast Dressed: The History of Fashion. Mary Wilson is a founding member of one of the most iconic, successful—and...

  4. 6: From the Slutmobile to the Starship

    Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco. The Continental Hyatt House. The Rainbow Bar & Grill. Glam rock was the genre du jour and there was no more convenient or welcoming a circuit for an intrepid teenage groupie to land in than the Strip in the early 1970s. As for Led Zeppelin, LA became their...

  5. 5: The Oral History of Star Magazine: Bad But Not Evil

    A teen magazine so daring, so outrageous, so scandalizing and sexually suggestive that it only lasted…five issues. Star Magazine: from the publishing empire that brought you Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Guns & Ammo, and later in the 90s, Sassy, there was, in 1973, a red-hot new music rag that glamorized...

  6. 4: Hollywood Encounters

    As a girl, Dee Dee Keel ditched the doldrums of Venice for the thrills of Hollywood. Just a few years later, she would soon become the woman behind the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go... as well as an infamously active groupie. Meanwhile, Morgana Welch, a scene-savvy Beverly Hills High Schooler, gets...

  7. 3: Girls Together Outrageously

    Venice Beach teen Dee Dee Keel was desperate to find out what was happening behind the scenes, in the clubs and hotel rooms of Hollywood: so she tracked an intriguing local rocker, Jim Morrison, on his way to the Strip. That’s where she first saw Miss Pamela in all her groupie glamour. By 1969,...

  8. 2: The Fairytale of Miss Pamela

    The origin story of Miss Pamela Des Barres, the original queen of the groupies, author of the iconic memoir, I’m With the Band. From her mid-Sixties teenage bop room Beatlemania, to in a few short and sexy years, having Mick Jagger on the prowl looking for her – Pamela learned quickly, through...

  9. 1: Lori Lightning and the Baby Groupies

    In 1973, the Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock n roll universe, where rockstar mythology was being built in real time. This is where fourteen-year old Valley girl Lori Lightning found herself, along with her clique of Sable Starr and Queenie Glam, known as the Baby Groupies, as they…

    more
  10. Coming soon... Groupies: Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk

    In the early 1970s, LA’s Sunset Strip was the epicenter of the rock'n'roll universe. Drugs, sex, private planes, limos, destroying hotel rooms – it wasn’t a myth. At at the center of it all, were groupies. It’s a story we all know – but it’s never been told from this perspective. This season, on...

  11. Chasing the Watermelon Man

    An audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon and sell them in Black neighborhoods around the US.

  12. Gloria Jones In Conversation

    KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B...

  13. Talking Fela Kuti with Sandra Izsadore

    KCRW’s relationship with Fela Kuti goes back to 1980, when KCRW’s Tom Schnabel and Roger Steffens were connected with the mighty Afrobeat innovator while he was still imprisoned in Nigeria. Six years later, once Fela was free and clear to tour internationally, he came to Los Angeles and visited...

  14. Larry Mizell Live in Conversation at KCRW HQ

    KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B...

  15. Nia Andrews & Terrace Martin on Reggie Andrews

    Lost Notes brings you behind-the-scenes conversations with Nia Andrews and Terrace Martin about the legendary Reggie Andrews.

  16. Do What You Want To Do: The Legacy of Reggie Andrews

    Lost Notes examines the legacy of Reggie Andrews, a world-class musician, producer, and mentor who changed the lives of countless young musicians in South LA. Andrews spent more than four decades in the LAUSD school system, teaching and mentoring generations of notable musicians: Kamasi…

    more
  17. Dear Ruth: How Ruth Dolphin (Re-)Built a Musical Empire

    Lost Notes celebrates the life of Ruth Dolphin, who went from being a terrified widow with four kids to the mother of an LA musical empire.

  18. Go with the Flow: Community, Virality, and the Politics of Dancing

    Lost Notes presents a story about Soul Train, the Slauson Shuffle, and what’s lost – and found – when a regional dance suddenly belongs to the world.

  19. Places & Spaces: The Mizell Brothers’ LA Alchemy

    Lost Notes introduces a pair of brothers - one from NASA, the other from Motown - who launched an entire musical universe from their Hollywood Hills hideout.

  20. Kendrick Lamar and the big samples (from “Switched on Pop”)

    Lost Notes returns with a brand new episode next Wednesday. To tide you over, we’re featuring a deep dive into Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers from our friends at Switched on Pop.

  21. Viva Tirado: The South/East LA Connection

    Lost Notes explores how the song “Viva Tirado” exemplifies the inter-generational musical conversation between LA’s Black and Brown communities.

  22. My Lady’s Frustration: How Fela Kuti Found Afrobeat in LA

    Lost Notes explores how Fela Kuti’s time in LA in 1969 was instrumental in the creation of his legendary Afrobeat sound.

  23. Mojo on Trial: The Seedy, Greedy World of Ruth Christie

    Lost Notes details the darkly hilarious schemes of record-label magnate Ruth Christie, who instigated one of the most absurd court cases in music history.

  24. The True Story of ‘Tainted Love’

    Long before “Tainted Love” was an ‘80s anthem, it was a 1965 B-side by LA’s Gloria Jones. We trace the song’s journey from a warehouse floor to the annals of pop history.

  25. Lost Notes Returns with the True Story of ‘Tainted Love’

    ‘Lost Notes’ returns for Season 4 with a special preview episode about the song “Tainted Love,” and its lesser-known origins as a forgotten ‘60s soul gem from LA.

  26. Jonathan Demme: 'Stop Making Sense' interview and guest DJ set (1984)

    Talking Heads’ 1984 film, Stop Making Sense, has long been regarded by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest concert films ever made. A new A24 restoration of the film is out in theaters now. Director Jonathan Demme dropped in on Deirdre for a guest DJ set while the film was still in...

  27. Bent By Nature - Ep. 10: Rollins

    Throughout “Bent By Nature,” you’ve heard many stories of the lifelong connections set in motion by Deirdre O’Donoghue. But none were quite as surprising as the bond between Deirdre and fellow iconoclast Henry Rollins, the former Black Flag frontman, musician, writer, actor, activist, and…

    more
  28. Bent By Nature - Ep. 9: Promised Land (with Julian Cope)

    The artist has got to be not like the historian. The historian’s got hindsight. He can go back and go, “That was a great moment.” But the artist’s got to go, “No, I was there.” It’s like, history is something that happens. You can’t be there at history. — Julian Cope, May 10, 1991 It’s May of…

    more
  29. Bent By Nature - Ep. 8: Half A World Away (with Michael Stipe)

    It’s September of 1984. And Deirdre is head over heels for a fast-rising quartet from Athens, Georgia called R.E.M. In just a few years, the band’s music will be inescapable on commercial and college radio alike — and their massive success will mark a turning point for the American musical...

  30. Bent By Nature - Ep. 7: Ages of You

    In the mid-1980s, two young women are coming of age in the San Fernando Valley. In a few years, when they’re teenagers, they’ll both latch onto DJ Deirdre O’Donoghue, for totally different reasons. Felicia Daniel becomes obsessed with the new music Deirdre is playing on “SNAP!” Her best friend,...

  31. Bent By Nature - Ep. 6: Crossing Over (with David Lowery)

    It’s New Year’s Eve, 1986. Deirdre is talking with the LA Times’ music critic, Robert Hilburn, about the musical trends of 1985. Deirdre O’Donoghue: I don't think that the big, quote-unquote, "rock" stations can very much longer ignore the growing numbers of people who are listening to…

    more
  32. Bent By Nature - Ep. 5: Haywire (with Kathy McCarty & Brian Beattie)

    It’s Independence Day Weekend, 1988. And Deirdre is celebrating the return of Glass Eye, her favorite independent act from Austin, Texas. They’ve just released their third album, “Bent By Nature.” But Deirdre’s allegiance to the band went much deeper than a catchy title. For her, they represented...

  33. Bent By Nature - Ep. 4: Almost Magic (with Syd Straw)

    It’s September 4, 1986. And Deirdre has just met a kindred spirit in singer Syd Straw. Like Deirdre, Syd traveled in good company. You could pick out her voice on records by Los Lobos, Rickie Lee Jones, Was (Not Was), and more. As an early member of the indie supergroup The Golden Palominos, she...

  34. Bent By Nature - Ep. 3: Inside Out (with David and Bekki Newton)

    In 1988, while most of the music world was fawning over Morrissey’s solo debut, Deirdre O’Donoghue was all-in on a new record from a lesser-known English band: The Mighty Lemon Drops. After years of support on “SNAP!,” their single “Inside Out” blew up in the U.S., becoming a college rock anthem...

  35. Bent By Nature - Ep. 2: Music Could Be Your Whole Life

    Illustration by Meredith Schomburg In episode two of Bent By Nature, co-producer Bob Carlson explores the life of influential and enigmatic DJ Deirdre O’Donoghue behind the mic. Born in New York City and DJing across the country before landing at KCRW to host "SNAP!", O’Donoghue didn’t talk much...

  36. Bent By Nature - Ep. 1: This Is 'SNAP!'

    Before Soundcloud and Bandcamp, there was Deirdre O'Donoghue and "SNAP!," the LA DJ and radio show that served as a waypoint for underground music, artists, and its fans — and helped shape the sound of independent and D.I.Y. culture today. In the first episode of "Bent By Nature," co-producer Bob...

  37. Bent By Nature: Trailer

    She was the most influential American DJ you’ve never heard of. Deirdre O’Donoghue was a vital force in the musical underground of the 1980s. Countless artists crammed into her studio to perform live on her late-night show, “SNAP!” on KCRW. And after 40 years, those legendary sessions will be…

    more
  38. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 7: Grace Jones

    In 1980, anti-disco sentiment was at a high and Grace Jones was coming off a trilogy of disco albums. If she stayed stagnant, it felt like her career could be swept away. And so out of disco’s death rattle – driven by the discomfort of white male tastemakers – Grace Jones rose, reinforced and...

  39. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 6: Minnie Riperton

    Most know Minnie Riperton because of one part in one song. “Lovin’ You” was Riperton’s biggest hit, and she doesn’t sing that magic, piercing note until around the 3-minute mark. Cancer took Riperton away tragically in 1979, and the next year producers got to work on a posthumous album. Filled…

    more
  40. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 5: Hugh Masekela & Miriam Makeba

    In December of 1980, two exiled artists and freedom fighters attempted return to their home in South Africa for a concert. Jazz musician Hugh Masekela and singer Miriam Makeba were briefly married, but they had a robust collaborative relationship that stretched across multiple decades. The 1980...

  41. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 4: John Lennon & Darby Crash

    Punk singer Darby Crash dreamed of immortality. The single full-length Germs album was to become a holy grail of music history, and his passing might’ve made him a legend, but Darby Crash died on December 7th, 1980. By the time the news of his death began to circulate, it was well into December...

  42. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 3: Ian Curtis

    In May of 1980, Joy Division lost its lead singer, Ian Curtis. The band decided that they would carry on with a different name. From the cutting room floor, a song with Ian Curtis haphazardly slurring the words he’d written became the first single for a decade-defining band. New Order was made up...

  43. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 2: The Sugarhill Gang

    In 1979, "Rapper’s Delight" was released and went on to become the first Top 40 hip-hop single. Sugarhill Gang almost had no choice but to follow the single up with a full-length. So in the early months of 1980, a six song, nearly forty minute album by a rap group was released. The debut,...

  44. Lost Notes: 1980 - Ep. 1: Stevie Wonder

    Stevie Wonder released seven albums from 1970 to 1976. It is an impenetrable run of albums and songs, one of the greatest in music history. Then, in 1979, he faced his first defeat of the decade. Reviews for “Stevie Wonder’s Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants” were harshly mixed. So in…

    more
  45. Lost Notes: 1980 - Introducing Lost Notes: 1980

    This season the poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib explores the year 1980. It was the brilliant, awkward and sometimes heartbreaking opening to a monumental decade in popular music.

  46. Lost Notes S2 Bonus: Teenagers Surfing on the Wave of the Apocalypse

    Our second of two Lost Notes bonus episodes for this summer. This one is about The Student Teachers. In 1977, a group of music obsessed friends got together and decided to form a band. Most of them were still in high school and almost none of them had even picked up an instrument before, but they...

  47. Lost Notes S2 Bonus: Power to the People

    The new season of Lost Notes will be here in September. Meantime, this summer, we’re sharing a couple of bonus episodes. Fifty years ago, an unlikely musical group evolved out of the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party. They were called The Lumpen. And although they quickly gained a...

  48. Lost Notes S2 Ep. 8: Song of a Gun

    As long as there have been guns, there have been songs about guns. But American culture's relationship with guns is changing. Does popular music reflect that? We take a look at the history of music's relationships with guns, and gun control activism, to find out.

  49. Lost Notes S2 Ep. 7: Beyond Disco: Nermin Niazi and Feisal Mosleh

    In the early ‘80s, two teenage siblings in London recorded an album that fused Pakistani pop and British New Wave. It became a perfect harmony of the two worlds they lived in. This is the story behind their lost masterpiece.

  50. Lost Notes S2 Ep. 6: Imagining Billy Tipton

    Jazz pianist Billy Tipton has been celebrated by some as a trans pioneer – but his story resists an easy telling.

Type above to search every episode's transcript for a word or phrase. Matches are scoped to this podcast.

Searching…

We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.

No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.

Showing of matches

No topics indexed yet for this podcast.

Loading reviews...

ABOUT THIS SHOW

This season on Lost Notes: Groupies. Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk. From KCRW and Golden Teapot.

HOSTED BY

KCRW

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Lost Notes: Groupies have?

Lost Notes: Groupies currently has 70 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Lost Notes: Groupies about?

This season on Lost Notes: Groupies. Women of the Sunset Strip from the Pill to Punk. From KCRW and Golden Teapot.

How often does Lost Notes: Groupies release new episodes?

Lost Notes: Groupies has 70 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Lost Notes: Groupies?

You can listen to Lost Notes: Groupies on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Lost Notes: Groupies?

Lost Notes: Groupies is created and hosted by KCRW.
URL copied to clipboard!