October 29: Grave Robbing & The Death Of Misfits

On this day in 1983 the horror punk band The Misfits played their final show at Greystone Hall in Detroit. It was during their annual Halloween show that lead singer Glenn Danzig unexpectedly announced to the audience that it would be the band's final show.

After drummer Brian Damage, who had just replaced another drummer, got too drunk and had to be escorted off stage in the middle of the performance lead singer Danzig abruptly announced the end of the band. Tensions between Danzig and the rest of the band had been rising after several incidents on tour, including the entire band being arrested in New Orleans on charges of grave robbing (The band claims only an attempt to locate the grave of voodoo queen Marie Laveau), as well as drummer Robo, a Colombian army defector and illegal alien, having to leave the band.  Upon returning from tour the band members went their separate ways (only reuniting after more than 30 years). The Misfits are recognized as early developers of the horror punk genre; blending punk rock with camp horror themes and imagery. They are also recognized as the originators of the Devilock hairstyle (see photo).

Doyle performing with the Misfits
at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. in 1983.

October 21: Pimping Ain't Easy.. But Publishing Is (and The Harshest Critic Is The One You Create)

On October 21st, 1975, Donald Goines and his wife, Shirley Sailor, were found dead in their Detroit Apartment with multiple gunshots to the head and chest.

Goines was born in Detroit in 1936 to a middle class black family. His mother claimed to be a descendant of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. At 15 Goines lied about his age in order to join the Air Force to fight in the Korean war.

Goines was honorably discharged but returned home with a severe heroin addiction. To support his habit he turned to a life of crime, trying his hand at theft and pimping. Proving not a good career choice Goines decided to began writing while serving a sentence in Michigan's Jackson Penitentiary. Initially he thought he would write westerns, but was inspired to write Urban Fiction after reading famed Pimp Iceberg Slim's autobiography 'Pimp: The Story of My Life.'

At fiction Goines was a natural, writing and publishing an astonishing 16 novels between 1971 and 1975 (including the highly popular Kenyatta series under the pseudonym Al C. Clark) by the time he was murdered. An out of control heroin addiction has been cited for Goines accelerated writing pace; with Goines sister, Joan, pointing out that constantly writing kept him from committing crimes. She also noted that many of the characters in his books were inspired by real people.

The killer (or killers) of Goines and Sailor have never been identified, but it has long believed that the killer must be someone Goines fictionalized in one of his many books, unhappy about his or her portrayal.