2817 - Music, Murder & Mind Control

August 18, 2026

John B. Wells welcomes veteran broadcaster, Coast to Coast AM guest host and Strange Planet creator Richard Syrett for an investigation into the hidden forces that may have shaped rock ’n’ roll—and the generations raised on its message.

Richard’s new book, Tales from the Rock ’n Roll Twilight Zone, follows the unanswered questions, suspicious deaths, recurring numbers, occult references and industry machinery surrounding some of music’s greatest icons. John and Richard examine rock music as an instrument of psychological influence, the intelligence community’s documented interest in cultural engineering, and the power held by record labels, managers and corporate gatekeepers.

The trail moves through the British Invasion and the Beatles, the disputed “Paul is Dead” phenomenon, Jimmy Page’s fascination with Aleister Crowley, Ozzy Osbourne’s battles with record executives, the death of Randy Rhoads, the strange pattern surrounding the 27 Club and the forensic questions that continue to haunt Kurt Cobain’s death.

Who controlled the music, who manufactured the legends, and what happens when an artist becomes more valuable as an image than as a human being? Enter the machinery behind the soundtrack in Music, Murder & Mind Control.