Don Dokken reveals how he helped Glenn Hughes overcome drug addiction
Don Dokken reveals how he helped Glenn Hughes overcome drug addiction
Dokken frontman Don Dokken was recently interviewed by the Rockin’ You All Night podcast back in July 2018 and spoke about helping his friend, singer and bassist Glenn Hughes (Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Counrty Communion) overcome drug addiction.
The following are excerpts from the interview (as transcribed by Rockin’ You All Night):
“I couldn’t see Glenn die. He’s too talented.”
“I was paying [Glenn‘s] rent in Atlanta. I was paying [his] rent every month because I wanted [Glenn] to get better.”
Dokken told Hughes, “‘I’ll let you live at my house for 6 months.’ I think it helped him because it had the ocean view. He’s on the ocean, clean living, it was healing spiritually.”
“I flew him, and his girlfriend at the time, to L.A. They lived at my house for 6 months. I gave him a car to drive. I said, ‘There’s only 1 rule, no drugs!'”
“It hurt my feelings when he [Glenn Hughes] wrote his book and didn’t even mention me. Basically, I spent thousands of dollars flying him from Atlanta, paying his rent, living at my house, giving him a car to drive. I had him on a salary every week to live on. I basically took care of him.”
“I’m going to help Glenn because I felt he’s too talented to just be another victim of drug overdose.”
“I just wanted Glenn to get well. I couldn’t see him die… and nobody else was helping him.”
Wikipedia discusses some of Hughes‘ health problems as it states (with slight edits):
“Hughes‘ health problems due to overeating, drugs and alcohol began to seriously affect his musical projects, and this contributed to very short stints with Gary Moore and Tony Iommi, as Hughes was unable to tour with them properly due to his bad health. In 1985, Black Sabbath re-united with original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne for the one-off Live Aid performance. While waiting for a break in Osbourne‘s career, Iommi decided to record a solo album and Hughes was brought in to provide the vocals. Due to the aforementioned contractual obligations with the record company the album was released as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi in 1986, to generally positive critical reviews, with Hughes in particular putting in a fine performance. While touring to promote the new album, Glenn was replaced by vocalist Ray Gillen after six shows due to a fight with Black Sabbath‘s production manager, as the injuries contributed to a degradation in his voice and he was also in no physical shape to complete the tour….
By the end of the decade, Hughes realized his ongoing drug problem was derailing him, and by 1991 a clean, sober and fully rejuvenated Hughes returned with the vocal for the hit “America: What Time Is Love?” with KLF. He also recorded all the vocals for former Europe guitarist John Norum‘s solo album Face the Truth. He then re-embarked on a solo career that has been his primary focus to date.”
Wikipedia states the following about Hughes‘ autobiography: “Hughes‘ autobiography was published in May 2011 by British specialist limited edition publishers Foruli. The book, titled ‘Deep Purple And Beyond: Scenes From The Life Of A Rock Star‘, was co-written with author Joel McIver and featured contributions by Tony Iommi, David Coverdale, Ozzy Osbourne and Tom Morello, as well as a foreword by Lars Ulrich of Metallica. An extended paperback edition, retitled ‘Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography‘, was published in late 2011 by Jawbone Press.”
Interview with Don Dokken by Rockin’ You All Night podcast:
R.Y.A.N. – Season 2, Episode 1: Don Dokken
In this episode of Rockin’ You All Night, hard rock icon: Don Dokken is interviewed. In this interview, at BLK Live in Scottsdale, AZ, Don talks about; his …