Rockers to Doctors
Ugly Kid Joe: Nirvana Hated Them, MTV Loved Them & Black Sabbath Called
From "Everything About You" to Nirvana criticism, Norman Reedus and three days with Black Sabbath, Nova and Dorian uncover the strange career of Ugly Kid Joe. Ugly Kid Joe arrived just as hair metal was dying and grunge was taking over, yet somehow found an audience in the middle. Nova Starwick and Dorian Prescott trace the band's story from its beginnings in Isla Vista, California, and the joke that created the Ugly Kid Joe name through the enormous success of "Everything About You," As Ugly as They Wanna Be , and America's Least Wanted . They dig into the $5,000 music video that became an MTV staple, the band's connection to Wayne's World , their unexpected hit cover of Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle," and a young Norman Reedus appearing in its video. Then things get stranger. Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic publicly takes a shot at the band. Ugly Kid Joe struggles with changing musical tastes and its relationship with Mercury Records. Whitfield Crane joins Life of Agony and later spends three days fronting Black Sabbath during rehearsals for the band's 1997 reunion with Ozzy Osbourne. Nova and Dorian also explore Ugly Kid Joe's breakup, reunion, later albums, and how Crane eventually made peace with the hit he once resisted playing. It's the story of a band that could easily have become a 1990s punchline but refused to disappear.
