Biography
Jourgensen was born in Havana to a Cuban mother and Norwegian father in 1958. Soon after, he came to the US to live with his mother and his Danish stepfather, who changed his name to Jourgensen. Growing up, he was a fan of such artists as The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Can, Kraftwerk, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Kitty Wells, Buck Owens, George Jones, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. His stepfather was a stock car driver, and also a mechanic for Formula One driver Dan Gurney. Jourgensen was raised in Chicago, Illinois and Breckenridge, Colorado, eventually attending the University of Illinois - Chicago, after briefly enrolling at the University of Northern Colorado as well as the University of Colorado. He worked as a radio DJ out of college, until becoming a professional musician by joining the band Special Affect, which included My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult founding member Groovie Mann. Jourgensen formed Ministry in 1981.
Jourgensen was married to Patty Marsh from 1984-2002. He has a daughter from the marriage, Adrienne, born April 13, 1985. He remarried in September 2002 to Angelina Lukacin at Graceland mansion.
His lyrics reveal many aspects of his life, such as his heroin and cocaine addictions, alcoholism and his political opinions. These were greatly influenced by the beat generation (William S. Burroughs collaborated on some of his tracks).
Jourgensen had been a lifelong drug user, which culminated in the 1995 police raid of Ministry's Texas headquarters and Jourgensen's arrest for possession. He received a five year probation sentence, a time that he recalls as the darkest in his life. As of 2003, he maintains that he has been drug-free, ever since a bite from a venomous spider caused him to nearly lose an arm. Jourgensen resides and records in El Paso, Texas.
Read more about this topic: Al Jourgensen
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