In an Esquire interview heralding the Oct. 23 publication of his new memoir “Possibilities” (now available for pre-order), Chicago native and jazz superstar Herbie Hancock speaks candidly about his life and work.
Here, he talks about his past drug abuse and how he overcame it with the help of his wife:
I had snorted coke before. Many people have done that. I didn’t realize that first time that crack is not something you can just fancy seeing what it is, and then say, “Oh, okay, that’s what that is,” and walk away from it. I didn’t know that until I actually did it. And when I did it that first time, as it says in the book, I said inside, “Oh, no. I should have never done this.” Because it threw me into this hole that’s not easy to get out of.
I needed the intervention that happened, that my wife did. For me, it was like, “The jig is up.” On one hand, I was relieved. At the same time, I was totally embarrassed and ashamed. But I knew that this was the end. I’ve got my road out of this. And I had to go to rehab.
For the whole interview, visit Esquire.com.
