DJ AM

Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009) was an American DJ, remixer, record producer and musician better known as DJ AM. Goldstein was a member of the rock band Crazy Town, co-owner of a management company called Deckstar and worked on albums for Papa Roach and Will Smith, among others. He was a frequent collaborator with Travis Barker of Blink-182 and appeared on several television series. Goldstein was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an Arab Jewish family. As a child, he was verbally abused by his father, who Goldstein called "unbelievably cruel." His father abused drugs and alcohol and was sent to jail for committing bank fraud and later died due to complications from AIDS. Goldstein attended the elite Quaker school Friends' Central. Goldstein began taking drugs, so his mother placed him in a treatment center that specialized in “tough love". When Goldstein was 20-years-old, he started deejaying, which he had been obsessed with since seeing Herbie Hancock do the song "Rockit" at the 1983 Grammy Awards. During his early 20s, Goldstein also battled a drug addiction, specifically to crack cocaine. At one point, he attempted suicide but was unsuccessful when