I’m With the Band by Pamela Des Barres
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by NymphaeaThe stylish, exuberant, and remarkably sweet confession of one of the most famous groupies of the 1960s and 70s is back in print in this new edition that includes an afterword on the author’s last 15 years of adventures. As soon as she graduated from high school, Pamela Des Barres headed for the Sunset Strip, where she knocked on rock stars’ backstage doors and immersed herself in the drugs, danger, and ecstasy of the freewheeling 1960s. Over the next 10 years she had affairs with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Waylon Jennings, Chris Hillman, Noel Redding, and Jim Morrison, among others. She traveled with Led Zeppelin; lived in sin with Don Johnson; turned down a date with Elvis Presley; and was close friends with Robert Plant, Gram Parsons, Ray Davies, and Frank Zappa. As a member of the GTO’s, a girl group masterminded by Frank Zappa, she was in the thick of the most revolutionary renaissance in the history of modern popular music. Warm, witty, and sexy, this kiss-and-tell–all stands out as the perfect chronicle of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most thrilling eras.
She’s been with the band…and then some.
With a flower name like Nymphaea, it’s just kismet that I would find this book. That, and I love rock and roll history. I picked this book up because it was recommended to me as a rock story to read. It’s certainly something.
The writing is unique in that it’s not a writer’s book. It’s written in a very friend-to-friend style. Like you’re talking to a friend and getting the juicy gossip. There are little bits about a lot of people in the music business, but this isn’t a nasty tell-all. It’s honestly not. Are all the stories real? I don’t know. But at least the author doesn’t trash anyone while she’s writing about them. It’s like she’s telling me about her friends and her life. I guess that’s what I liked about this book the most. It feels real.
If you’re looking for something salacious, then this might not be what you want, but if you’re interested in a book about rock and roll with a person who is a survivor, then this might be the one for you. Check it out!
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