Books › I'm with the Band
I'm with the Band
First published 1987 · 320 pages
A breathless, unapologetic backstage pass to the golden age of rock and roll, fueled by pure enthusiasm and radical freedom.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like flipping through the glitter-dusted diary of your wildest, most uninhibited friend. The pace is brisk and breathless, sweeping you into a hazy, electric world of backstage parties, velvet bell-bottoms, and Sunset Strip decadence. Rather than a cautionary tale, the narrative is remarkably sweet and unapologetic, radiating a starry-eyed enthusiasm for the music and the men who made it. The prose is chatty and intimate, inviting you to sit cross-legged on the floor while the narrator spills her most glamorous secrets. It is a joyful, hedonistic ride that will delight anyone fascinated by rock mythology, the complexities of the muse dynamic, and the radical, messy freedom of coming of age in the counterculture.
- Mood
- electric
- hedonistic
- nostalgic
- hazy
- Tone
- exuberant
- candid
- unapologetic
- starry-eyed
- gossipy
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- sexual liberation · rock and roll mythology · the muse dynamic · coming of age in the counterculture · the allure of fame
- The writing
- The writing is breathless, chatty, and diary-like, spilling over with unabashed enthusiasm and intimate confessions.
- The arc
- The journey moves from wide-eyed teenage infatuation to a seasoned, joyful reflection on a wildly unconventional youth.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave a backstage pass to the 1960s and 70s rock scene, guided by a narrator who embraces her sexuality and desires without an ounce of shame.
Content notes
- drug use
- sexual content
- toxic relationships
- underage partying
About the book
The 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.
Description from Open Library.
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