First published in 1987, New York Times bestseller, I'm With The Band has been reprinted throughout the years, all over the world. This is the stylish, exuberant and sweetly innocent tale of one of the most famous groupies of the 1960s and 70s.The story begins with Pamela Des Barres's early obsession with Elvis, her own Beatlemania madness, and her fierce determination to meet the musicians who rocked her world. As soon as she graduated from high school, Des Barres headed for the Sunset Strip, where she made friends with rock stars and immersed herself in the drugs, danger and ecstasy of the freewheeling 1960s. As a member of The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously), which was an all-female group masterminded by Frank Zappa, Des Barres was in the thick of the most revolutionary renaissance in the history of modern popular music. She travelled 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 and Ray Davies. She had affairs with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Waylon Jennings, Chris Hillman, Noel Redding, and Jim Morrison, among others. She was a mentor and companion, designing the stars costumes, standing by their side through drug and alcohol use and abuse, maintaining friendships through relationships, break-ups and beyond.A woman in possession of her own destiny, Des Barres blazed a trail for women s life-writing, standing up for female voices and experience everywhere. She now runs writing workshops around the world her Groupie Therapy mentoring women writers in their craft. From original diaries, told with great warmth, chutzpah and joie de vivre, this is a frank memoir that wears its heart on its sleeve, and recalls one of rock n roll s most thrilling eras.This edition contains new material from the author, including her response to the vitriolic shaming of groupies, and a foreword by Roisin O'Connor, rock journalist and music correspondent for The Independent.

For the first time, music legend Tom Petty’s spouse and muse of 25 years opens up about their intimate, shared lives in this memoir filled with personal anecdotes, and bittersweet reminiscing.Inseparable from their first kiss playing Spin the Bottle, Tom and Jane Petty were rock and roll monarchs cruising around the country on wild band tours and spreading their musical magic. But before heading to Hollywood, or “Hollyweird” as Jane refers to it, she and Tom were just two lost and confused teenagers from Gainesville, Florida whose lives became completely intertwined the minute they met. At the age of 13, Jane’s younger sister Robin was killed by a car while in her care, and Jane’s world shattered. Her mother threw herself into the church, leaving Jane to struggle with her grief and guilt. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Tom was suffering abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father, as his passive mother watched. As a result, both Jane and Tom found peace and solace in their teenage romance and the growing bond between them. Jane’s abrupt loss of childhood had turned her into a caretaker and protector, something Tom desperately needed. She’d continue to inspire and challenge him through their decades together. Many of Tom’s greatest hits, including “Here Comes My Girl,” “Listen To Her Heart,” and, of course, “American Girl” were written for Jane.With Tom on the road and holding down the fort while raising their two daughters, Jane had Tom’s back through their shared drug abuse, bankruptcy, a devastating house fire (which inspired the hit “I Won’t Back Down”), until her battle with depression and his disappearance into hard drugs split them up after 25 years of marriage.Complete with a Foreword by respected music journalist, David Wild, and exclusive photos, American Girl, American Dreams rounds out a complete portrait of the All-American girl who was Runnin’ Down a Dream.

Author of the international bestseller I''m with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, Pamela Des Barres shares with women the art of memoir writing.For the last fourteen years, Pamela Des Barres has been teaching an eight-week women''s "femoir" writing workshop. She found that the music-loving ladies who showed up at her door had pent-up stories to tell. Many of them had read her two memoirs, which were wildly personal and deeply confessional, and felt comfortable opening up and experiencing that same freedom of expression.     In this book, Des Barres guides women through the process of writing their memoirs. She has developed exercises to help her "dolls" recall, remember, relive, and reveal their memories, transgressions, temptations, their sleepless nights and brilliant afternoons, loves and losses, fears and regrets, secrets, sins, and sorrows. The assignments in Femoir have proven incredibly cathartic for her students. Just as intimate as one of her in-person workshops, this book includes some of Des Barres''s own stories, as well as those of the women she''s taught.      Every person has an incredible story to tell—they just need to figure out how to tell it. By understanding themselves better through these writing exercises, women learn to be more fearless, free-spirited, and willing to try something new.

First published in 1987, New York Times bestseller, I'm With The Band has been reprinted throughout the years, all over the world. This is the stylish, exuberant and sweetly innocent tale of one of the most famous groupies of the 1960s and 70s.The story begins with Pamela Des Barres's early obsession with Elvis, her own Beatlemania madness, and her fierce determination to meet the musicians who rocked her world. As soon as she graduated from high school, Des Barres headed for the Sunset Strip, where she made friends with rock stars and immersed herself in the drugs, danger and ecstasy of the freewheeling 1960s. As a member of The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously), which was an all-female group masterminded by Frank Zappa, Des Barres was in the thick of the most revolutionary renaissance in the history of modern popular music. She travelled 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 and Ray Davies. She had affairs with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon, Waylon Jennings, Chris Hillman, Noel Redding, and Jim Morrison, among others. She was a mentor and companion, designing the stars costumes, standing by their side through drug and alcohol use and abuse, maintaining friendships through relationships, break-ups and beyond.A woman in possession of her own destiny, Des Barres blazed a trail for women s life-writing, standing up for female voices and experience everywhere. She now runs writing workshops around the world her Groupie Therapy mentoring women writers in their craft. From original diaries, told with great warmth, chutzpah and joie de vivre, this is a frank memoir that wears its heart on its sleeve, and recalls one of rock n roll s most thrilling eras.This edition contains new material from the author, including her response to the vitriolic shaming of groupies, and a foreword by Roisin O'Connor, rock journalist and music correspondent for The Independent.

For the first time, music legend Tom Petty’s spouse and muse of 25 years opens up about their intimate, shared lives in this memoir filled with personal anecdotes, and bittersweet reminiscing.Inseparable from their first kiss playing Spin the Bottle, Tom and Jane Petty were rock and roll monarchs cruising around the country on wild band tours and spreading their musical magic. But before heading to Hollywood, or “Hollyweird” as Jane refers to it, she and Tom were just two lost and confused teenagers from Gainesville, Florida whose lives became completely intertwined the minute they met. At the age of 13, Jane’s younger sister Robin was killed by a car while in her care, and Jane’s world shattered. Her mother threw herself into the church, leaving Jane to struggle with her grief and guilt. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Tom was suffering abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father, as his passive mother watched. As a result, both Jane and Tom found peace and solace in their teenage romance and the growing bond between them. Jane’s abrupt loss of childhood had turned her into a caretaker and protector, something Tom desperately needed. She’d continue to inspire and challenge him through their decades together. Many of Tom’s greatest hits, including “Here Comes My Girl,” “Listen To Her Heart,” and, of course, “American Girl” were written for Jane.With Tom on the road and holding down the fort while raising their two daughters, Jane had Tom’s back through their shared drug abuse, bankruptcy, a devastating house fire (which inspired the hit “I Won’t Back Down”), until her battle with depression and his disappearance into hard drugs split them up after 25 years of marriage.Complete with a Foreword by respected music journalist, David Wild, and exclusive photos, American Girl, American Dreams rounds out a complete portrait of the All-American girl who was Runnin’ Down a Dream.

Author of the international bestseller I''m with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie, Pamela Des Barres shares with women the art of memoir writing.For the last fourteen years, Pamela Des Barres has been teaching an eight-week women''s "femoir" writing workshop. She found that the music-loving ladies who showed up at her door had pent-up stories to tell. Many of them had read her two memoirs, which were wildly personal and deeply confessional, and felt comfortable opening up and experiencing that same freedom of expression.     In this book, Des Barres guides women through the process of writing their memoirs. She has developed exercises to help her "dolls" recall, remember, relive, and reveal their memories, transgressions, temptations, their sleepless nights and brilliant afternoons, loves and losses, fears and regrets, secrets, sins, and sorrows. The assignments in Femoir have proven incredibly cathartic for her students. Just as intimate as one of her in-person workshops, this book includes some of Des Barres''s own stories, as well as those of the women she''s taught.      Every person has an incredible story to tell—they just need to figure out how to tell it. By understanding themselves better through these writing exercises, women learn to be more fearless, free-spirited, and willing to try something new.