I'm with the Band

Confessions of a Groupie

By: Pamela Des Barres, Dave Navarro

Narrated by: Pamela Des Barres

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The stylish, exuberant, and remarkably sweet confession of one of the most famous groupies of the 1960s and 70s is back 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.

©1987 Pamela Des Barres (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Sunny, uninhibited prose." (Slate.com)

"She charms me every time she refuses to regret. And she regrets nothing." (Los Angeles Times)

Never a dull moment!

Des Barres tells a hell of a tale,and I bet its all,or mostly true! She comes thru as a sweetie and tells the greatest stories! Another 'must have' for the library!

Wow!!! Free love

I really enjoyed this!!!!! I love how open & honest she is throughout the entire thing!!! I realize some people will not have a great opinion of her lifestyle but that was HER life & how things were back then!!! I would definitely recommend this !!! It’s very eye opening to the beginning of the “groupie” !!! Thank you sharing your life with us Pamela!!!

Fun and Entertaining

Some people trashed this book. But I found it super entertaining. Too bad for the curmudgeons (probably frigid) who can't have a bit of fun on this 60s romp. Pamela's story takes you down memory lane when the Laurel Canyon singer song writer movement was in its hayday.

Great story of 60's on Rock & Roll beginnings

Very honest life synopsis of a pretty young woman's life & intimacy as Rock groupie

Best narrated-by-author-memoir ever!

Would you consider the audio edition of I'm with the Band to be better than the print version?

That would disparage either the book or the reader.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author is the only real characterization -- it's a memoir after all.

What does Pamela Des Barres bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Pamela Des Barres has a lovely voice, and her reading is utterly honest, open, sincere and emotional. Also, worth mentioning, she adds current-day asides to the narration that are always fun, funny and true. (As when she describes waiting by the phone before "turning to the audience" and telling us how lucky we are when her generation didn't have cellphones or the internet or even answering machines.)

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Lots of laughs and sympathy.

Any additional comments?

Will download anything she reads.

You really get your moneys worth!

This book offers plenty of amazing and amusing stories. It’s a great read (listen) and there are PLENTY of updates that follow after the original book ends. I’m glad I checked it out!

If you love Rock!

It’s a fantastic view of a time that will never come again , from a woman who lived life her way. Well worth the listen

Enthusiastically written and read

Enthusiastically written and read by a romantic at heart. I love stories of people who live their life unapologetically without being an asshole!

This book initially chronicled her very interesting life from teenager to mid-20's, when she gets married. From Reseda to Laurel Canyon, she meets everyone who was someone in the late sixties, early seventies.

Since its first publication in 1988, she has added several epilogues, the last one is from 2018.

My favorite little parts are when she chimes in, off script, looking back years later on how things have changed. I would really like to hear in the next update how she looks back now on some of her and her friends exploits, after several years of #metoo and cancel culture (for instance the song about the young boy and the many rock stars' preference for teenage girls).

A delicious honest historical read

You have to read this in the context of the times. I first read it in the late 80s about right after when it came out and I was just discovering Sunset strip myself as a teenager, and yes groupies had a negative connotation at the time but I didn’t get that why it was a bad when everyone was having a great time, no one was getting hurt and it was just pure fun. I’m grateful that I was able to see past the sex shaming and the misogyny. I lived vicariously through my groupie friends, lol. It wasn’t perfect but it was ridiculous fun. I love this so much because it was so honest and you got a little peak of all the happenings behind all those closed doors. I admired all the artists and the like-minded souls around me was so much fun and just being able to have some idea of what it was like, just a generation before me was so cool too. Long, live, Pamela!

Excellent

A fascinating trip through a rock n roll life. Never a dull moment. I've it and you will too.