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Pop Rock Nation

Author: Jenny

  • Bobbie Brown’s Dirty Rocker Boys…

    Bobbie Brown’s Dirty Rocker Boys…

    I love a good trashy tell-all. I sure found one in spades when I read Bobbie Brown’s Dirty Rocker Boys…

    Remember this song?


    Warrant’s biggest hit…

    Back in the early 1990s, Warrant’s “Cherry Pie” was a big hit. I was in college when the song and the video were especially popular. One guy I knew had a girlfriend and he used to affectionately called her “Sherry Pie”, a moniker that soon spread to the rest of his female friends. For awhile, a couple of my male buddies were routinely calling me “Jenny Pie”, even though I was never a big fan of hairbands nor was I dating any of those guys.

    Over twenty years later, I happened to be snooping TelevisionWithoutPity.com for information about former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, Courtney Cook, who had mysteriously left the team for some dramatic reason not revealed on the DCC’s reality TV show, Making the Team. I didn’t find any relevant information about Courtney Cook’s sudden departure from the team, but someone did post a link to the 1987 Miss Teen USA pageant, which featured performances by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

    In 1987, current DCC director Kelli Finglass was still on the team at performed at the pageant. Team choreographer, Judy Trammell, also happened to be performing that night. As I watched the clip of them, it occurred to me that I had actually seen the pageant when it originally aired. Since my husband was out of town, I ended up watching the entire pageant. One of the contestants that year was Bobbie Brown, who was Miss Teen Louisiana and had a crazy future ahead of her as a model, video star, and ex wife and lover of several rock stars and actors.


    Bobbie Brown’s interview begins at 3:15. In a prophetic statement, she says that she loves modeling and hopes to find an agent who can “get her work”.

    Bobbie Brown has been through a whole lot since her fresh faced appearances at the Miss Teen USA pageant in 1987. After that experience, she moved to Los Angeles, where she proceeded to audition for the hit talent show, Star Search. I know from my prior Pop Rock Nation posts on Star Search, people still love that show… Well, Bobbie Brown was very successful in the spokesmodel competition, winning a record 13 times before she finally lost to Debbie James, the other finalist in the $100,000 competition.


    This video shows Bobbie Brown’s career on Star Search…

    Somehow, I ran across the news that in 2013, Bobbie Brown was going to release a tell all book called Dirty Rocker Boys. Brown wrote this book with assistance from ghost writer, Caroline Ryder. Since I love trashy tell-alls by celebrities, I decided to download the book. As of early this morning, I have finished the book and am left with mixed impressions. The book, which is written as if Bobbie Brown is sitting in the room talking to you, is full of lurid details about her sexual escapades with a long line of rock stars. She started with the relatively benign Matthew Nelson of Nelson, then moved on to Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli. Jani Lane, lead singer of Warrant eventually became her husband for three years and fathered her daughter, Taylar. When Lane began drinking heavily and cheating on her, Brown moved on to Tommy Lee, whom she was “seeing” right up until Lee’s marriage to Pamela Anderson, one of Brown’s contemporaries and a big star in her own right.

    After partying with Tommy Lee, Brown moved on to Mark McGrath, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sebastian Bach, Ashley Hamilton and then Dave Navarro. She writes that Orgy’s Jay Gordon taught her why some women love receiving oral sex. She also had minor trysts with Kevin Costner and Rod Stewart. What I thought was especially funny was that at one point, she wondered if Tommy Lee had any sexually transmitted infections. Under the circumstances, I would have wondered the same thing about Bobbie Brown. She certainly got around. Her lifestyle in the 1990s was all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

    Bobbie writes about her upbringing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and about how her father wasn’t around much when she was growing up. She had big dreams of being a Hollywood star and she did have some brief fame in her modeling pursuits. Unfortunately, besides getting sexually involved with rock stars, she made the choice to take drugs. Brown is very detailed as she describes her experiences with crystal meth, cocaine, and speed. She explains that the drugs helped her feel like she was in control, and yet they were the main reason why she ended up broke and nearly homeless on several occasions. More than once, she sent her daughter, Taylar, to her mother in Louisiana because her own life was such a mess.

    At times, Brown comes across as likable enough. She does seem to have a pretty good sense of humor and a good heart. At other times, she comes off as immature, self-centered, and self-pitying. It’s hard to reconcile that sweet-faced teenager who was Miss Teen Louisiana in 1987 with the skanky, foul-mouthed, drug-addicted ho she eventually became in the 1990s. On the other hand, I did expect to read trash and I got what I came for, I guess. Brown also includes photos, some of which are a bit graphic. Besides the photos of her family and exes, there are also a couple of photos of her in bed just after having had sex. There’s another one of her tonguing one of her many paramours. One weird shot makes her look almost like she’s been decapitated. Since Bobbie Brown is a model, I’m surprised she’d want that image in her book.

    Anyway, if you’re looking for a trashy tell-all about hairbands and hos, I would say you’ll find it in spades with Dirty Rocker Boys… though in fairness, that title should probably also include dirty skanks, too. Seems to me that Bobbie Brown gave as good as she got, though by the end of the book, it did seem like she was starting to change her ways and had developed more depth of character. She had kind things to say about Jani Lane, who sadly died alone in a Comfort Inn after an alcoholic binge. She had developed a relationship with her father, who died about two weeks after her beloved stepfather had passed away. And it sounds like her daughter, Taylar, was smart enough to see that the hedonistic excesses of rock star life were not for her. I’d say that’s somewhat close to a happy ending.

    If you like lurid tell alls and are curious about Bobbie Brown, I’d say her book is worth reading. It’s a definite pass for those who don’t want to read about sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

  • Rest in Peace, Ray Price…

    Rest in Peace, Ray Price…

    A popular country legend has died. Rest in Peace, Ray Price…

    On Sunday afternoon, I was watching a movie on CMT when I noticed a banner across the bottom of the screen that read that country legend Ray Price had died at age 87. I immediately remembered his crossover country pop hit from 1970, “For the Good Times”, which I had heard many times over the years. I posted about Price’s death on Facebook and a friend later said that Price’s death was a rumor. It turned out that it was true Price’s death was a rumor, but only for a few more hours. Ray Price died yesterday at his home in Mount Pleasant, Texas. He was 87 years old and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. He would have been 88 on January 12, 2014.

    Price was well-known for a career that spanned almost 40 years. He had a couple of big hits in the 1950s in “Crazy Arms” and “Heartaches By The Number”.


    Ray Price performs “Crazy Arms” and “Heartaches By The Number” live, well after they were hits.

    Ray Price considered Hank Williams a mentor and they toured together during the 50s. When Williams died at age 29 in 1953, Ray Price took over his band. According to the Los Angeles Times, Price also came up with what was later dubbed the “Ray Price shuffle”. Early country music songs often emphasized the second and fourth beats of a measure. Price asked his bass player to play each beat evenly, which changed the way his music sounded. The band thought it sounded odd, but the change proved to be popular with listeners. Price had a hit that was on the chart for 45 weeks!

    Ray Price also notably helped launch the careers of several country singers. Willie Nelson, Johnny Paycheck, Roger Miller, and Johnny Bush were all once members of his band, the Cherokee Cowboys. Indeed, it was Willie Nelson who broke the news of Ray Price’s death to me last night, just as I was about to go to sleep. Okay, it was Willie Nelson’s Facebook page that broke the news, which is probably run by someone who works with him. But still, it was pretty obvious that Price had earned a place of respect among plenty of great singers in popular country music.

    I will admit that when Ray Price was really popular, I either wasn’t born or wasn’t interested in country music. But there is one song, written by Kris Kristofferson, which I will always associate with the late singer. That would be the gentle break up ballad, “For The Good Times”…


    Ray Price sings “For The Good Times” live…

    There’s something really touching and sweet about this song. The lyrics are comforting and kindly, even though they are about a couple parting ways. The melody is lovely, too. “For The Good Times” resonated with a lot of audiences and was a huge hit. It’s one of those classic songs that will always be in style.

    He also sang a beautiful version of “Danny Boy”, a song that is near and dear to a lot of people, especially those of us with Celtic heritage.


    This song is paired with a lovely video.

    And here, he sings the classic “Faded Love” with Willie Nelson.


    I never knew they did this together, but I like it…

    Ray Price lived a long and fruitful life and he leaves behind quite a remarkable legacy. I hope wherever he is right now, he is at peace. I am sure that forevermore, he will be remembered “for the good times”…

  • A review of Pat Benatar’s Between a Heart and a Rock Place

    A review of Pat Benatar’s Between a Heart and a Rock Place

    Between A Heart and a Rock Place
    Between A Heart and a Rock Place

    With a career spanning decades, Pat Benatar is one of rock’s leading ladies. Here’s a review of Pat Benatar’s Between A Heart and a Rock Place.

    I have enjoyed Pat Benatar’s powerhouse vocals ever since I was a young girl. I was introduced to her music by FM radio and my older sister, Sarah, who happened to own a copy of Benatar’s 1980 album, Crimes of Passion, on vinyl. That album has the distinction of being the very first one I ever purchased with my own money. I bought it at a local discount store, having walked there all by myself. I took the record home and played it over and over again. Pat Benatar’s music was a big part of the soundtrack of my youth. I was excited when I saw her 2010 memoir Between a Heart and a Rock Place for sale on Amazon.com. I managed to finish it within a couple of days.

    Benatar starts at the beginning, writing about her upbringing in Lindenhurst, Long Island in a close-knit Polish-Irish family. She took to music early and caught the attention of choir teachers in her local school district. Because she had an extraordinary voice from an early age, she took voice lessons. She set her sights on attending Juilliard and becoming an opera singer. Her voice was supposedly not unlike Julie Andrews’. But then Pat fell in love with her first husband, Dennis Benatar, and temporarily abandoned her music dreams in favor of a brief stint in college. She decided she’d teach sex ed.

    Dennis Benatar was a draftee in the Army and when Pat married him, she became an Army wife. She was moved to South Carolina and Virginia and she eventually took jobs working in banks. She was good at the work, but still wanted to sing. After seeing Liza Minnelli perform at the Richmond Coliseum, Pat’s desire to be a singer was rekindled. She took a job as a singing waitress in Richmond. Later, when Dennis got out of the Army, they moved back to New York and Pat started singing regularly at a club called Catch A Rising Star.

    It wasn’t long before Pat Benatar’s star began to rise. She found a manager and assembled a band. She recorded some songs and soon met the man who would become her star guitarist and husband, Neil Giraldo. Pat Benatar refers to him as “Spyder”. Though their relationship was initially professional, Pat eventually divorced Dennis Benatar and married Spyder. They have two daughters, Haley and Hana, and have been married since 1982.

    One thing I like to do before and after I read a book is check out what other people have to say about them. Many folks on Amazon.com seemed to think Pat Benatar’s life story is dull and boring. I didn’t feel that way at all. It’s true that as rock stars go, Pat Benatar has led a pretty straight-laced lifestyle. She doesn’t smoke, drink, do drugs, or have random sex with other celebrities. She doesn’t have a lot of juicy gossip to share with readers. What she does have is a story about her time pioneering rock music as a woman. Back in the dark ages of the 1980s, there weren’t a whole lot of female rock stars. Benatar was expected to be sexy and sultry, even though she wasn’t really like that. She had to deal with a lot of sexism.

    Benatar writes a lot about her dealings with her first label, Chrysalis, which was co-founded by Briton Terry Ellis. I was interested in reading about Ellis because I read Ray Coleman’s 1994 book The Carpenters: The Untold Story, which revealed that Ellis had dated Karen Carpenter. Coleman wrote a lot about their relationship and why it eventually failed. I got the impression that Terry Ellis was “fun” and liked to go out on the town. Pat Benatar’s comments about Ellis were far from complimentary. They had a strictly business relationship and Ellis apparently overworked her and treated her like a sex object. He even told her that people don’t go to a Pat Benatar concert to hear her sing! What?!!

    Aside from the business aspect of her music career, Benatar also writes about working with her husband, who is quite the musical genius. She comes across as very down-to-earth and family oriented. I got the sense that I would like Pat Benatar as a person. Benatar also includes color photos, which were fun to look at. I particularly enjoyed the photo of her daughters, born nine years apart. They look like they could be twins! Benatar was a very devoted mother to them and writes of getting them tickets to see Miley Cyrus, N-Sync, and other teen oriented acts. She’s charming as she explains that just like every other mom, she’s been to her share of teeny bopper concerts!

    Benatar also has a special love for a place in Hawaii. She writes lovingly of Hana, a small town in Maui, where she and Spyder got married and eventually built a home. Her description of the place makes me want to visit. It sounds heavenly.

    I really enjoyed Between a Heart and a Rock Place and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read memoirs about rock stars. Don’t read it expecting to read juicy gossip, though. Read it to learn about an extraordinary and dynamic woman’s rise to the top in a male oriented business. Pat Benatar is a great role model for young women. I’m proud to endorse her book.


    Pat Benatar sings “Heartbreaker” in 2001.