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Rock & Roll Nightmares
Rock & Roll Nightmares: True Stories, Volume 1
Welcome To Your Nightmare
Kurt Cobain. GG Allin. Wendy O. Williams. Duane Allman. Travis Barker. Jimmy Page. Janis Joplin. Ozzy Osbourne. Chrissie Hynde. Dee Dee Ramone. Chris Cornell. Marc Bolan. Tommy Lee. Amy Winehouse. Jimi Hendrix. What do these artists all have in common? They’re rowdy rock stars whose over-the-top lifestyles spun out of control, landing them deep in Rock & Roll Nightmare territory.
You will read about:
The ill-fated 27 Club and how the whole thing got started
Rock ‘n’ roll suicides taken out by guns, pills, and booze
Shocking deaths ranging from plane crashes to spider bites
Bands beset by tragedy, from Badfinger to The Bee Gees
Alarming antics covering everyone from Keith Moon to Keith Richards
Bizarre curses and strange, unexplained incidents
Love, loss, murder, death by drowning, freak fires, and more!
Rock & Roll True Stories, Volume 1 is a meticulously-researched, up-to-date, entertaining, and shocking book that rounds up the tragic tales from the 1960s to the present day.
There is a full bibliography included.
Volume 2 continues in a separate book and covers the awful incidents at Altamont, underage groupies, Satanic panic, the murder of John Lennon, musicians who’ve died on stage, rock stars who lived on borrowed time, and more.
Be sure to check out all of the books in the Rock & Roll Nightmares series!
Kurt Cobain. GG Allin. Wendy O. Williams. Duane Allman. Travis Barker. Jimmy Page. Janis Joplin. Ozzy Osbourne. Chrissie Hynde. Dee Dee Ramone. Chris Cornell. Marc Bolan. Tommy Lee. Amy Winehouse. Jimi Hendrix. What do these artists all have in common? They’re rowdy rock stars whose over-the-top lifestyles spun out of control, landing them deep in Rock & Roll Nightmare territory.
You will read about:
The ill-fated 27 Club and how the whole thing got started
Rock ‘n’ roll suicides taken out by guns, pills, and booze
Shocking deaths ranging from plane crashes to spider bites
Bands beset by tragedy, from Badfinger to The Bee Gees
Alarming antics covering everyone from Keith Moon to Keith Richards
Bizarre curses and strange, unexplained incidents
Love, loss, murder, death by drowning, freak fires, and more!
Rock & Roll True Stories, Volume 1 is a meticulously-researched, up-to-date, entertaining, and shocking book that rounds up the tragic tales from the 1960s to the present day.
There is a full bibliography included.
Volume 2 continues in a separate book and covers the awful incidents at Altamont, underage groupies, Satanic panic, the murder of John Lennon, musicians who’ve died on stage, rock stars who lived on borrowed time, and more.
Be sure to check out all of the books in the Rock & Roll Nightmares series!
321 pages, Paperback
Published May 5, 2022
140 people are currently reading
629 people want to read
About the author
Staci Layne Wilson
53 books88 followersStaci Layne Wilson is the bestselling author of over 20 books, including the Rock & Roll Nightmares series (fictional short stories and nonfiction, all set in the world of rock) and the Immortal Confessions dark fantasy series (vampire rock stars). She is also an award-winning filmmaker whose work includes the documentary The Ventures: Stars on Guitars, and a rock & roll sci-fi comedy, The Second Age of Aquarius. In her capacity as a Hollywood historian and rock music authority, Staci Layne Wilson has appeared on MTV, Reelz Channel, CNN, Bravo, and the BBC.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 20, 2024
Staci Layne Wilson, daughter of Don Wilson, the guitarist of The Ventures, wrote this collection of vignettes about how rock stars from infamous to somewhat obscure died. Although the chapters felt like laundry lists at times ("This person died in a plane crash, half of this band died in a plane crash, also this person died in a plane" got to be the vibe after a while), there's a lot of information here.
But, while it looks like Wilson did a LOT of research (check out her bibliography), I did catch little bits and pieces that made me wonder how many other errata exist. For example:
Page 112, "the Purple One and his guitarist Dr. Fink (aka, Dez Dickerson)": Heavens to Paisley Park! Dez Dickerson was a guitarist in The Revolution until he quit after the 1999 tour. Dr. Fink, on the other hand, was a keyboard player in The Revolution. They are not the same dude! They even both appear in the movie Purple Rain, although only Fink has a speaking role and is part of The Kid's band (Dickerson appears briefly in a performance with his own band.)
It's still a good and for the biggest part correct reference, barring some fine details, as far as I could discern when I looked up various stories for more information. And there were many stories I had never heard before; I had no idea that it recently came to light that Michael Hutchence of INXS suffered a head injury and brain damage in the early 90's which might shed some light of the troubles he had in the last few years of his life. And I did, at times, enjoy Wilson's snarky humor.
But, while it looks like Wilson did a LOT of research (check out her bibliography), I did catch little bits and pieces that made me wonder how many other errata exist. For example:
Page 112, "the Purple One and his guitarist Dr. Fink (aka, Dez Dickerson)": Heavens to Paisley Park! Dez Dickerson was a guitarist in The Revolution until he quit after the 1999 tour. Dr. Fink, on the other hand, was a keyboard player in The Revolution. They are not the same dude! They even both appear in the movie Purple Rain, although only Fink has a speaking role and is part of The Kid's band (Dickerson appears briefly in a performance with his own band.)
It's still a good and for the biggest part correct reference, barring some fine details, as far as I could discern when I looked up various stories for more information. And there were many stories I had never heard before; I had no idea that it recently came to light that Michael Hutchence of INXS suffered a head injury and brain damage in the early 90's which might shed some light of the troubles he had in the last few years of his life. And I did, at times, enjoy Wilson's snarky humor.
August 31, 2023
Jeesh, where do I start on this one. I am an avid, almost fanatical, reader of rock auto/bios but this one was a total mess. Gurl, check your facts before you publish a book! I almost stopped reading after the faux pas in Chapter Three in connection with a story about Prince: "...guitarist Dr. Fink (aka, Dez Dickerson)...." First off, shame shame shame. Dr. Fink is the KEYBOARDIST, dresses like a doctor (in scrubs) and is a white man; Dez is the guitarist and a black man. I see Dez's book was referenced in the notes part of this book. He is literally on the cover of his own book with his guitar! Second glaring oversite was in Chapter Nine in connection with Frances Cobain's ex-husband. The author states The Eeries song as "Cool Kids" from 2014. Cool Kids is a song from 2013 by Echosmith. Cool Kid is the song by Silva's band from 2014.
The writing was horrible with it being almost an upchuck of stories that melded into one another like a manic 3-year-old telling about their day.
I guess I'd take the time to read the books devoted to each individual story rather than this drivel anthology intended to shock and disgust.
The writing was horrible with it being almost an upchuck of stories that melded into one another like a manic 3-year-old telling about their day.
I guess I'd take the time to read the books devoted to each individual story rather than this drivel anthology intended to shock and disgust.
May 20, 2024
Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.
The author of this book reached out to me after reading my review of Confession by Rob Halford. I’ve read a lot of memoirs and autobiographies. I have only read a handful of true stories told by someone other than the people involved. As I am a fan of many genres of rock music, I thought I would give this book a try. I love that this book covers a large group of music, everything from Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Mama Cass, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Dee Dee Ramone, Xzibit and a whole lot more.
Each chapter of the book tackles a different topic from “Chapter One: Only the Good Die Young” which talks about the infamous 27 club to “Chapter Four: Magical Mystery Tour” which talks about mysterious things that happened to some musicians over the years. There’s also “Highway to Hell”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”, “Breaking the Law”, “Tragedy”, “Flirtin’ with Disaster” and “Motherless Children”.
I don’t want to go into individual stories, but there is one that really caught my interest. I’m sure you remember Iron Butterfly with the single In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Well, one of the bassist (there were several over the years), was a true genius. Philip Taylor Kramer was from Ohio and when he left the band, he went back to school and got an aerospace engineering degree. He worked for the Department of Defense on the MX missile guidance system, he also worked on data compression software with Randy Jackson of The Jackson Five. He also worked on video compression and was going to be an expert witness for the OJ trial before he disappeared. And mysterious disappearance doesn’t quite cover it. I had never heard about this before, but there is an Unsolved Mysteries episode about it, and I will be looking it up.
Narration:
As I said, I haven’t listened to a lot of non-fiction books that aren’t memoirs told by the people involved. There isn’t much dialogue in this book, so this narration is way different than I’m used to. The narration isn’t bad, it just took me a bit to get used to. I would very much listen to this narrator again. I would actually like to hear him narrate something a little more my normal style to see how he does there. I really did get lost in his storytelling.
**I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The author of this book reached out to me after reading my review of Confession by Rob Halford. I’ve read a lot of memoirs and autobiographies. I have only read a handful of true stories told by someone other than the people involved. As I am a fan of many genres of rock music, I thought I would give this book a try. I love that this book covers a large group of music, everything from Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Mama Cass, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Dee Dee Ramone, Xzibit and a whole lot more.
Each chapter of the book tackles a different topic from “Chapter One: Only the Good Die Young” which talks about the infamous 27 club to “Chapter Four: Magical Mystery Tour” which talks about mysterious things that happened to some musicians over the years. There’s also “Highway to Hell”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”, “Breaking the Law”, “Tragedy”, “Flirtin’ with Disaster” and “Motherless Children”.
I don’t want to go into individual stories, but there is one that really caught my interest. I’m sure you remember Iron Butterfly with the single In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Well, one of the bassist (there were several over the years), was a true genius. Philip Taylor Kramer was from Ohio and when he left the band, he went back to school and got an aerospace engineering degree. He worked for the Department of Defense on the MX missile guidance system, he also worked on data compression software with Randy Jackson of The Jackson Five. He also worked on video compression and was going to be an expert witness for the OJ trial before he disappeared. And mysterious disappearance doesn’t quite cover it. I had never heard about this before, but there is an Unsolved Mysteries episode about it, and I will be looking it up.
Narration:
As I said, I haven’t listened to a lot of non-fiction books that aren’t memoirs told by the people involved. There isn’t much dialogue in this book, so this narration is way different than I’m used to. The narration isn’t bad, it just took me a bit to get used to. I would very much listen to this narrator again. I would actually like to hear him narrate something a little more my normal style to see how he does there. I really did get lost in his storytelling.
**I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
November 30, 2025
It is what it says it is. There are little tidbits of information you may or may not know but having gotten through this, you'll likely come away with the feeling you might after reading a supermarket tabloid. "Why did I spend minutes of my life reading this?" A guilty pleasure without the pleasure.
The writing style gets a little annoying too. She refers to artists by a song title so for instance, Jimi Hendrix might be referred to as the "Purple Haze" guitarist. Once in a while is one thing but it was an almost standard description for everyone she writes about. One other word of caution: she makes a point of describing bodies as they were found. Unless you are really interested in what shade of blue they were, what position their rigor mortis left them in, and even who was decapitated or unrecognizable, this is not a book you'll appreciate.
The writing style gets a little annoying too. She refers to artists by a song title so for instance, Jimi Hendrix might be referred to as the "Purple Haze" guitarist. Once in a while is one thing but it was an almost standard description for everyone she writes about. One other word of caution: she makes a point of describing bodies as they were found. Unless you are really interested in what shade of blue they were, what position their rigor mortis left them in, and even who was decapitated or unrecognizable, this is not a book you'll appreciate.
December 6, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this book.Being a music lover and music being my everything. Many stories about artists I know and have met over the years of my 424 concerts. Some happy stories some sad and some crazy LOL! I learned some new facts and a refresher in others I knew.I am looking forward to reading Volume 2. I do not want to give away any of the stories but if you enjoy stories about Kurt Cobain, Ozzy,Led Zepplin,Jimmy Hendrix, Tommy Lee this are some of the stories you will read about and many many more artists from the 60s till today. Also lots about the 27 club which is always sad. I hope take a chance and read this as it will not disappoint.Cheers!
October 31, 2022
Some real life horror in here
This was an interesting collection of info involving musicians and their untimely or bizarre deaths. Some of these stories I had heard bits and pieces of over time, while others were new to me.
Being someone who’s a sucker for the macabre, I especially found the stories about GG Allin and Dead interesting.
If you’re into music, the resiliency that seems to accompany the rock star life, or controversial humans, to say the least, I think you’d enjoy this read.
This was an interesting collection of info involving musicians and their untimely or bizarre deaths. Some of these stories I had heard bits and pieces of over time, while others were new to me.
Being someone who’s a sucker for the macabre, I especially found the stories about GG Allin and Dead interesting.
If you’re into music, the resiliency that seems to accompany the rock star life, or controversial humans, to say the least, I think you’d enjoy this read.
July 19, 2023
This book left me feeling terrible! I felt my entire being needed a shower, body, soul, and spirit.
I enjoyed the first chapter. It was a detailed account of the infamous '27 Club',
but everything after that was, well, a look into evil. Especially the 2nd chapter, 'Rock and Roll Suicide'. The details of Per 'Dead' Ohlin were the most disturbing. I've never heard of him or his band Mayhem before reading this chapter, and I wish I never did.
Most of the information in this book is widely available online, and very little of it was new to me.
I enjoyed the first chapter. It was a detailed account of the infamous '27 Club',
but everything after that was, well, a look into evil. Especially the 2nd chapter, 'Rock and Roll Suicide'. The details of Per 'Dead' Ohlin were the most disturbing. I've never heard of him or his band Mayhem before reading this chapter, and I wish I never did.
Most of the information in this book is widely available online, and very little of it was new to me.
January 22, 2023
Phenominal Wooven storytelling.
Staci takes you on a journey of Rock Legend history that starts focuses on an artist and flawlessly bleeds into the next artist, but not before turning over every stone(other artists) that passed during or around same time line. Extraordinary work. I lost track of time and to think there's a new volume out 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
Staci takes you on a journey of Rock Legend history that starts focuses on an artist and flawlessly bleeds into the next artist, but not before turning over every stone(other artists) that passed during or around same time line. Extraordinary work. I lost track of time and to think there's a new volume out 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘
February 10, 2024
I thought this was well written and well researched. Some of the stories have been repeated so many times....but if you're writing a book about rock star tragedies you have to include them. "Disturbing details" is right. Chapter after chapter of disturbing details. It got sort of depressing by the time I got to the end.
October 16, 2022
I won this book from Goodreads and was looking forward to reading it. It had a lot of information in it but not well organized and every story seemed to melt into the next one, maybe this is the way the author wanted it but I found it kind of confusing.
February 17, 2023
Sad but true accounts and reminders
Quick and enjoyable read. Having collected rock autobiographies and faithfully attending concerts my entire life, I still learned new tidbits or was at least reminded of past events.
Quick and enjoyable read. Having collected rock autobiographies and faithfully attending concerts my entire life, I still learned new tidbits or was at least reminded of past events.
May 27, 2023
Wow, Great Read
Love the book, a quick read in sense it is a collection of short stories. Learned a lot of unknown rock history and enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to seeing Vol 2
Love the book, a quick read in sense it is a collection of short stories. Learned a lot of unknown rock history and enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to seeing Vol 2
October 30, 2022
Thanks for the kindle copy.
My husband will like this better than I did.
My husband will like this better than I did.
February 13, 2023
okay book... pretty much knew all of it... but it was okay
August 14, 2023
Ok rehashing of lurid rock and roll tragedies. Nothing really new here. I’d check out another volume.
November 10, 2023
Great stories written with wit, humor, and oodles of style.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews