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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
You'll Feel This Book Oct 26, 2009
This isn't a groupie book. Yes, the author was a groupie, but this book goes so much further than that I don't think it fits any niche.
My wife bought this book because she, too, was into the music scene during the sixties. Then our son read the book, and he passed it along to his daughter. Now Jenny's friends are reading it.
This is a gritty life story, full of humor, horror, and (most of all) emotion. When the author meets a rock star, we as readers meet him, too. When she's walking the canyon streets at night, so are we. When she's terrifyingly abused by her mother, the reader feels the author's fear. There's just something about Ms. Parmer's writing style that allows us to experience what she did, from joy to illness to terror to giddiness to loneliness and back around again.
If you like the sixties, regardless of your age, you'll want to read this book. It's a journey, it's a long and winding road, it's a trip!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Long Time Gone... Sep 27, 2009
...with apologies to David Crosby and also to the author. I wrote and rewrote my thoughts on this hypnotic journey through those amazing years never quite saying what I wanted to say since I first finished this book a few months ago. I reread it this past week and as I glanced through the reviews I see now that it all has been pretty much said. What a credit, Sally Parmer, that there is such a consensus in thought from those in your life, in the scene, and in the know. That pretty much should tell any review reader that Blue Jean Baby is a "Must Read."
I so enjoyed the fact that this was a story about a life and not some sleazy tell all. At the same time, there was just enough information given about some characters and bands that the author didn't have to name names and those she named were treated respectfully. The comedy, the tragedy and the triumphs of a young woman shared with sometimes brutal honesty left me just a tad envious that I grew up a just few years and a couple thousand miles away from the happenings yet thankful I never had to fight the tide. What a strong young woman. The years may be a long time gone but I felt like I was right there.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 very interesting! Aug 29, 2009
This book is not about the music scene of the sixties, but one girl's adventures with the new music crowd coming through Los Angeles and how she grew up in the midst of it all. This autobiography is an honest and open look of a teenager's growing up, dealing with an abusive mother and experiencing sex, drugs and rock and roll. It was a different world then and Sally Palmer allows us as the reader to explore the angst and wonder she felt during this turbulent time.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
For Those Who Can Handle The Truth... Aug 10, 2009
Sally Parmer's autobiography is, above all, truthful and bare-boned. She provides candor through sensitive, sometimes humorous and always courageous eyes. The countercultural Sixties were a heady time in our history, but it wasn't always brimming with peace, love and understanding (to partially quote singer Elvis Costello). Sally had a grossly dysfunctional upbringing with a wickedly abusive mother and a submissive, lackadaisical father, hence she was always trying to wend her way to Laurel Canyon where music and a semblance of love reigned supreme. (That's where I would have been!) But Sally was also smart, savvy and creative; she did what she needed in order to stay alive -- and, interspersed within those episodes of terror that involved crazy boyfriends and near-death experiences, she also tasted some incredible sweetness and sensuality with the music men that many of us women (even forty years later) would give anything to reach over the boundaries of time and touch wantonly for a night. However, I wouldn't classify Sally as a "groupie." She was someone who wanted to be close to the source of the music. In my own metaphysical terms, I would venture to state that she was seeking Godhead...and the sex was the closest elixir she could find at that juncture.
I like the fact that she left certain details to imagination and painted a stark portrayal of other details that people need to know: The Sixties weren't always as beautiful as we'd like to think they were; it was a confusing, often irrational turning point, and I openly cried over the hateful way that some people tried to vanquish Sally's soul. I am also quite relieved that she survived to recount the tale, raise a child and eke out her own artistic existence. We met recently on a public forum and I enjoyed our exchanges very deeply. If you're out there reading this review, Sally, please contact me. You folded your profile before I was able to respond to you.
Everyone...please buy Sally's book! You won't be disappointed!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Highly recommend this book!! Aug 09, 2009
This was a very incredible read. I loved every page of this book. I was just a little too young to be a part of all that scene, and this book helped me feel a part of it all. I actually could not put the book down. This book is not a "tell all" book at all, but, about a young girls life and how she lives and survives it all. I loved even more for that reason.
Sherre Mullins
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