# Where can I find anecdotes about (then) struggling rock stars/bands? Do you know any? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522 "2008-06-27T23:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/1 "2008-06-27T23:54:24Z")
I thought for sure this would be any easy item to find online, but multiple searches have proven fruitless. The only story I thought I knew was that Madonna survived on popcorn for a month or so after arriving in New York from Michigan. But then I learned she actually came to learn ballet and the music thing didn’t happen for almost three years. One of her breaks was with touring with Patrick Hernandez (“Born to Be Alive”) in Europe, but as a dancer, not singer. I’m hoping there’s a simpler place to find this information than by watching the entire VH-1 Behind the Music catalog. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/2 "2008-06-28T00:35:25Z")
Jewel lived in her car with her mother for awhile. Otherwise, I think Behind the Music is your best bet. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/3 "2008-06-28T02:40:42Z")
The Beatles never had jobs outside of music (except, I think, for Ringo). They played the Liverpool clubs for next to nothing while living with their relatives. They weren’t paid all that much in Hamburg, either – enough to get by (when they weren’t being stiffed by their bosses), but lived in crummy housing provided by the clubs they played at. Until Brian Epstein discovered them, they were just barely scraping by. Kris Kristofferson scraped along in the beginning with odd jobs, finally getting a job as a janitor at Columbia Studios in Nashville, where he met Johnny Cash, who liked his songs, but didn’t record them. He then became a helicopter pilot, writing songs on the side, until others began recording his music. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/4 "2008-06-28T03:09:47Z")
They’re called books. 🙂 Go to any library and look for the rock bios section. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/5 "2008-06-28T08:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] They’re called books. 🙂 Go to any library and look for the rock bios section. [/QUOTE] I figured someone would call me on that. I was at one today. I’m a bit limited on time, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/6 "2008-06-28T13:04:57Z")
On his Masterclass CD, Billy Joel tells a story about going on tour as the opening act for the J. Geils Band. (!) First night: Raucous crowd: “BOOGIE!” Billy Joel: “Sing us a song, you’re the piano man . . .” RBC: “BOOOOOOO!” “Get him off the stage!!” BJ (aside to his band): “Guess we better learn some boogie stuff” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/7 "2008-06-28T14:06:52Z")
[QUOTE=Moonchild] I thought for sure this would be any easy item to find online, but multiple searches have proven fruitless. The only story I thought I knew was that Madonna survived on popcorn for a month or so after arriving in New York from Michigan. But then I learned she actually came to learn ballet and the music thing didn’t happen for almost three years. One of her breaks was with touring with Patrick Hernandez (“Born to Be Alive”) in Europe, but as a dancer, not singer. I’m hoping there’s a simpler place to find this information than by watching the entire VH-1 Behind the Music catalog. Thanks. [/QUOTE] While \*\*Exapno’s \*\*reply is a bit curt, he’s right. If you want to tell us what particular rock-music sub-category, time period or artists you want to focus on, I suspect many of us Dopers will have books and/or websites worth pointing out to you… ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/8 "2008-06-28T14:16:34Z")
Randy Bachman has a show on CBC called [Vinyl Tap](http://www.cbc.ca/vinyltap/) , which frequently features anecdotes from throughout his career. Like the first time The Guess Who toured the states, and before they left Winnipeg they all got these matching powder blue mod suits. They thought they were going to be the height of hippie fashion until their first gig, when they realized they were opening for Frank Zappa and they looked like dorks… ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/9 "2008-06-28T21:34:01Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] While \*\*Exapno’s \*\*reply is a bit curt, he’s right. If you want to tell us what particular rock-music sub-category, time period or artists you want to focus on, I suspect many of us Dopers will have books and/or websites worth pointing out to you… [/QUOTE] Rock n’ Roll (hard rock, metal, classic, Motown, modern), relatively well known/famous, 70s-present. Heck, 50s-present would work. No disagreement with Exapno’s reply, just limited with time is all… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2008, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-i-find-anecdotes-about-then-struggling-rock-stars-bands-do-you-know-any/454522/10 "2008-06-29T00:20:53Z")
read\*\* The Dirt \*\* by Motley Crue with Neil Strauss and \*\*Please Kill Me: An Uncensored Oral History of Punk \*\* by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain