First published 2015
Chrissie Hynde opens her story in postwar Akron, Ohio, where rock gods like David Bowie and Iggy Pop first captured her soul through Cleveland radio waves. The Kent State shootings in 1970 shock her into awareness of a changing world. She flees to London in 1973, escaping bad relationships and chasing music dreams. Hynde works as a music journalist for New Musical Express and sells clothes at Malcolm McLaren's punk boutique while witnessing the birth of the movement firsthand. She struggles through failed band attempts until she finally meets the three musicians who become the original Pretenders. Their debut album launches them to instant fame, but tragedy strikes when lead guitarist James Honeyman Scott and bassist Peter Farndon both die, leaving Hynde devastated yet determined to continue. Through decades of swagger and vulnerability that defined hits like "Brass in Pocket" and "Back on the Chain Gang," she emerges as one of rock's great survivors, bridging punk and classic guitar rock with fearless honesty.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century, musicians
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Akron, Cleveland, Kent State, London
Period: 1970s, 1973
312 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday