Jo’s Pick of the Week: Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid captures the wild and crazy 1970s rock ‘n roll scene in her fun new novel, Daisy Jones & The Six.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Reid said she “wanted it to feel like an episode of Behind the Music, as if you were hearing it from the people directly. That there was no filter. The conclusion I came to was that it had to be an oral history.” Reid succeeds in her unusual format, and the result is a page-turner that explores the band’s rise to fame and their sudden breakup. The result is so authentic, that readers might think Daisy Jones was a real person and The Six was a real band.

I cared about the band members and their struggles, especially the lead singers and songwriters, Daisy and Billy. Billy formed the band, known as The Six, with his brother. They found success because of Billy’s great voice and song lyrics. Despite their initial success, Billy struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, and staying clean and faithful while on the road away from his wife. When the beautiful, pill-popping Daisy later joins the group with her singing prowess, the band shoots to fame. Billy feels threatened by her wanting to have input on their performances, yet drawn to the dynamic young woman. Daisy wants recognition for her songwriting talents, not just for her gorgeous looks.

Reese Witherspoon, who picke Daisy Jones & The Six for her March book club selection, is producing a 13-episode television series for Amazon featuring original music. I can’t wait to see who plays Daisy and Billy.

The book was an enjoyable visit back to the 1970s, when I rocked out to Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles. It put me in the mood to revisit some of the great classics of that decade. Need inspiration? Here’s a list of Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of the 1970s, and many can be found in Cook Memorial Library District’s CD collection, and if you have a Cook Library card, on Hoopla.