Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Andy Warhol’s “Mrs. Rockstar” Is Writing a Book

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Liz Derringer, a well known New York press agent, was married to rocker Rick Derringer for 22 years. She grew up with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and has been friends with Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall for most of her adult life.

Now Derringer is sending around a book proposal called “Joy Ride: My Life as Mrs. Rockstar Wasn’t What I Wanted After All.”

The 74 page proposal (co-written with Billboard magazine’s Chuck Taylor)  is funny and lively without destroying of all of Liz’s relationships or selling anyone out.

“Joy Ride” begins with Derringer being introduced to Andy Warhol. She subsequently met people like Todd Rundgren and his girlfriend Bebe Buell. Derringer introduced Buell–still her close friend–to Steven Tyler. The result was Liv Tyler.

It’s just one of many inside stories in “Joy Ride.” But a lot of the book pertains to her marriage to Derringer, who had hits like “Hang on Sloopy” and “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo.” He also played with and produced the albums of Edgar Winter,  including the hit, “Frankenstein.”

The book should make a great complement to Buell’s best seller of a few years ago, “Rebel Heart,” and Tyler’s upcoming book.

The “Joy Ride” proposal kept me reading right through as Liz pursues Derringer, then part of the McCoys. She and her friend Andi Feldman–who becomes Warhol superstar Andrea Whipps–get entangled with Jimi Hendrix, Noel Redding and their early band. They’re right at the center of Warhol’s world and in the middle of New York’s rock scene. When the McCoys merge with Edgar and Johnny Winter, Derringer–who at last succumbs to teenage Liz–is integral.

Some publisher is going to gobble up “Joy Ride” shortly, and with any luck we’ll get to read more of these stories in the next year.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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