Permanent Damage

May 1, 2021
A repetitive catalog of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll by a pioneering groupie. "It was never a goal for me to be famous. I wanted to be infamous." So writes Fontenot (1949-2020), a member of the Frank Zappa creation called the GTOs, or Girls Together Outrageously, who recorded an album that, Dee Dee Ramone exclaims later in the book, he paid $500 for on the used-disc market. Fontenot did a little bit of everything to earn a living in 1960s Los Angeles, and she cut an odd figure: admittedly often overweight but with an exuberant, heavily made-up style that musicians like Alice Cooper and the members of KISS would appropriate. Her musical tastes were broad. She dug Gram Parsons particularly: "We basically bonded over soul music and heroin. Sometimes we'd just watch TV, and I learned quickly that if I walked into Gram's place and Hee-Haw was on, I had to be real quiet." Though the author writes that "sex has never been a big deal for me," various contortions and partners figure into these pages, which eventually become tiresome. Mostly, though, Miss Mercy, as she was known, enumerates the many kinds of drugs she consumed and the trouble that got her into, even though there was always someone worse. As she writes about a fellow groupie, "she was actually younger than me, but she looked about seventy-five years old. After she died, I found out she'd been shooting Ritalin for years. It made her look like a fossilized tree. Or like Keith Richards." A crack addiction left Fontenot homeless for a couple of years--though "the homeless crackhead lifestyle could actually be a ton of fun." Alas, the fun times ended, and Fontenot died in July 2020 at the improbably old age of 71, long having felt "like a ghost already." Pamela Des Barres, the author's friend and fellow groupie, provides the afterword. Best left to die-hard GTO fans or parents trying to scare their kids straight.

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May 28, 2021

Fontenot, better known as Miss Mercy, a member of girl group the GTOs, led a life of rock and roll excess, parties, and the constant search for the next big thing. In her memoir, cowritten with music journalist Parker before Fontenot's death in 2020, she immerses readers in the San Francisco and Los Angeles music scenes of the 1960s and '70s. Fontenot's candid memories of her friendship with Jimi Hendrix, reading tarot for the Rolling Stones, partying with Gram Parsons, and working with Frank Zappa, who produced the GTOs' album, Permanent Damage, will appeal to music fans nostalgic for the period. But readers seeking a feel-good rock and roll memoir should look elsewhere. Fontenot holds nothing back when talking about her difficult childhood, addiction, homelessness, multiple rapes, and abusive relationships, and her narrative sheds light on the unglamorous side of the California music scene. At times, the writing is stilted and reads more like a hodgepodge of events than a cohesive memoir. But many readers will pick up this book anyway, because of its many connections to rock history. VERDICT This memoir from a true counterculture icon has an important place in music history and culture; it will appeal to those eager to read more about the era.--Rebekah Buchanan, Western Illinois Univ., Macomb, IL

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