Black Sheep, Rotten Apple & Idiot

About the Book

You've heard the stories about life in the Rock 'n' Roll fast land  — groupies, drugs, outrageous parties.  It's all true.  Also the shallowness — too much money, too little wisdom, so little direction.

Richard Papazian — "The Papa" —  experienced it all.  As a teenage rock promoter in Fresno, he was earning $20,000 a month before he could legally buy a beer.  From there, he started making — and spending — serious money.  Mercedes, Porches, Jensen Interceptors — whatever car caught his fancy at the moment soon appeared in his driveway.  

The best restaurants, the most expensive wines — and a personal pilot to fly him to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Reno or San Francisco on the whim of the moment.

Then the business changed.  Almost overnight "The Papa" was a has-been.  He fell prey to depression and alcohol abuse.  He struggled in a field he despised.  Two short-term marriages failed.

Then he discovered the true love that had lurked in his background since boyhood — art.  Slowly, he began pulling himself together, taking night classes wherever he could, learning techniques with which to express his unique vision.

You'll find it difficult to fit this larger-than-life individual into any category.  You'll have difficulty deciding whether to love him or hate him.

But most of all, you'll find you can't ignore him.

About the Author

Richard Papazian — rich at 20, broke at 30. Meet the man who handled the great rock groups of the '70s and '80s — and got handled by their groupies. When the business of rock changed, Papazian hit the skids, tanked out on booze and was forced to living out of a closet in the Bay Area. With faith in himself, with the love of his wife and daughters, he has become one of the most original artists of his day. Moreover, you'll learn his secret: Believe — and anything can happen. (87 words)