I’m With The Band:  Rock’s Most Famous Groupies Tell All For VH1 Documentary Let’s Spend The Night Together During the 1960s and early ’70s, as such rock royalty as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones burned up the charts, a prominent set of women played a key, but quiet, role in the proceedings.They were the dedicated fans, the ones who took their love of rock ‘n’ roll a step further by assuming the role of groupies. They proudly served as treasured paramours—and oftentimes muses—to some of rock’s most iconic statesmen. And now they are telling all for a new documentary, premiering Wednesday on VH1.Adapted from Pamela Des Barres’ bestselling book “Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies,” the doc follows Des Barres—heralded as the “queen of groupies”—as she travels across the country reconnecting and reminiscing with the women who lived up to their reputations.“I’ve been wanting to do a documentary on the true heart of the groupie ever since I was one. The groupie is just a girl who loves music and loves to be around the people who make it. She is the fan that takes it to the next level to experience the whole shebang,” Des Barres said backstage at a private screening for the film.“Rock ‘n’ roll is art, but it also means sex, so it’s just the perfect combination—especially for the young teenage girl. I remember when Mick Jagger lit me up when I was 15, and I thought, ‘OK, I want some of that.’ [But] our relationship was purely sexual.” Des Barres was motivated to log her experiences, and those of her pals, because she felt the word “groupie” had become something tawdry, especially as reality shows featuring rock stars looking for love in a house full of women looking for fame became the norm.“For a real groupie/music lover, you’re not in it for money. You’re in it for the thrill of being with someone famous,” she said. “Sure, we loved the little bonuses. Being taken on the road, staying in really cool places, but the main joy was to be with this person. We all fell in love. There were relationships.”Her cross-country journey took her to Utah to see Tura Satana, the woman who taught Elvis a few tricks in the boudoir; Seattle, where Robert Plant’s muse Michele Overman resides; Chicago, the home of iconic groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster; California to meet Cassandra Peterson, who was a well-known groupie before becoming Elvira; and Arkansas, to visit the famous Connie Hamzy, known solely as “Sweet Connie.” Photo:  The GTOs, a famous “groupie group” consisting of (Pamela Ann Miller, later Pamela Des Barres), Miss Sparky (Linda Sue Parker), Miss Lucy (Lucy Offerall, later Lucy McLaren), Miss Christine (Christine Frka), Miss Sandra (Sandra Lynn Rowe, later Sandra Leano), Miss Mercy (Mercy Fontentot, aka Judith Edra Peters) and Miss Cynderella (Cynthia Wells, later Cynthia Cale-Binion)

I’m With The Band:  Rock’s Most Famous Groupies Tell All For VH1 Documentary Let’s Spend The Night Together

During the 1960s and early ’70s, as such rock royalty as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones burned up the charts, a prominent set of women played a key, but quiet, role in the proceedings.

They were the dedicated fans, the ones who took their love of rock ‘n’ roll a step further by assuming the role of groupies. They proudly served as treasured paramours—and oftentimes muses—to some of rock’s most iconic statesmen. And now they are telling all for a new documentary, premiering Wednesday on VH1.

Adapted from Pamela Des Barres’ bestselling book “Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies,” the doc follows Des Barres—heralded as the “queen of groupies”—as she travels across the country reconnecting and reminiscing with the women who lived up to their reputations.

“I’ve been wanting to do a documentary on the true heart of the groupie ever since I was one. The groupie is just a girl who loves music and loves to be around the people who make it. She is the fan that takes it to the next level to experience the whole shebang,” Des Barres said backstage at a private screening for the film.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is art, but it also means sex, so it’s just the perfect combination—especially for the young teenage girl. I remember when Mick Jagger lit me up when I was 15, and I thought, ‘OK, I want some of that.’ [But] our relationship was purely sexual.” Des Barres was motivated to log her experiences, and those of her pals, because she felt the word “groupie” had become something tawdry, especially as reality shows featuring rock stars looking for love in a house full of women looking for fame became the norm.

“For a real groupie/music lover, you’re not in it for money. You’re in it for the thrill of being with someone famous,” she said. “Sure, we loved the little bonuses. Being taken on the road, staying in really cool places, but the main joy was to be with this person. We all fell in love. There were relationships.”

Her cross-country journey took her to Utah to see Tura Satana, the woman who taught Elvis a few tricks in the boudoir; Seattle, where Robert Plant’s muse Michele Overman resides; Chicago, the home of iconic groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster; California to meet Cassandra Peterson, who was a well-known groupie before becoming Elvira; and Arkansas, to visit the famous Connie Hamzy, known solely as “Sweet Connie.”

Photo:  The GTOs, a famous “groupie group” consisting of (Pamela Ann Miller, later Pamela Des Barres), Miss Sparky (Linda Sue Parker), Miss Lucy (Lucy Offerall, later Lucy McLaren), Miss Christine (Christine Frka), Miss Sandra (Sandra Lynn Rowe, later Sandra Leano), Miss Mercy (Mercy Fontentot, aka Judith Edra Peters) and Miss Cynderella (Cynthia Wells, later Cynthia Cale-Binion)

(Source: allaboutjazz.com)