Last Chance Texaco: Chronicles of an American Troubadour

“One of the most intriguing, idiosyncratic vocalists of our time.” ―USA TodayOne weekend night on primetime television, a then-unknown singer and vital part of the burgeoning Los Angeles jazz pop scene skyrocketed to fame overnight after a now iconic performance on Saturday Night Live. The year was 1979, the song “Chuck E’s in Love, and the singer, donning her trademark red beret, was the soon to be pronounced “Duchess of Coolsville” (Time), Rickie Lee Jones. Rickie Lee Jones: The Jazz Side of Life is the first ever no-holds-barred account of the life of one of rock’s hardest working women in her own words. With candor and lyricism Rickie Lee Jones takes us on the journey of her exceptional life: from her nomadic childhood as the granddaughter of vaudevillian performers, to her father’s abandonment of the family and her years as a teenage runaway, her beginnings at LA’s Troubador club, to her tumultuous (and private) relationship with Tom Waits, her battle with drugs, motherhood as a touring artist, and longevity as a woman in rock and roll. Including never-before-told stories and accounts of the music business as she’s lived it, and illustrated with stunning personal photos, this is an indispensable chronicle of one of rock’s strongest women, an innovative music icon who was listed at number 30 on VH1’s "100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll", has graced the cover of Rolling Stone twice, and who has been a major influence on contemporary popular music.