Sex, Drugs, and Rumors: The True Story Behind Daisy Jones & The Six
Amazon’s new show is an accurate depiction of life as a 70’s rockstar, behind all the glam.
By: Evan Boisoneau
The Rock n’ Roll genre redefined American culture and ushered in a musical revolution during the 70s. This was a period where you could see all the greats— Led Zeppelin, Eagles, The Rolling Stones; all living idols with all the glamor, girls, and fame these rockstars could ask for. It was a dazzling age, with the American dream accessible to anyone with a guitar and an urge for a fast life.
Amazon’s new show, Daisy Jones & The Six takes us back to that time. However, the show dissolves the smoke & mirrors of this culture and shows us the dark side of rock stardom. Originally a novel written by Taylor Jenkins Reid, this story depicts the real lives of band members in the 70s, and not the mythic persona they are known by. Through scenes of gritty drug addictions, brutal infightings, and scandalous affairs, the story gives a raw perspective of the reality of stardom in the age of the rebellious self-expression. Reid has stated that the themes in Daisy Jones & The Six aren’t mere speculation, but rather real life depictions of these dark instances from inside the rock band.
The show represents a dramatized version of the Fleetwood Mac story. Following the lives of band members from Philadelphia, ‘The Six’ is a band led by guitarist/vocalist Billy Dunne, accompanied by his brother Graham Dunne, bandmates Warren, Eddie, Karen, and the band’s photographer, Camila. Daisy Jones enters the picture after ‘The Six’ strikes a record deal thanks to the help of producer Teddy Price, who discovers the band in a dive bar one night. Teddy Price sends Daisy Jones to be the leading vocalist of ‘The Six’, which challenges Billy's role as the leader of the group. The new band, ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ release their first song “Regret Me” to great success, and the rest of the story follows the production of their first studio album, Aurora. In order to avoid any spoilers, I will forgo specific details, but the relationships between the band members begin to develop and convolute during the recording and touring process of their album.
It is a story of love, hate, passion, adultery, and a lot of substance abuse–typical 70s rockstar stuff. The narrative is told through a documentary exposé, conducted through interviews with the band members in the future reflecting on their past. From a storytelling perspective, this is enriching for the viewer. As each band member has a different recollection of events past, and the audience is always aware of the characters’ biases as unreliable narrators. The show is a category five shitstorm of drama and emotion that left me yearning for more, especially if you are as passionate about music history as I am. This band, if you can believe it, was Fleetwood Mac.. Their Rumors album responded to much of the drama that unfolded in this era, which was arguably their most strained and emotional period as a band. However, the album turned out to become their magnum opus as a result of the band’s infighting and drama.