Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere
“Boner stories? That’s
the best you have to give? Did you confuse me with someone else?” 9
December 2012.
“Zappa may wind up the ultimate
historian of the groupies (whom he sees as freedom fighters at the
Avant garde of the Sexual Revolution that is sweeping Western
Civilization)”. He’s got hours of interviews on tape, plus all
the diaries of the Plaster Casters plus hundreds of letters and
photos and he’s already gotten the thing into a book called The
Groupie Papers”. Frank Zappa in “The Groupies and Other Girls”
by John Burks, Jerry Hopkins and Paul Nelson.
After recently researching fan
behaviour on the Internet I have come to learn it is a very complex
subject indeed. Fandom, celebrity worship syndrome, groupies,
stalking, music piracy and hacking are terms used to describe a whole
range of fan behaviour that have different meanings and fields of
research. What do they all mean and where do I find out information
about them? Whose stories are valid stories and whose are not?
I came across some information about
Deakin University in Australia and their launch of it’s inaugural
celebrity studies journal and conference in December 2012. How
exciting, a conference and an academic journal on the topics of
celebrity and their fans. While I did not go to the conference I have
found a life time of interesting and legitimate research and papers
on the subject by highly respected scholars and topics to write about
that extend way beyond the topic of this blog. The conference has a
Facebook page (inaugural celebrities study page) and Twitter page
#celebstudies. Celebrity studies to my surprise is a legitimate field
of study in its own right and within the areas of other subjects such
as cultural and media studies. However the conference topic was
celebrity now. The history of celebrity and how it developed is also
very interesting in particular about musicians and groups from
different generations.
Some of the topics suggested for the
conference.
| The celebrity studies canon | The value of fame | Method: how to do celebrity studies |
| Star and celebrity images | Pop stardom | The TV Personality |
| Celebrity and performance | National cinema, international stars | Digital platforms |
| DIY celeb | Ordinary celebrity | Austerity and celebrity |
| American Quality TV | Entrepreneurial celebrity | Olympic celebrity |
| Celebrity fandom | Literary celebrity | Queer celebrity |
| The celebrity ambassador | Fame damage | Celebrity affect, emotion |
| Celebrity and gender | Anti-celebrity | The phenomenology of celebrity |
| Cult stardom and celebrity | Charisma and celebrity | Pathology and celebrity |
| Toxic celebrity | Celebrity and news | The sexualisation of celebrity |
| Celebrity art/artists | Race, ethnicity and celebrity | Celebrity and persona |
| Porn stars | Sport and celebrity | Gaming and celebrity culture |
| Political fame |
The conference is available to anyone
who knows about it and is willing to pay approximately $300 to
attend. The problem with some of the information is it will only be
available in journals that people pay access for or on academic data
bases purchased by universities. Academic research in its purest form
can be interesting but a bit hard to understand for someone like me
just writing for an interest rather than academic study for a masters
or PHD.
Wikipedia gets a hard time from
universities. It is often seen by universities and researchers as an
illegitimate and unreliable source of information. While it may not
be suitable for academic research for university students it does
provide a great place to start for people with interests like mine on
fan behaviour. The information written may be unreliable as members
of the public can access the site and contribute who present
misinterpretations of valid research and particular points of views.
The site and structure however provides links to legitimate research
and articles including academic articles, general articles from
magazines and newspapers plus terms and links to similar sites of
interest. The contributors on subjects like fan behaviour and
groupies provide references from rock musicians and their thoughts,
groupies themselves, studies, documentaries, films and a whole range
of sources.
A groupie can be
defined as a person who seeks emotional and sexual intimacy with a
musician or other celebrity….There are two types of groupies those
that seek brief sexual encounters with musicians and those who travel
on the road for extended periods of time doing jobs that range from a
stand in girlfriend or wife to taking care of the musicians. The
Wikipedia entry on ‘groupies’ provides information about some of
the experiences the Beatles and Paul McCartney had with fans…“The
Beatles' song "She
Came in Through the Bathroom Window"
refers to the day a few Scruffs climbed into Paul
McCartney's
house through an upstairs bathroom window and raided his closet for a
pair of trousers,
which they took turns wearing. They also took a framed photograph,
which they later returned at McCartney's request.
There is no reference for this story so whether it is true is
doubtful. But it is an interesting story for those of us interested
in fan behaviour and its evolution. However the topic provides links
to other credible sources.
The topic of groupies in Wikipedia
referenced a totally brilliant article from a 1969 edition of Rolling
Stone magazine titled “The Groupies and Other Girls” by
John Burks, Jerry Hopkins and Paul Nelson. The article discusses
groupie behaviour and in particular that of young girls from
different parts of America with prominent bands of the time. The
singer musician Frank Zappa shares his thoughts on these types of
female fans “I am personally not troubled with groupies but
other guys in the band seem to get a little action after the hop…New
York groupies…are basically New York chicks. They’re snobbish and
uptight das…they think they’re big. San Francisco groupies are
okay, but they think there’s nothing happening outside San
Francisco. L.A. groupies are without doubt the best – most
aggressive and the best fucks and the only drawback is the incredibly
high rate of venereal disease”. The work of Frank Zappa on
groupies and fan behaviour is absolutely fascinating.
There were two groupie groups primarily
associated with Frank Zappa and his various bands Girls Together
Occasionally and Plaster Casters. He has collected diaries, letters,
photos and tapes which he put together as a book called The Groupie
Papers. Zappa describes the importance of groupies during the 1960s in
particular to sell records…“It pays to make a favourable
impression. Groupies are very influential on the record market
because they know so many people…if you’re a hit with the
groupies you’ll sell 15 000 records in L.A alone”. All the
young girls in the Girls Together Occasionally group have their own
interesting stories. Pamela Des Barres perhaps the most famous
groupie wrote three books about her experiences I’m With The Band:
Confessions of a Groupie (1987), Take Another Little Piece Of My
Heart (1993) and A Groupie Grows Up (2007) and has given numerous
interviews.
The Rolling Stone article from 1969 also featured a collection of beautiful black and white photographs by Baron Wolman the chief photographer at the magazine and interviews with Girls Together Occasionally the group of female fans formed by Frank Zappa. Baron Wolman recalled during the photo shoot “During the groupie interviews we learned how they would chase after a rock star and get him into bed in his hotel room or wherever he was staying when he was on tour” says Baron. But besides the chase the most important element “was when they would pick up the phone in the hotel room and call their friends and say, “You’ll never guess where I am?””
The Rolling Stone article from 1969 also featured a collection of beautiful black and white photographs by Baron Wolman the chief photographer at the magazine and interviews with Girls Together Occasionally the group of female fans formed by Frank Zappa. Baron Wolman recalled during the photo shoot “During the groupie interviews we learned how they would chase after a rock star and get him into bed in his hotel room or wherever he was staying when he was on tour” says Baron. But besides the chase the most important element “was when they would pick up the phone in the hotel room and call their friends and say, “You’ll never guess where I am?””
It was totally fascinating and just as
legitimate as any academic research. Contact between fans and
celebrities has changed a lot since the late 1960’s and the Frank
Zappa girls group. Admiring celebrities is still considered a normal
part of identity development in childhood and adolescence by
psychologists like Erik Erikson, however the way the young girls are
involved has changed with the evolution of the Internet, social media
and other technology. While fans like @lyndahere may not be in a
hotel room with a rock star having sex there is still the thrill of
the chase and writing on social media sites “guess where I am
supported by photographs” to the world as well as their best
friends. However, the young female fans Zappa was involved with were young teenagers while @lyndahere is a mature woman in her late fifties. They are also interested in becoming famous in their own
right, and developing a place for themselves within the environment
of the musicians and groups they are interested in following in the
footsteps of those that go before them.
References
Burks J, Hopkins, J & Nelson, P.
“The Groupies and Other Girls” Rolling Stone Magazine
February 15 1969 viewed 6 January 2013 at
www.afka.net/articles/1969-02 _Rolling Stone.
Kazdin, C & Escherich 2009 “Almost
Famous’ to ‘Rock of Love’: Groupies Then and Now”
www.abcnews.com viewed 7 January 2013.
Powers, A. 1992,’
POP VIEW; That Girl by the Stage, and
Why She's There New
York Times at www.newyorktimes.com
viewed 7 January 2013
Rock Paper Photos “Groupies by
Baron Wolman” viewed 6 January 2013 at
www.rockpaperphoto.com/groupies
Time Magazine “Manners and Morals,
The Groupies” Time Magazine February 28 1969 viewed 6 January
2012
Wikipedia “Groupies” at
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/groupies
viewed 6 January 2013
