Hard to handle : the life and death of the Black Crowes : a memoir

**An insider biography of the Black Crowes by drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman**For over two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts and reigned supreme over the radio waves, even as hair bands, grunge, and hip-hop threatened to dethrone them. With hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy," their massive success launched them to stardom in the early '90s, earning them a place among rock royalty. They were on the cover of__Rolling Stone,__MTV played their videos 24/7, and Generation X re-discovered the power of classic rock and blues by digging into multi-platinum classics like__Shake Your Money Maker__and__The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion__.But stardom can be fleeting. For the Black Crowes, success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. Despite the drinking, drugs, and incessant fighting between Chris and Rich Robinson--the angriest brothers in rock and roll, with all due respect to Oasis and the Kinks--the band continued to tour until 2013. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw. (Or the most combative.) Then, one last rift caused by Chris Robinson proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, the Black Crowes would fly no more.Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it--the coke and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep the Black Crowes together musically--and in one piece emotionally. In his first-person history of the Black Crowes,__Hard To Handle__--the first ever account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end--Gorman makes it clear just how impossible that job was. Fortunately, Gorman tells the tale with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like the Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted. Black Crowes drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman shares the band's inside story in this behind-the-scenes biography, from their supernova stardom in the '90s to exhilarating encounters with industry legends. For more than two decades, the Black Crowes topped the charts and reigned supreme over the radio waves, even as hair bands, grunge, and hip-hop threatened to dethrone them. With hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy," their massive success launched them to stardom in the early '90s, earning them a place among rock royalty. They were on the cover of Rolling Stone , MTV played their videos 24/7, and Generation X rediscovered the power of classic rock and blues by digging into multi-platinum classics like Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion . But stardom can be fleeting. For the Black Crowes, success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. Despite the drinking, drugs, and incessant fighting between Chris and Rich Robinson -- the angriest brothers in rock and roll, with all due respect to Oasis and the Kinks -- the band continued to tour until 2013. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw (or the most combative). Then, one last rift caused by Chris Robinson proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, the Black Crowes would fly no more. Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it -- the coke- and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep the Black Crowes together musically and emotionally. In Hard To Handle -- the first account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end -- Gorman explains just how impossible that job was with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like the Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted. Black Crowes drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman shares the band's inside story in this behind-the-scenes biography, from their supernova stardom in the '90s to exhilarating encounters with industry legends. "This book is literally the Angela's Ashes of rock memoirs. .. I absolutely loved this book." -BILL BURR, comedian "I couldn't put the book down-absolutely unbelievable read!" -JOHN MCENROE, New York Times bestselling author of But Seriously and You Cannot Be Serious "I honestly couldn't put [this book] down. Made me nostalgic, sad, and happy too." -CHRIS SHIFLETT, lead guitarist of Foo Fighters "Essential reading for rock fans everywhere." -BRIAN KOPPELMAN, co-creator and showrunner of Billions For more than two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts, graced the cover of Rolling Stone , and reigned supreme over MTV and radio waves alike with hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy." But as the old cliché goes, stardom can be fleeting, and the group's success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw-or the most combative. Then, one last rift in 2013 proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, The Black Crowes would fly no more. Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it-the coke- and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the incessant fighting between brothers Chris and Rich Robinson; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep The Black Crowes together musically and emotionally. In Hard To Handle -the first account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end-Gorman explains just how impossible that job was with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like The Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted. For over two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts and reigned supreme over the radio waves, even as hair bands, grunge, and hip-hop threatened to dethrone them. With hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy," their massive success launched them to stardom in the early '90s, earning them a place among rock royalty. They were on the cover of Rolling Stone, MTV played their videos 24/7, and Generation X re-discovered the power of classic rock and blues by digging into multi-platinum classics like Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. But stardom can be fleeting. For the Black Crowes, success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. Despite the drinking, drugs, and incessant fighting between Chris and Rich Robinson--the angriest brothers in rock and roll, with all due respect to Oasis and the Kinks--the band continued to tour until 2013. On any given night, they could be the best band you ever saw. (Or the most combative.) Then, one last rift caused by Chris Robinson proved insurmountable for the band to survive. After that, the Black Crowes would fly no more. Founding member Steve Gorman was there for all of it--the coke and weed-fueled tours; the tumultuous recording sessions; the backstage hangs with legends like Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and the Rolling Stones. As the band's drummer and voice of reason, he tried to keep the Black Crowes together musically--and in one piece emotionally. In his first-person history of the Black Crowes, Hard To Handle--the first ever account of this great American rock band's beginning, middle, and end--Gorman makes it clear just how impossible that job was. Fortunately, Gorman tells the tale with great insight, candor, and humor. They don't make bands like the Black Crowes anymore: crazy, brilliant, self-destructive, inspiring, and, ultimately, not built to last. But, man, what a ride it was while it lasted An insider biography of the Black Crowes by drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman The Black Crowes played big, Southern rock and became popular precisely while hair bands and grunge were rebelling against it. They stayed on the radio through hip-hop's rise to the mainstream and dominated the charts no matter what the tastes of the day might have been. They've sold 35 million albums and they continued to tour up until they finally had enough of each other in 2013. Even then, more than twenty years after Rolling Stone named them the Best New American Band in a 1990 cover story, they drew thousands of fans across the country at over 120 nearly sold-out dates on what ended up being their final tour. That last tour was so successful that they planned to do a bigger, truly final 25th anniversary tour in 2015. Unfortunately, the animosity between the three founding members didn't allow that to happen. Instead, they reverted to their old habits of fighting, blaming each other, drinking too much, and indulging all the other demons that the music industry seems to feed upon. While Steve Gorman may have felt relief at not having to head back out on the road, he did feel bad for the band's fans. He felt he owed them one final show. This book is that final show An insider biography of the Black Crowes by drummer and cofounder Steve Gorman For over two decades, The Black Crowes topped the charts and reigned supreme over the radio waves, even as hair bands, grunge, and hip-hop threatened to dethrone them. With hits like "Hard to Handle," "She Talks to Angels," and "Remedy," their massive success launched them to stardom in the early '90s, earning them a place among rock royalty. They were on the cover of Rolling Stone, MTV played their videos 24/7, and Generation X re-discovered the power of classic rock and blues by digging into multi-platinum classics like Shake Your Money Maker and The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion . But stardom can be fleeting. For the Black Crowes, success slowly dwindled as the band members got caught up in the rock star world and lost sight of their musical ambition. Despite the drinking, drugs, and incessant fighting between Chris and Rich Robinson—the angriest...