Shell Shocked

Synopsis

If Howard Kaylan had sung only one song, the Turtles’ 1967 number-one smash hit “Happy Together,” his place in rock ’n’ roll history would still be secure. But that recording, named in 1999 by BMI as one of the top fifty songs of the twentieth century, with over five million radio plays, is only the tip of a rather eye-opening iceberg. For nearly five decades, Howard Kaylan has been a player in the rock ’n’ roll revolution. In addition to his years with the Turtles, Kaylan was a core member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and the dynamic duo Flo and Eddie, and part of glam rock history with Marc Bolan and T. Rex. He’s also given street cred and harmonies to everyone from John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and Alice Cooper to the Ramones and Duran Duran, to name just a few. Howard Kaylan’s life has been a dangerous ride that he is only too happy to report on, shedding shocking tales of sex, drugs, and creative excess. Featuring a foreword by Penn Jillette and a collection of rare photographs from the author’s collection, Shell Shocked will stand as not only one of the best-told music-biz memoirs, but one with a truly candid and unmatchable story of rock ’n’ roll insanity and success from a man who glories in it all.