Riley Warner – Contributing Writer

rfw5290@psu.edu

“Daisy Jones & The Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a fictional story encompassing a 1960-1979 band that rose to fame. It includes Daisy Jones’ life story as well as how she rose to fame alongside the band, “The Six.”

Daisy Jones had never been wanted. She was born with privilege, with a model mother and an artist for a father. However, no one paid attention to her, until she had started lurking around the Sunset Strip—then everyone started paying attention to the young girl who had bright blue eyes and red hair, skinny as a wood plank.

Daisy Jones starts to get into drugs on the strip, as everyone else did in the 1960s. She started to sleep with the men she met there, and when she was involved with directors and musicians, they always used her ideas. However, she wanted to create something of her own, so she did just that.

The Dunne Brothers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was a brother-band duo that slowly recruited a drummer, keyboard player, guitarist, and bassist and then eventually transformed into a band called “The Six.” Billy Dunne was the older brother and made all decisions when it came to the band. 

After The Six put on a few shows, they went on tour. Billy started to become an alcoholic and addict, with his pregnant girlfriend staying at the band’s house. When his girlfriend, Camila, entered her third trimester, she sent him a letter stating he had until Nov. 30 to get the partying and girls out of his system, for he would have to clean up his act by Dec. 1— when his child was due.

After the tour when Julia, Billy’s daughter, was born, Billy goes to rehab to get clean. However, shortly after, The Six meet Daisy Jones— the careless, wild woman who seemed to do whatever she wanted without pondering the repercussions. Daisy Jones was addicted to all types of pills and narcotics. She loved to party and be the center of attention. 

Jones began to open for The Six after Rolling Stone came to interview both her and The Six. As they both are signed under Runner Records, they are pinned together as “Daisy Jones & The Six,” since Daisy Jones will be the featured act of The Six, and she brings in the most attention.

After performing together, the band came to work on an Album, “Aurora.” Billy wrote the title track about Camila and his love for her and their family. However, the remainder of the album is then left to Daisy and Billy to write together. How will this play out with Daisy being an addict and Billy struggling to stay clean?

“Daisy Jones & The Six” is a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel that was published in 2019. As mentioned in this synopsis, there are mature themes throughout the book. There is much discussion surrounding drugs, alcohol, abuse and sexual themes. Therefore, it is recommended for teens ages 15 and older. 

The story is told in interview format, where the bandmates recount their time together with notes from producers, managers, accountants and friends. Through these interviews, the story is broken into parts beginning with Daisy Jones’ recount of her early years and building into the band’s mysterious breakup.

The novel has recently been adapted into a television series under the same name. The show is currently being released weekly on Amazon Prime. The book’s accompanying album, titled “Aurora,” was also recently recorded. Released on streaming services and physical media on March 3, the record is an excellent piece of in-universe entertainment.