Daisy Jones & the Six (novel)

Daisy Jones & the Six

First edition cover
Author	Taylor Jenkins Reid
Language	English
Publisher	Ballantine Books
Publication date	March 5, 2019
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback, paperback)
Pages	368
ISBN	978-1-5247-9862-8

Daisy Jones & the Six is a historical fiction novel by American author Taylor Jenkins Reid, originally published on March 5, 2019, by Ballantine Books. It tells the story of a 1970s band that gives individual interviews leading up to their final show and subsequent breakup as a band. It is loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the recording of their 1977 album Rumours.

Plot structure

Daisy Jones & the Six is told in an oral history format, with interview from the band members being the guiding force of the novel. Additionally, there are relevant emails, song lyrics, and transcripts. Each section is split into years that contain critical events leading up to the band's success and eventual demise.

Plot

A yet-unknown interviewer has compiled together video interviews of the band as well as family and friends that they took, transcripts of interviews throughout the years, text from books written about the band, and other relevant sources to piece together how a band as successful as Daisy Jones & the Six could fall apart.

The Groupie: Daisy Jones (1965–1972)

Daisy Jones was born to wealthy parents in Hollywood, though she spends much of her childhood alone. Around age 14, she starts sneaking into clubs and bars on the Sunset Strip. She loses her virginity to a much older man, a random famous drummer. She meets an older disco star, Simone Jackson, and quickly becomes friends with her. They attend parties hosted by famous musicians, where Daisy is introduced to drugs. Daisy, a talented singer and songwriter, starts writing her own music after she noticed other people using her ideas in their own hits.

The Rise of the Six (1966–1972)

The Dunne Brothers are formed by brothers lead singer Billy and lead guitarist Graham Dunne in Pittsburgh. As they begin to grow, with Billy writing more and more songs, they bring other people into the band—drummer Warren Rhodes, rhythm guitarist Chuck Williams, and Bassist Pete Loving. They begin to play small shows at bars. They then play a wedding, where Billy meets his future wife, Camila Martinez. Chuck gets drafted for the Vietnam War, and Pete's younger brother Eddie Loving replaces him until Chuck returns. However, Chuck dies in Cambodia.

In 1970, the Dunne Brothers are offered a spot as the opening act for a band called the Winters. Here they meet their keyboardist Karen Sirko (known as Karen Karen). She was a keyboardist for the Winters, but left due to the way she was treated. After Karen joined, the band officially change their name to the Six.

They start playing bigger shows. At a show in New York, they meet a man, Rod Reyes, who will become their manager. He pitches ideas to the band to help them grow. They start playing shows all over the East Coast, gaining an ever-increasing fanbase. This is where trouble starts. Being the lead singer, girls throw themselves at Billy, and he is unsure how to respond. He and Camila start fighting, but he writes a song to show that he still loves her. However, the band wants to go out west, and Camila wants to stay east. She breaks up with Billy, and the band relocates to California. There, they meet Teddy Price, a producer who produces their first studio album.

After they sign the contract to record an album, Billy reconciles with and proposes to Camila. She says yes and moves to California to be with him.

It Girl (1972–1974)

Daisy begins to write and perform her own music. People start to ask her to record a demo, she gets a manager named Hank Allen, and she is signed to a record label. However, the label does not like her songs, and writes songs for her to record. She continues to take drugs.

Debut (1973–1975)

The Six move into a house in Los Angeles. Billy and Teddy get to writing the first album. In the process, Billy takes control of the band's sound in an extreme manner. The Six begin to record their self-titled album. Upon its release, it creates a stir. The album is enough of a success for the band to embark on tour. Right before they leave for tour, Camila tells Billy that she is pregnant, and they get married. This is the beginning of a bad time for Billy.

They go on tour, and the first show goes badly. They are still growing a bit of a following, so it ends up being alright. Billy starts drinking, doing more drugs, and sleeping with other women. Camila finds out, but refuses to leave him. She tells him he has until the day before the baby is due to get his act together. He continues, and even ups his level of alcohol and drug use, eventually getting to the point where the whole band is constantly worried for his life. When Camila goes into labor early, Teddy drags Billy to the hospital, but he does not go in to meet his daughter, Julia. He goes to rehab, and the Six cancel the rest of their first tour.

First (1974–1975)

Daisy refuses to show up to her recording sessions because they will not let her record her own music. Teddy Price shows up at her door and tells her that none of the songs she has written are finished and she needs to record the album that they have written for her. Therefore, Daisy's debut album First is released in early 1975. While not as big a success as the Six, it got her name recognition.

Seven Eight Nine (1975–1976)

After Billy comes back from rehab, he begins writing songs for a second album, 10 songs that became SevenEightNine. However, this album was not as well-received by Sound City (the record label that they were signed to). Teddy suggests making one of their songs a duet, bringing in a female voice. The one he finally gets the band to agree to is none other than Daisy Jones. She comes into the studio to help them record the song, "Honeycomb", and changes up the lyrics that Billy had written, flipping the whole song on its head. "Honeycomb" is the true beginning of Daisy Jones & the Six's rise to fame.

The Numbers Tour (1976–1977)

The Six gear up to play a national tour, with Daisy opening. Prior to the tour, she plays an electric show with them in Los Angeles that gets people talking. Billy brings Camila (who is pregnant with twin girls) and their daughter Julia on tour with him. "Honeycomb" peaks at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's fanbase continues to grow, but Billy finds it harder and harder to stay sober. Daisy also continues her use of drugs. Additionally, Daisy was sleeping with her manager, Hank, and finally decides to drop Hank and join the Six's manager, Rod. Daisy and Billy start to come to an understanding. Graham and Karen begin a fling.

Hank leaves and takes Daisy's band members with him. Instead of cancelling her opening act, Eddie goes out and plays guitar for her. Shortly afterwards, Billy comes on stage, takes Eddie's guitar, and Daisy and him sing "Honeycomb" together, just the two of them. Tensions between Eddie and Billy rise. That night, a Rolling Stone journalist hangs out with them to write a piece about the Six. The idea for Daisy joining the band is planted.

The band debates the pros and cons of Daisy joining the band. They eventually decide on one album with her, see how it goes. Camila and Billy's twins are born, and Billy struggles with the fact that he missed Julia's birth. He writes a new song, "Aurora", for Camila. Graham moves in with Karen, but they still do not tell anyone.

With Daisy on board, things in the band begin to change. Graham starts helping make more decisions, and everyone else wants to be more in charge of their own musical parts—a change from the last two albums, where Billy took the lead on everything. The name of the band is officially changed to Daisy Jones & the Six, much to the displeasure of everyone involved.

Aurora (1977–1978)

The newly renamed Daisy Jones & the Six begin recording their next album. Billy plays them "Aurora" and it is clear that this is the song they will build the album around. Daisy and Billy start writing together. While writing, they open up to each other about their past and their fears. The rest of the band experiments with their sound, which makes Billy uncomfortable, but he learns to accept it. After recording "Aurora", the whole band feels the song is going to be a hit. Tensions between Billy and Eddie continue on, so much so that Rod puts feelers out for new guitarists. Graham and Karen continue fooling around. Daisy continues to use pills, and Billy writes a song about her, makes her sing it. Karen tells Camila about her and Graham.

The album starts to come together really fast, with songs being turned around within weeks. Daisy and Billy really start to find a groove in writing together. The rest of the band feels that they are on the sidelines. After spending hours recording together, Billy and Daisy nearly share a kiss. Billy decides to name the album Aurora, after the song they built the album around, the song about Camila. The cover of the album ends up being centered on Billy and Daisy. After the album is finished recording, the band goes their separate ways before the tour to do their own thing. Daisy travels to Thailand, where she meets an Italian prince, Nicky (Niccolo). He has no idea who Daisy is. They fly to Italy together and get married.

When the band gets back together to listen to the finished album, Daisy is not there. While listening, it comes to light that Billy and Teddy had changed a bunch of things from the original recordings. Everyone is annoyed. Eventually, Simone—Daisy's best friend and disco star—convinces her to come back to the United States. Niccolo joins her a little while later. It becomes clear that Nicky is even more addicted to pills than Daisy. Jonah Berg (the Rolling Stones writer) comes back to do another piece while tensions are really high among the band. The article ends up being primarily about the relationship between Daisy and Billy. As much as the band hates the article, it is a key to their success. The album Aurora shoots to the top of the charts.

Aurora World Tour (1978–1979)

Summer of 1978, Daisy Jones & the Six headline a national tour, selling out shows all over the country. They take two buses so that Billy and Daisy do not have to be around each other. The show is full of tension, both sexual and otherwise, between Daisy and Billy. As the tour goes on, the rest of the band starts wanting to be around Daisy less, as she and Niccolo both continue to take so many drugs that Daisy often does not remember the night before. However, she slowly starts to realize that Nicky is an enabler and she does not always want to be around him. During their Christmas break, Billy spends time with his family, Pete proposes to his girlfriend, Jenny, and tells Eddie that he is quitting the band at the end of the tour. Nicky and Daisy go to Rome, Daisy nearly overdoses, and Nicky barely tries to save her. She tells him she wants a divorce. In leaving him, she starts to sober up—not completely, but more so than she was. Karen learns she is pregnant. She does not want to keep it, but Graham does.

They win a Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and Daisy gives a coherent acceptance speech. Billy and Daisy start to get along again. At their Saturday Night Live performance, Daisy realizes she is in love with Billy. Meanwhile, Billy is fighting an internal battle. He is falling in love with Daisy, but his wife is the grounding factor, the thing keeping him sober. After the show, Daisy goes to his room and tells him that she wants to get sober. The next morning, it is announced that Teddy Price has died of a heart attack. Daisy gives up the idea of getting sober, Billy struggles to stay sober. Karen undergoes an abortion, and Camila goes with to support her. The rest of the band discovers that Pete is leaving the band.

Chicago Stadium (July 12, 1979)

The last show Daisy Jones & the Six plays. It starts quite normal. They change the setlist by playing "Honeycomb", their first hit single, which Billy had originally refused to play. Daisy sings the original lyrics, and Billy knows that he is in love with her. Graham yells at Karen for getting an abortion—it turns into a screaming match. Afterwards, Graham goes to Billy for support, but he blows him off. Billy struggles to stay away from alcohol, and ultimately fails. Camila and Daisy have a heart to heart about Billy loving Daisy, but how he will not leave Camila. Camila tells Daisy that she needs to leave the band, which she does. Billy thinks about his family and manages to stop drinking before he goes too far. Rod cancels the rest of the tour, as Billy announces he is taking a break from touring, and Daisy has left the band. In doing so, Daisy Jones & the Six break up.

It is revealed that the interviewer of this whole book is Julia, Billy and Camila's daughter. It is also revealed that Camila died of heart failure before Julia could finish all of the recordings.

Then and Now (1979–present)

Daisy Jones & the Six never played another show together. Daisy went to rehab, got clean, adopted two sons, and starts something called the Wildflower Initiative—which is an unexplained company. Warren married a famous actress and has two children. Pete owns an artificial turf company and lives with his wife in Arizona. Rod lives in Denver with his boyfriend. Graham does not end up with Karen—he gets married to another woman and they have an unnamed number of children. Eddie ends up as a record producer. Simone has a daughter who ends up more famous than her. Karen became a touring keyboardist, and retired in the 1990s. Billy writes songs for pop singers, and lived with Camila and their children until she died.

One Last Thing Before I Go (November 5, 2012)

In a letter, Camila tells Billy to call Daisy.

Background

This novel was loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac and the romance between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Reid was inspired after watching a 1997 performance by Fleetwood Mac on MTV. She believed that they were still together after seeing how they looked at each other.

"[I]t looked so much like two people in love. And yet, we'll never truly know what lived between them. I wanted to write a story about that, about how the lines between real life and performance can get blurred, about how singing about old wounds might keep them fresh."

Publication

Daisy Jones & the Six was released in hardcover on March 5, 2019, by Ballantine Books. By 2023, it is available in paperback, audiobook, Kindle, large print, and a TV tie-in edition. Daisy Jones & the Six is also translated into Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Polish, Danish, Italian, Turkish, Dutch, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Czech, Swedish, Finnish, Romanian, Serbian, Croatian, Hebrew, Russian, Hungarian, Slovak, Modern Greek, Slovenian, Estonian, and Norwegian.

Reception

This book received positive reviews. The New York Times called it Reid's "most sophisticated and ambitious novel".

Television adaptation

On July 25, 2019, it was announced that Amazon Studios had ordered a miniseries based on the novel. The series was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber and produced with Reese Witherspoon and Reid herself along with Amazon Studios. Filming occurred from September 2021 to May 2022, and the miniseries premiered on Amazon Prime Video on March 3, 2023.

The biggest change is that the show got rid of one of the band members – so the Six was the five band members and Camila. Neustadter said this was so all the characters could be fleshed out and the side characters could have a bigger storyline. Because of this, Simone – who plays a fairly minor role in the book – has more of her own story incorporated. In the book, it is mentioned that she got married then divorced, but that is it. In the show, she has a female partner for most of the show. Additionally, in the show, we see more of Camila's life not centered on Billy. Another big change is the romance between Billy and Daisy. While in the book, their relationship is fairly obvious subtext, in the show, they share two kisses.

External links

• Song lyrics from the novel