Rosemary Butler - The Girl Who Fell In Love With The World

I recently had the opportunity to interview my friend (and idol!) Rosemary Butler for Rock Cellar Magazine. In addition to her mind-blowing resume, Rosie's got a life story that will knock your socks off. Below is an excerpt, link to full article at bottom.
 
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The Girl Who Fell In Love With The World

Walking into Starbucks to meet Rosemary Butler, I am astounded by the people sitting around her, casually sipping lattes while fixated on their cellphones. Don’t they know they are in the presence of rock royalty? Forgive me if I’m starstruck, but this is Rosie, the queen of all background singers. Rosie: the voice on Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” and “Stay.” The voice that wailed “You’re No Good” with Linda Rondstadt and harmonized with Bette Midler on “The Rose.” This is a woman who backed up Etta James for crying out loud, who has sung with Paul Mc Cartney and performed for Princess Diana and Prince Charles. 

Clarence Clemons, Roy Bittan, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, and Rosemary Butler

She brightens when she sees me, her megawatt smile wide and beaming. Her huge blue eyes reflect a youthfulness and innocence. My bass-playing friend Chazz aptly describes her as, “the Goldie Hawn of music.

As one of six children, Rosemary grew up an army brat, moving often. Her father’s career took them all over the country, molding her gypsy spirit. At twelve years old, while spending months in a full body cast, she sought solace by banging away on an old guitar. Little did she know this little hobby would one day take her around the world.

Rosie never attended her high school prom but she had a good reason: her all-girl band  The Ladybirds had an opening gig for The Rolling Stones. After the gig, the boys in the band ventured up to the girl-bands hotel room. “They came to our hotel room thinking, ‘hmmm, a girl band. This’ll be easy,’” she muses, “but we were little virgins. We had our flannel nightgowns on and we were like, ‘um, we’re really Beatles freaks.’” The guys continued to stand outside their door smoking cigarettes, waiting for the girls to come to their senses, but the girls kept that door shut. Days later, while everyone came back to school sharing their prom mementos, Rosie sold the cigarette butts the Stones had left outside her door. “That’s when I knew that my life was going to be different.” 

Click here to read the rest on RockCellarMagazine.com.

Walking into Starbucks to meet Rosemary Butler, I am astounded by the people sitting around her, casually sipping lattes while fixated on their cellphones. Don’t they know they are in the presence of rock royalty? Forgive me if I’m starstruck, but this is Rosie, the queen of all background singers. Rosie: the voice on Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty and Stay. The voice that wailed You’re No Good with Linda Rondstadt and harmonized with Bette Midler on The Rose. This is a woman who backed up Etta James for crying out loud, who has sung with Paul McCartney and performed for Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
She brightens when she sees me, her megawatt smile wide and beaming. Her huge blue eyes reflect a youthfulness and innocence. My bass-playing friend Chazz aptly describes her as, “the Goldie Hawn of music.”
As one of six children, Rosemary grew up an army brat, moving often. Her father’s career took them all over the country, molding her gypsy spirit. At twelve years old, while spending months in a full body cast, she sought solace by banging away on an old guitar. Little did she know this little hobby would one day take her around the world.
Rosie never attended her high school prom but she had a good reason: her all-girl band  The Ladybirds had an opening gig for The Rolling Stones. After the gig, the boys in the band ventured up to the girl-band’s hotel room. “They came to our hotel room thinking, ‘hmmm, a girl band. This’ll be easy,’” she muses, “but we were little virgins. We had our flannel nightgowns on and we were like, ‘um, we’re really Beatles freaks.’”
The guys continued to stand outside their door smoking cigarettes, waiting for the girls to come to their senses, but the girls kept that door shut. Days later, while everyone came back to school sharing their prom mementos, Rosie sold the cigarette butts the Stones had left outside her door. “That’s when I knew that my life was going to be different.”
- See more at: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/05/06/rosemary-butler-the-girl-who-fell-in-love-with-the-world-interview/#sthash.z1B795S5.dpuf

Walking into Starbucks to meet Rosemary Butler, I am astounded by the people sitting around her, casually sipping lattes while fixated on their cellphones. Don’t they know they are in the presence of rock royalty? Forgive me if I’m starstruck, but this is Rosie, the queen of all background singers. Rosie: the voice on Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty and Stay. The voice that wailed You’re No Good with Linda Rondstadt and harmonized with Bette Midler on The Rose. This is a woman who backed up Etta James for crying out loud, who has sung with Paul McCartney and performed for Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
She brightens when she sees me, her megawatt smile wide and beaming. Her huge blue eyes reflect a youthfulness and innocence. My bass-playing friend Chazz aptly describes her as, “the Goldie Hawn of music.”
As one of six children, Rosemary grew up an army brat, moving often. Her father’s career took them all over the country, molding her gypsy spirit. At twelve years old, while spending months in a full body cast, she sought solace by banging away on an old guitar. Little did she know this little hobby would one day take her around the world.
Rosie never attended her high school prom but she had a good reason: her all-girl band  The Ladybirds had an opening gig for The Rolling Stones. After the gig, the boys in the band ventured up to the girl-band’s hotel room. “They came to our hotel room thinking, ‘hmmm, a girl band. This’ll be easy,’” she muses, “but we were little virgins. We had our flannel nightgowns on and we were like, ‘um, we’re really Beatles freaks.’”
The guys continued to stand outside their door smoking cigarettes, waiting for the girls to come to their senses, but the girls kept that door shut. Days later, while everyone came back to school sharing their prom mementos, Rosie sold the cigarette butts the Stones had left outside her door. “That’s when I knew that my life was going to be different.”
- See more at: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/05/06/rosemary-butler-the-girl-who-fell-in-love-with-the-world-interview/#sthash.z1B795S5.dpuf

Walking into Starbucks to meet Rosemary Butler, I am astounded by the people sitting around her, casually sipping lattes while fixated on their cellphones. Don’t they know they are in the presence of rock royalty? Forgive me if I’m starstruck, but this is Rosie, the queen of all background singers. Rosie: the voice on Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty and Stay. The voice that wailed You’re No Good with Linda Rondstadt and harmonized with Bette Midler on The Rose. This is a woman who backed up Etta James for crying out loud, who has sung with Paul McCartney and performed for Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
She brightens when she sees me, her megawatt smile wide and beaming. Her huge blue eyes reflect a youthfulness and innocence. My bass-playing friend Chazz aptly describes her as, “the Goldie Hawn of music.”
As one of six children, Rosemary grew up an army brat, moving often. Her father’s career took them all over the country, molding her gypsy spirit. At twelve years old, while spending months in a full body cast, she sought solace by banging away on an old guitar. Little did she know this little hobby would one day take her around the world.
Rosie never attended her high school prom but she had a good reason: her all-girl band  The Ladybirds had an opening gig for The Rolling Stones. After the gig, the boys in the band ventured up to the girl-band’s hotel room. “They came to our hotel room thinking, ‘hmmm, a girl band. This’ll be easy,’” she muses, “but we were little virgins. We had our flannel nightgowns on and we were like, ‘um, we’re really Beatles freaks.’”
The guys continued to stand outside their door smoking cigarettes, waiting for the girls to come to their senses, but the girls kept that door shut. Days later, while everyone came back to school sharing their prom mementos, Rosie sold the cigarette butts the Stones had left outside her door. “That’s when I knew that my life was going to be different.”
- See more at: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/05/06/rosemary-butler-the-girl-who-fell-in-love-with-the-world-interview/#sthash.z1B795S5.dpuf

Walking into Starbucks to meet Rosemary Butler, I am astounded by the people sitting around her, casually sipping lattes while fixated on their cellphones. Don’t they know they are in the presence of rock royalty? Forgive me if I’m starstruck, but this is Rosie, the queen of all background singers. Rosie: the voice on Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty and Stay. The voice that wailed You’re No Good with Linda Rondstadt and harmonized with Bette Midler on The Rose. This is a woman who backed up Etta James for crying out loud, who has sung with Paul McCartney and performed for Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
She brightens when she sees me, her megawatt smile wide and beaming. Her huge blue eyes reflect a youthfulness and innocence. My bass-playing friend Chazz aptly describes her as, “the Goldie Hawn of music.”
As one of six children, Rosemary grew up an army brat, moving often. Her father’s career took them all over the country, molding her gypsy spirit. At twelve years old, while spending months in a full body cast, she sought solace by banging away on an old guitar. Little did she know this little hobby would one day take her around the world.
Rosie never attended her high school prom but she had a good reason: her all-girl band  The Ladybirds had an opening gig for The Rolling Stones. After the gig, the boys in the band ventured up to the girl-band’s hotel room. “They came to our hotel room thinking, ‘hmmm, a girl band. This’ll be easy,’” she muses, “but we were little virgins. We had our flannel nightgowns on and we were like, ‘um, we’re really Beatles freaks.’”
The guys continued to stand outside their door smoking cigarettes, waiting for the girls to come to their senses, but the girls kept that door shut. Days later, while everyone came back to school sharing their prom mementos, Rosie sold the cigarette butts the Stones had left outside her door. “That’s when I knew that my life was going to be different.”
- See more at: http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2014/05/06/rosemary-butler-the-girl-who-fell-in-love-with-the-world-interview/#sthash.z1B795S5.dpuf

Wilson Phillips- Passing the Torch

Troy and Chynna

As many of you know, my husband Troy has been in the band Wilson Phillips for about 6 years, playing keyboards and guitar, touring around the country and the world with them (and I often tag along). Last night was one of their rare Los Angeles performances so we gathered a group of friends and family and headed off for the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills. I was looking forward to a great night, but what I didn’t know was how deeply meaningful and poignant it would be.

Troy and I with our son Taylor and daughter Cristen

I felt incredibly lucky to witness a real magic between generations - a passing of the musical torch. First I witnessed it in my own family. Our two grown children Cristen and Taylor are both musicians and working in the music biz. Troy and I spent years as “band parents”, attending their shows, supporting their bands. But last night our kids got to see their Dad in his element. It was such a joy for me to watch them watching him, and the biggest thrill was to later see online how they had posted pictures of Troy on instagram with hashtags like #prouddaughter. Sigh…

If you aren’t familiar, Wilson Phillips is Carnie and Wendy Wilson and Chynna Phillips. Last year the girls had a big splash in the movie Bridesmaids, performing their hit song Hold On (the number one album of 1990, and the top selling female group of all time). They also recently released an album of covers of their parents music (the Beach Boys, and the Mamas and Papas).

Last night, as they performed the Mamas and Papas tune Dedicated, they brought Cass Elliot’s daughter Owen onstage to sing with them. When Owen let that voice of hers loose, it was as though Mama Cass was alive again and on the stage. The crowd went crazy. Even deeper was Michelle Phillips' reaction, throwing her arms in the air and letting out a cry. It was such a moving experience to watch Michelle (the only surviving member of the Mamas and Papas) witnessing her and John Phillips' daughter Chynna, and Mama Cass’ daughter Owen, bring their music alive again. I was choked up, and as I looked around the room I could see many others were, too.

But  the most emotional part of the evening for me was when the notoriously reclusive and troubled Brian Wilson showed up to watch his daughters perform – for the first time ever (a long complicated story). Carnie was nervous, not knowing if he would actually make it. I first spotted Brian, looking shy and overwhelmed, standing against a wall. He was seated with his wife and son in front of us, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he watched his daughters perform his songs. He was rapt the entire time, leaning forward, lazer focused on the girls as they performed those beautiful harmonies, parts he had arranged when he was so young. He looked mesmerized as Carnie sang lead on God Only Knows, then Wendy lead on Wouldn’t It Be Nice, and the three girls accapella on In My Room. I wondered what thoughts were going through his mind, what memories were conjured up. God only knows...

After the show I rushed backstage to tell Carnie and Wendy about Brian’s reaction, how he was so taken with them, so attentive to every musical moment. Their faces lit up, and Carnie’s eyes filled with tears. It was the first time, the FIRST TIME in twenty-three  years, that he had ever seen them perform. And they were carrying his torch…as Chynna carries John and Michelle’s, as Owen carries Cass Elliot's, as our own kids carry music on in their lives.

Chynna and Mama Michelle

Carnie, Brian and Wendy

Troy, me, Cristen and Taylor, passing the torch.

Even writing this now I am overwhelmed with emotion.

The only thing that would have made the night better is if Tori Spelling ( who was there with her husband Dean Mc Dermott, Carnie’s team mate on the Food Network show Rachael Vs Guy) hadn’t talked LOUDLY all through the girls accapella version of You Won’t See Me Cry. But even then, I thought of Tori carrying her own father’s TV legacy forward, and I softened toward her.

Overall it was a night I’ll not forget, a night that gave me much to ponder, and a night that made me very, very proud to be Troy Dexter’s wife. As Taylor said on instagram, #DadkilledIt.

FULL HOUSE at The Canyon Club

Thanks to everyone for showing up to support! Taylor, Wendy and Eddie and Dani and...

Todd Denise, Erin, Beth, Dani and Cristen- Thanks for being there to share a great night!

Owen Elliot joins Wilson Phillips to sing "Dedicated". My hubby Troy on B3 keyboards behind Wendy.

Too Old to Dream?

The girl I used to be...

Are we ever too old to dream?

Last night, Troy and I went with our friends Carnie and Rob to see Kenny Loggins in concert. After all these years (40 plus, can you believe it?) Kenny has still got it – let me tell you. He is handsome and fit and sings his ass off. He performed Danny’s song as beautifully as the day he wrote it. He jumped around the stage, danced, rocked This Is It and Footloose like he was thirty years old.

Are you ready for this? Kenny Loggins is 64. 

Kenny also performed an opening set with Blue Sky Riders, a new vocal harmony band he’s formed with two of Nashville’s top singer songwriters. Kenny said that when he told a trusted advisor he was going to form this new band and go on the road, this friend told him, “You’re too old to start a new band. Maybe you should think about retiring.” In response, Kenny and his bandmates wrote this song,  Dream,  which will now be my new life mantra.

Who are you to tell me what I can’t be

Well, that ain’t right

As if all I’ve been is all I’m ever gonna be

for the rest of my life

You take the glory days

I’ll take what’s on its way

All I can do is believe in myself

If I listen to you, they might as well

leave me in the rain, take me out to sea, lock me up in chains, throw away the key

the day I ever got too old to dream. 

After the show, we went backstage to visit with some of our friends in the band. Our friend Shem, the bass player, said that at 64, Kenny has softened as a person, but has never slowed down artistically, and is writing and singing better than ever. And then I thought about what a wuss I have been lately. 

It’s no surprise to me that this experience would come just as I told Troy I was thinking about quitting my singing career. A woman only has so much shelf life in this shallow music business, after all. Basically, I wanted to leave the biz before it left me, and it was leaving me slowly, my phone sitting quiet for months now.

As if on cue- my phone rang. A few times. And now I have two unexpected gigs this weekend (both with my hubby) and a session next week. I was feeling confused by this. The old Clash song ran though my head – Should I stay or should I go? ( you youngsters probably don’t even know who The Clash is)

Watching Kenny last night, I felt inspired again. What is age anyway? I mean, its inevitable. It’s going to happen to all of us, but it’s the way in which we age that matters. We can fill our lives with joy and gratitude and passion, or we can become bitter and rigid and stiff. Whatever way we choose, it is reflected in the way we appear. A person whose passion burns inside is beautiful on the outside.

Today I am feeling just a bit more hopeful, thanks to Kenny reminding me that I’m never too old to dream. I’m dusting off my songbook, packing up my gear for a gig tonight – and I won’t forget to bring the most important thing of all - my passion. To quote the Blue Sky Riders: You take the glory days- I'll take what's on its way...

Take a moment to watch this video and see if you don’t feel the same:

Blue Sky Riders with Kenny Loggins

Aging Gracefully? What's that?

Let’s talk about something really uncomfortable… It happens to us all, beginning the very moment we are born and continuing until the day we die. Aging. We watch people in our families and communities grow old, and eventually pass away. And yet, we’ve lived in some kind of strange denial that it will never really happen to us. We will never be old. Oh sure, we may joke around about being an old codger one day, but we don’t really mean it. We’re young, hip, cool, trendy. We can do anything; cartwheels, mountain climbing, running marathons. We hustle through life with kids strapped to our backs or on our hips, multi tasking, flying at the speed of sound. We can do it all until…one day, we can’t.

One morning you wake up and you’re achy for no good reason. One day you’re in a restaurant “playing trombone” with the menu. Or you catch your reflection in a window at the mall and you don’t recognize yourself. (Oh the horror of fluorescent lighting!).

Well, it certainly won’t be happening to me, because I’ve done all the right things. I eat the Doctor Oz foods, I exercise, and I use anti-aging products. Ha!

Those words “anti-aging” are a flat out lie! There is no way to stop aging unless you can stop time. We are all aging, and the sooner we come out of denial about it, the better we’ll all feel (and maybe if we weren’t so freekin’ stressed about it, we wouldn’t age as fast!).

I deeply resent seeing twenty-five-year-old airbrushed models in ads for “anti-aging” products. They want you to believe that this is what an older woman can and should look like. Again, let me assure you ladies, it is a LIE. You can take great care of yourself and have great skin, but you will not look twenty-five when you are forty-five. Let’s all embrace this truth. Okay?

I think it’s terribly sad the way we vilify the aging process, and cast out our elders. We push them far, far away from us. We put them in “assisted living facilities”. Keep them out of our homes, out of our societies. Pay as much money as it takes to keep them at bay.

And on some level we’re doing that to our aging selves as well. We bury our faces under injected synthetic fillers, and when that doesn’t work, we have surgery to remove our old faces and bodies. Oh, what will history say about this strange era we live in?

Personally, I am exhausted by the struggle. Every day I surrender a little more to the inevitable, but still there is this shame that creeps in to my psyche when I look in the mirror and I see the softening of my jawline, or the bags under my eyes in the morning. Although I know it makes no sense logically, I feel like I am letting society down! There are no longer any role models in the media who look like me at age 46. They all look 30. What I see on television and in magazines doesn’t reflect a standard that I can live up to, unless I give in and start injecting botox and restylene and get an eye lift…ugh.

This whole aging thing is hitting me right in the pocketbook. I have made my living as an entertainer, and suddenly, the gigs aren’t rolling in like they used to. The entertainment industry doesn’t find my aging to be a desirable quality. And so I suit up for inner battle with the toxic societal message that has subtly nestled itself into my subconscious, and it’s a particularly fierce battle because I live in L.A.

Dammit! I just want to look like me. I want to be authentic, and embrace the truth of who I am on every level. My face tells a story. I have pronounced laugh lines around my eyes, and smile lines around my mouth. I’ve laughed a lot in my life, and shouldn’t that be a good thing? I also have heavy eyelids, and circles under my eyes. Okay, so I’ve cried a lot too, but I’ve survived some dark stuff. My eyes are my badge of courage. And through them I am learning to see myself differently.

I can’t honestly think of anything truly positive about the physical process of aging. I mean, that part pretty much sucks 100%. I have not enjoyed losing my eyesight, my jawline, and my physical strength. I don’t appreciate that I have to work out twice as hard and eat half as much just to maintain my previous weight. Not fair at all. But on a deeper level, If we’re doing it right, we are growing better every day spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.

Whenever I am struggling with a tough issue like this, I look for the positive and remind myself how much there is to be grateful for. So let me give that a try (grumble, grumble, grumble...).

For me, this is what is good, or even GREAT, about aging:

I am more confident and sure of myself than I’ve ever been.

I am at peace.

I have learned to roll with the punches in life, and to accept a lot of what I used to resist.

I don’t give a rat’s ass what others think of me.

I have raised wonderful children who I am proud of.

I have wisdom and experience.

I still have an adventurous youthful spirit.

I do yoga, run, hike, travel, and I plan to do so until my last day on Earth.

I am learning every day.

I have choices every day.

I am more patient with myself, and with others.

I have made peace with my past.

I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve had, good and bad

I am softer to hug.

I am softer.

So, aging gracefully? I’m not really sure what that means, or if I know anyone who’s doing it. I think what I’m doing personally is aging awkwardly, and begrudgingly. But I’m gonna keep on doing it every day, whether I like it or not. I can sail through it, or be dragged through it kicking and screaming (which I’ve done at times…). Perhaps sailing is the better (less painful) way.

I’ll tell you this - I wouldn’t go back to my twenties for a million bucks. And all the things I gripe about now at 46, I know I will be wistful for when I’m 66. So, note to self: Life is good. Shut off the noise coming at you from the media. Don’t look at the magazines. Appreciate the true beauty in your life, scratch beneath the surface for the deeper, better stuff.

And to sum it up, learn how to Age Gratefully.