When the idea came to me to find the widows of rock stars and interview them, I thought connecting was an absolute long shot. But they surprised me by responding to my requests and being very open to interviews.
The first request I sent was to Gloria Jones, widow of Marc Bolan from T. Rex, who was living in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where she founded the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film. When I saw the long string of numbers come across my phone, I had no idea who it could be. I answered and Gloria said, “Lori, this is Gloria. I’ll be in Los Angeles in a few weeks. Let’s meet!” At that meeting, she grabbed my hand and proceeded to take me on a tour of 1970s rock and roll fun on Sunset Boulevard! It was amazing and convinced me that I was on to something special.
I next met Gretchen Parsons Carpenter for lunch overlooking Los Angeles from her home in Laurel Canyon. Later, I would meet Judy Van Zant, widow of Ronnie Van Zant, in Gillsburg Mississippi, at the site of the 1977 crash that took Ronnie’s life. Women like Catherine Mayer, Jamie Weiland, Sandy Helm, and Vera Ramone, welcomed me into their homes. Every meeting has been awe-inspiring and has reconfirmed my belief that these special women need their stories told.
At each meeting, I not only learned about their lives and their relationships with their late husbands, but they eagerly learned about my life with my husband Kevin, who died in 2010 after a two-year battle with cancer. Sharing these stories has been so life-affirming and life-changing.
The past seven years have provided me with the opportunity to make new friends, share stories and memories, document details that have never before been made public, and to move forward with the support of the coolest grief group ever, if such a thing can exist.