I have to admit, the biggest surprises for me were the history and aftermath for the members of The Grassroots. The story of a band essentially cobbled together by Lou Adler expressly to sing the songs of P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, who decided to breakaway and try their own creative directions, was a bit reminiscent of The Monkees. The biographies of Rob Grill, Creed Bratton, and Warren Entner alone demonstrate that the rock mythos has many, many tales well worth knowing about but have gotten lost in the mist of time—or were never told before to begin with.
In their introduction, the authors suggest some of these stories can be inspirational, but I think this is a bit of hyperbole. For the most part, many of the former pop stars had short lives in the spotlight before going into all manner of career paths, most far removed from the music business. This isn't to say there aren't poignant moments. Reading that Rob Grill, former lead singer for the Grassroots, listened to "Live for Today" just before he died, is more than memorable. But you really got to care about these folks to want to know about their marriages, children, and grandchildren's lives and interests.
Perhaps the most revealing insights are when the various performers reflect on the meaning of fleeting stardom in their lives and how they look back on their glory days. For us, their audience, the songs they performed made important impressions on our youth. Collectively, the Childs/March books are both time capsules and a chance for all those musicians to tell their stories the way they want us to hear them. That's a major plus for all these "conversations"—March's preferred term for the interviews—first-hand information. If you want accurate, credible behind-the-hits anecdotes and memories, March and Childs have the right formula. No doubt, we should expect volumes 3, 4...
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