es in Backstage Pass l Eightiesthe Heavy Meta oys Big Hair, Bad B irl) (and One Bad G

ARBOR OAK BOOKS

Omaha, Nebraska

 2012 Rita Rae Roxx; photos copyright All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Some names of the authors associates have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Names of rock stars and bands are real. All photos are from the personal collection of the author. Arbor Oak Books 13518 L Street Omaha, NE 68134 (402) 884-5995 Names of rock stars and bands are real. Just a few names of some of the authors associates have been changed. All photos are from the personal collection of the author. ISBN-13: 978-1-936840-16-8 LCCN: 2012936081 OnceUponaRockStarBook.com Facebook.com/OnceUponARockStar Lisa Pelto, Concierge Marketing, Inc., book producer/publisher Sandra Wendel, Write On, Inc., editor Brian C. Wilson, cover design, BCW, Phoenix Authors photo: hair by Joy Peterson, makeup by Alyson Fackler, photography by Heartland Photos & Design, logo design by Joe Pankowski Photos: front cover: Rita Rae Roxx with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith (1986) backcover: Rita Rae Roxx in prize-winning photo to get backstage with Ozzy Osbourne (1981) May contain some offensive language.

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What others say about Once Upon a Rock Star

Rockin Rita was definitely the queen of rock fans in the Midwest with her signature short, tight mini-skirt. You never had a problem picking Rita out in a crowd. She was probably on a first-name basis with more tour managers and rock stars than anyone I ran across, and Ive been in the business for thrity-plus years. Rita never had a problem getting backstage, in a dressing room, or on a tour bus. She seemed to have the ultimate key to the city when bands rolled into town. Tom Bergin President, Concert Security Services

To Koko

coke e and I did Mtley Cr ft town. from the band le Nikki Sixx om before ing ro in the dress

Contents
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Party Like a Rock Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 In the Key of G (String) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Dream Team of Hot Chicks. . . . . . . . . . 101 Star Struck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Best Dressed and Undressed . . . . . . . . . 111 A Motley Crew We Were . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Rock Me All Night Long . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 No Longer My American Idol. . . . . . . . 131 Night Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Mexican Drug Connection . . . . . . . . . . 147 How could I forget you? . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Ratt Poison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Welcome to Beverly Hills. . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Stars Bigger Than Rock Stars . . . . . . . . 163 Somewhere over the Rainbow. . . . . . . . 167 Dog Day Night. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Once in a Lifetime. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Blondes and Brunettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Rocky Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Introduction: Do you girls want to come backstage? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Let the Music Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sorry, sweetheart, youre too young. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Backstage Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Ozzy Buzzes In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Behind the Magic Curtain. . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Rita Rocks on Stage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 LA Tripping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Superstar of Rock Stars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Bigger the Better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Blowing Up My Skirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Nobody turns down a cute girl with a pocketful of cocaine.. . . . . . . . . . 45 Ticket to Ride. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Quietly Riotous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The Girls on the Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 One Little Chiquita from Omaha. . . . . . 67 Kiss and Tell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Star-Studded Nights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Encore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Final Curtain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Do you girls want to come backstage?

t was a hot, sticky August night in 1980. My best girlfriend Lisa, her little sister, and I went downtown to see the eight-oclock show with Alice Cooper and Billy Squier at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. I wore purple painters pants, a yellow transfer t-shirt that said, Do you think Im sexy? and white satin sandals. We wanted to get there early to fight for the seats closest to the stage up on the first level. We made it. The show started late, the lights finally went down. Billy Squier came out rocking the house. Nobody had really heard of him, only that he was receiving some airplay for a song called The Big Beat! He was a fox. Thats what we called good-looking guys in the eighties. We were screaming, shaking what we had that would shake, and dancing our asses off. We couldnt sing the songs because we didnt know the words. Just when we thought it was over, Billy came back out singing his hit song and strutting his stuff over to our side of the stage. We made eye contact. The song had ended and the band was exiting the stage. I grabbed my girlfriends hand and urged her, Come on. I ran over and, leaning over the railing, yelled at Billy. Not knowing his name, I just screamed, Rich Kid, because thats what his t-shirt said. He looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back saying, I want to meet you. I had turned fifteen just three weeks before. He disappeared through the door well. Then this huge man, part of the road crew, came out, turned around, and looked up at us and asked, Do you girls want to come backstage?

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So we crawled over a railing, jumped down on the tops of the massive speakers, and worked our way to the main floor and followed him backstage to the hospitality area. Somebody asked how old I was and I said, Sixteen. This was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me, next to meeting Scott Baio two years earlier at the Auto Show in the same venue. Backstage, just a few radio personalities and some other people were milling around. We grabbed a free soda, not knowing what to expect. We were high on excitement. Then the band came out and began to mingle. It was Jeff, Alan, Bobby, and Billy. I was very nervous, so all I could do was smile cheek to cheek. I just couldnt believe it. Meeting the band was such a thrill, and there I was unprepared without a camera or even pen and paper for an autograph. I didnt even carry a purse back thenjust some clear Bonnie Bell lip gloss in my pocket. I was talking to Billy and just staring into his dark brown eyes. I could hear the crowd roaring, and the lights had just gone out as Alice Cooper was about to come out. My girlfriends told me they were leaving to go watch the show. I stayed backstage talking to Billy, when he asked me, Have you ever been on a tour bus before? No, I replied. All of sudden seeing Alice Cooper wasnt important to me anymore. Besides, wasnt he kinda old? And really I only wanted to hear Eighteen and Schools Out so I figured I could miss a few songs. Billy walked me out and we boarded his tour bus. It was all RVed out fancy with bad shag carpet everywhere. It was so cool. Somebody had thrown a cowboy hat on stage, and Billy was still wearing it. He looked so handsome to me and like a real man. Very sexy. I was used to hanging out with boys my age. The farthest Id ever gone sexually was third base with a kid I knew from the park where I used to hang out to Meat Loaf s Paradise by the Dashboard Light. But now I was caught up in the excitement of the rock scene, and who knew what the night would bring?
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First we sat on the couches in the front part of the bus and talked. I remember talking about his show and telling him how I liked it. He asked me what I thought about his music. I said that I had heard about The Big Beat and that his next album would bring him huge success. Then he started kissing me and kissing me. I took my satin sandals off. We started making out. I was excited by the roughness of his face from his whiskers. I was used to kissing soft-skinned boys. Then he grabbed my hand and led me to the middle part of the bus where there were bunk beds like youd see in old train movies. He cleared off his bunk of a tablet he had been writing songs on. As we crawled in there, we both started to take each others clothes off kissing the whole time. I started getting nervous because once his penis was exposed, I really didnt know what to do. I just kept stroking it back and forth over and over, like I was petting it and giving it a lick or two. God forbid I was going to stick that thing in my mouth. Then he asked me, Have you ever been with anyone before? Shamelessly, I replied no. He gave me the most tender kiss I had ever had, rolled me onto my back, got on top of me, and said, I will be very gentle with you. As he entered me, I remember the pain was not what everyone had told me it would be. No, I felt pure ultimate pleasure with a deep lasting kiss to go with. I moaned as quietly as I could. I could hear people boarding the bus and talking going on at the front of the bus. I was very scared someone would soon walk in on us. I could hear more people getting on the busthe door slammed every time. Then the bus started its engine. I knew it was time to go. Getting my clothes back on, I was so worried about whether I bled on his bunk or not. When the bus started to roll, Billy opened up the door and yelled to the driver to stop. I couldnt find my white satin sandals, remembering I had taken them off earlier in the front of the bus. I went up to the front, which was now filled with the rest of the band. My shoes were not there. Looking for them frantically, I asked Billy to help me. He snapped at me, Why did you take them off in the first place?
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Before I could even reply to something like that, a band mate yelled out, Cuz she didnt want them digging in your back! I felt humiliated, like everyone knew what had just happened. As tears filled my eyes I looked at Billy and said, I left my shoes right there, and I am not going home without my shoes. What will my mom say? Then I turned around, tears falling down my face, and there were my shoes. Someones little prank had gone too far. I got off the bus, and Billy wiped the tears from my face. He told me he was sorry for raising his voice to me. Then he picked me up in his arms and carried me back into the auditorium. It was the most romantic thing to this day I can remember ever happening to me. Once he put me down, he gave me the most grateful kiss ever and turned around and walked out. I was in love. I just couldnt believe it. It was like a rock-and-roll-fairy-tale way to lose my virginity. Would anyone ever believe me? Who would I really want to tell? That was to be my secret. And this, my friends, is where it all began.