Once A King, Now A Prince:

When Reading New Celebrity Memoirs, And Your Triggers I was rewatching the second episode of a great cop show, and I found myself reacting to it emotionally. After a quick think, I realized that the show triggered an emotional response in me. The show was the usual, featuring the good guys — the cops — vs. the bad guys, the perps, along with the victims. It was just like those serials on TV that I watched as a kid, like the original Superman, and many others, that emphasized “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.” Then I thought, I do have a trigger in me regarding “justice.” Why I Like To Read New Celebrity Memoirs When reading new celebrity memoirs, I think what I enjoy most about them is the writer’s struggle and what they had to deal with as a kid, growing up with that influence, and how they learned…

More than a rock n roll book. It’s personal Every rock n roll book promises the same thing — wild nights, louder amps, and tales from the edge. But the truth is, a real rock n roll book isn’t just about the sex drugs rock and roll, or the chaos; it’s about what happens when the lights go out and the crowd disappears. Mine isn’t another collection of recycled road stories. It’s personal — the rise, the wreckage, and the raw truth that never made the headlines. It’s also about my family. If you like books about crazy families, it’s all here as well. The reality behind my rock n roll book When people pick up a rock n roll book, they expect the backstage drama, the excess, and the familiar rhythms of fame and fallout. But this story isn’t just about the music; it’s about survival. It’s about what…

Capturing the Music, One Memory at a Time There’s a special magic in a photograph that captures a fleeting moment on stage, in the studio, or behind the scenes. Many rock and roll memoirs tell a story—not just about the music, but about the people, the energy, and the life surrounding it. In my rock and roll memoirs, I’ve tried to preserve those moments: the gigs that felt electric, the nights when the crowd’s roar became a pulse running through every vein, and the quiet backstage instances where the music’s soul was born. Every snapshot is a memory frozen in time, but it’s also a reflection of the hard work, the dedication, and the human stories behind the music we love. Some images capture the sweat and intensity of a guitarist’s fingers flying over the fretboard; others show the unguarded laughter of a drummer in a rare quiet moment. Each…

How I came to name my celebrity autobiography, “Once A King, Now A Prince.” My story is more than just one you typically read in a celebrity autobiography. You may wonder whether I stem from some form of royalty, and thus the choice I made using the word ‘king’. Well, I came from a family, a highly dysfunctional family, that was below the poverty line, and only survived due to the generosity of my grandmother, Lena Derman, who helped to support my father, which included living rent-free in a bourgie neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, on Clarkson Avenue, just north of Flatbush Avenue. This was a short walk to three of my favorite stops as a child. Prospect Park, with its greenery and the Zoo, Ebinger’s Bakery, a famous Brooklyn-based bakery that operated from 1898 until it went bankrupt in 1972. They, at that time, had the best, fresh lady fingers in…

If you’ve ever wondered what life behind the spotlight really looks like, my autobiography by famous people gives you the front-row view. I’m Ira Blacker, and in Once A King, Now A Prince, I take you behind the stages, into the tours, and through the highs and lows of rock and roll life — the stuff that makes a celebrity autobiography more than just stories on paper. Autobiography By Famous People: Life on the Road and Backstage Stories In my autobiography I share how we built some of the first rock package tours — Rod Stewart and The Faces, Savoy Brown, and The Grease Band. It wasn’t just about filling seats; it was about creating shows fans would never forget. So if you enjoy reading an autobiography by famous people, let’s rock on. Trips to London opened doors to Uriah Heep, Nazareth, Deep Purple, and more. Signing these bands and…

How Rod Stewart Became A Focal Point in My Rock & Roll World If you worked in the music business in the early ’70s, you didn’t need an introduction to Rod Stewart. His voice alone could fill a room, crackle on a radio, or transform a packed auditorium into a gospel revival. But for me, Rod Stewart was more than a superstar; he was the artist who defined a story of my life, anchoring my leap into independence and reshaping my career at American Talent International. I was twenty-seven when I bolted out of my old agency in a haze of frustration. A missing secretary shouldn’t lead to a life-altering decision — but it did. My emotions overruled logic, and suddenly I was without a desk, a paycheck, or a safety net. I did what any hot-headed young agent immersed in rock and roll bands might do: I bet everything…

FOGHAT: THE SAVOY BROWN BREAKAWAY THAT HELPED SHAPE ROCK ’N’ ROLL When people talk about the best rock n roll memoirs, the story of Foghat’s beginnings deserves a chapter all its own. It’s one of those turning points in music where talent, timing, frustration, and ambition all collide. And it starts long before Foghat ever recorded a note—back in the lineup of blues-rock stalwarts Savoy Brown. Foghat’s 1971 formation wasn’t accidental; it grew from a need for creative control, a desire for a tougher, more hard-driving sound, and the chemistry of three Savoy Brown players who felt they were ready to build something of their own. Their journey reads like something you’d expect straight from the best rock n roll memoirs—gritty, determined, and fueled by the urge to break free. Below, we dig into how Dave Peverett, Roger Earl, and Tony Stevens left Savoy Brown, why they made the leap,…

I never felt that my mother loved me on my terms, but only on hers. My mother loved me simply on her terms.  She did so, as if I were an extension of herself. Therefore, she never really saw me for who I was, but only through her own lens. Writing my memoir brought back both the memories and realizations. WRITING MY MEMOIR AND THE REALIZATIONS IT BROUGHT Was I my mother’s “get even with her mother’s card,” or a “get out of jail free card,” from the indentured servitude under her mother? Or was it her “going with what she knew?” Before writing my memoir, and some years before my memoir was even a thought in my head, I had put together a storybook of pictures, writings of my mother’s father, my grandfather, along with a bit of commentary, so I did have an idea of my mother’s relationship…

Nazareth has always been a band that carried both grit and grace. Born out of Scotland and forged on relentless touring, they became one of the defining rock and roll bands of the 1970s, equal parts hard-edged swagger and emotional punch. While many fans know them best for the immortal ballad “Love Hurts,” the deeper story of Nazareth lives in the road miles, the backstage decisions, and the business relationships that helped turn a working band into an international name. It is also a story that now finds its way into the world of rock & roll books, where music history and music business finally shake hands. FROM SCOTLAND TO AMERICA: BREAKING INTO THE U.S. AND ROCK & ROLL BOOKS At the center of Nazareth’s American breakthrough stands Ira Blacker, their first U.S. booking agent, operating as the owner of American Talent International, Ltd. At a time when American radio,…

STORIES FROM MY LIFE: THEME OF BETRAYAL I learned about betrayal very early in life. It is a theme that repeats itself from my earliest memories to this day. Don’t get me wrong, in that I am not implying that I had been betrayed just last week, or at any point in recent history, but that to be truthful as a teller of the stories from my life, including in my new memoir, betrayal is still with me, but only has a “hot button,” as I have been conditioned from youth to be ultra-sensitive about it. Telling The Stories From My Life In My Memoir In writing my memoir and the stories from my life, my earliest memory was of my parents’ betrayal. They were supposed to be my protectors. Instead, my father was my antagonist. Starting with my earliest years, my cousin Judy Derman once told me, while we…

Few literary forms feel as immediate or as revealing as an autobiography by famous people. From the opening pages, these books promise access. Not the polished press-tour version, but the private rooms behind it. An autobiography by famous people isn’t about fame itself. It’s about consequence. How success is earned, squandered, misunderstood, and survived. Readers don’t pick up an autobiography by famous people to admire trophies. They read to understand the machinery behind the curtain. The best of these books offer confession without apology, clarity without publicists, and memory sharpened by time. WHY AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY FAMOUS PEOPLE FEELS DIFFERENT What separates an autobiography by famous people from other nonfiction is narrative authority. The voice belongs to the person who lived it, not a journalist reconstructing events. When done well, the result reads less like history and more like a reckoning. A strong autobiography by famous people often mirrors my…

I Did Not Consider That I Would Write A Story As I sit at my desk, pondering my navel and other things, great and small, one thing that comes to mind is that in about two weeks, my book, my autobiography, will be released everywhere. However, it did not start that way. I did not intend, at first, to write a story and to have my memoir released for all the world to see, warts and all. Ten years ago, I started writing a journal about my feelings regarding my life as a whole and how my early years affected it, both for good and for bad. They say a child is entirely formed by the age of six. However, by the age of six, I was a total wreck. I had manifested an early form of the anxiety I felt in the form of my first tick, eventually one…