“In 1998 Parthenon Huxley, widowed and unemployed, successfully auditions to be the guitarist/singer for Electric Light Orchestra Part II, led by ELO’s Bev Bevan. After years of ups and downs in the tough-luck music business, Huxley’s life trajectory changes for the better—lavish tours, world-class bandmates, fan adulation—until events threaten to pull it all apart.
Driven by a fluid, enthused writing style, Electric Light Odyssey is packed with captivating and often hilarious anecdotes about the rock ‘n’ roll life—from sharing an invisible joint with Paul McCartney and being serenaded at his wedding by Stephen Stills, to singing harmony with Brian Wilson, performing with Linda Ronstadt, and much more.
A must-read for music lovers, aspiring artists, and fans of triumph-over-adversity stories, Electric Light Odyssey chronicles Huxley’s life journey as he grows from budding songwriter to rock n’ roll veteran with the scars and rewards to show for it. Huxley fearlessly leads the reader on a tour of his thrilling wins, humbling failures, and heart-stopping personal drama.”
FROM HIS WIKIPEDIA PAGE: “His touring career began as a member of the
Chapel Hill, NC rock band The Blazers (not the LA-based band
of the same name). The band was founded and released their first album before his involvement; for their second album, The Blazers consisted of Huxley (credited under his original name Rick Miller), Sherman Tate (lead & harmony vocals, rhythm guitar), Ronnie Taylor (drums & percussion) and Lee Gildersleeve (bass). This iteration of the group issued the album
How to Rock: Ten Easy Lessons (Moonlight Records, 1980), again produced by Don Dixon, and then broke up.
His first solo recording (released under the pseudonym "Rick Rock"
[2]) was the self-produced, self-financed single "Buddha, Buddha" / "Sputnik" (Big Groovy, 1983). Despite its modest recording budget of US $400
[3] "Buddha, Buddha" was named one of the ten best records ever made in North Carolina by the
Greensboro Record. During this period Huxley also toured as guitarist with Don Dixon under the name Me & Dixon. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1987 and signed with
Columbia Records; the following year he recorded his first solo album,
Sunny Nights (Columbia 1988), produced by Huxley and
David Kahne. Three of its tracks ("Double Our Numbers", "Guest Host for the Holy Ghost" and "Chance to Be Loved") were released as singles during that year. Although the album received favorable reviews (Rolling Stone Magazine called it a "monumental debut"), it did not sell well and this ended his association with Columbia”