As a founding member of two legendary bands, Jefferson Airplane and the still-touring Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen has achieved incredible success. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient, Kaukonen has played with many well-known and historic musicians, including his contemporaries Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan. For the first time, he is sharing his story in BEEN SO LONG: My Life and Music. The book will also include an exclusive five track companion album. The tracks include live recordings of "Been So Long," "Song for the High Mountain," "Broken Highway," "River of Time," and "In My Dreams."
With a foreword by Grace Slick and an afterword by bandmate Jack Casady, BEEN SO LONG is an intimate portrait of an artist who was at the forefront of Psychedelic Rock and has since become one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and Americana. Kaukonen's memoir reveals the stories behind the songs, lessons from a life in the music industry, and his reflections on a remarkable decades-long career.
BEEN SO LONG charts not only Jorma's association with the bands that made him famous but goes into never-before-told details about his addiction and recovery, his troubled first marriage and still-thriving second, the creation of the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, which he operates with his wife, Vanessa, and more. Interspersed with diary entries, personal correspondence, and song lyrics, this memoir is as unforgettable and inspiring as Jorma's music itself.
"A modern parable." -from the foreword by Grace Slick
"Kaukonen's ingenuity, his creativity, his desire to follow a story wherever it takes him, and his crisp writing permeate his new autobiography Been So Long: My Life and Music; his writing is as smooth and intricate as his fingerstyle blues, and he's a rattling good raconteur, drawing us in with tales of his days in the Airplane and Hot Tuna, and always candid about his own battles with alcoholism and drug use and his failed first marriage.... Kaukonen's illuminating stories and lilting prose warm us with this glow, too, and the book carries us on a lyrical journey through the hills and valleys of a man who is one of the five best guitarists playing today." -No Depression journal
"Amiable and informative... An honest personal portrait." -Kirkus Reviews
"Jorma comes across as a real guy ...saying what he really did ...and how he actually feels ....kind of what you'd expect if you knew him ...but very unusual for a book ...they are seldom this honest or this good." -David Crosby
"Jorma Kaukonen has produced an enduring body of original music, and devoted a lifetime to introducing a broad audience to blues, roots and Americana. Been So Long is an important read for anyone who loves music. It is thoughtful, insightful and downright fun. In Japan, artists who have made the greatest contributions are designated as Living National Treasures. For many reasons, Jorma is a truly Living National Treasure. I learned a lot from Been So Long, and I highly recommend it."-Jesse Finkelstein, Blues Radio International