1 Published BooksRosie McGee
I was born Florence Nathan in Paris, France, the daughter of two Parisians who owned a bookstore. When I was five, we emigrated to the U.S. where I entered a San Francisco kindergarten speaking only French.
I started taking photographs when I was 12, about the time I wrote my first short story for an English class.
At 18, I was hired by legendary DJ "Big Daddy" Tom Donahue to work for his Autumn Records and Tempo Productions--it changed my life forever.
If that wasn't enough of a change, I moved in with Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh at the band's L.A. home not long after we met in December of 1965.
When we split late in 1969, I remained in the Dead's inner circle as their travel agent, French interpreter, onstage dancing girl and the office manager for Alembic, the band's sound and recording team.
There followed many years of wandering and moving, taking photos and writing mostly in secret. It was 1989 before the first publication of my essays in Jerilyn Brandelius' wonderful book, "The Grateful Dead Family Album".
I love being back in the San Francisco Bay Area after a 20-year absence, still enjoy going to clubs and concerts and have frequent reunions with my many friends from back in the day.
I have a long-haired counterculture son who lives in Eugene, Oregon. There was no need for him to rebel.
This is my first book.
