My friend Robert from Austin recently suggested that a book might lose credibility because of its title. He was referring to Dinesh D'Souza's The Roots of Obama's Rage. Because of that title, Robert was reluctant to think D'Souza had anything legitimate to say.

I felt the same way about Cherry Vanilla's autobiography, Lick Me. But, when I noticed her tome on my library's New Book shelf, I was also picking up The Roots of Obama's Rage and Dreams from My Father, and I thought a little light reading might provide me with some balance.

Lick Me is undeniably light reading, but it is also interesting and well-written. My interest with the book is due in large part to its setting - the author grew up in Queens in the 50s and then worked in Manhattan in the 60s and 70s. I love reading about those places.

Cherry Vanilla was born Kathleen Dorritie into a working-class Irish family. She doesn't spend a lot of words describing her parents or her siblings. Rather, she seems to assume that her life resulted solely from her choices, not from family influences. That's refreshing.

Kathleen started making those choices immediately after graduating from an all-girls Catholic high school by getting a job in Manhattan with an ad agency. She loved the glamour of show business, especially music, and was happy that this job placed her on the edge of that glamour.

Life with an ad agency in the 60s included the possibility of incessant partying, and Kathleen chose to participate. She called the men "Mad men" because most of them worked on Madison Avenue. Although Kathleen's work environment seems strikingly similar to that depicted on the TV show called, "Mad Men," she never draws any comparison, and since I have seen the TV show only rarely, I am unable to make a comparison either.

Shortly after starting work in the ad agency, Kathleen lost her virginity during a week-end visit to a Long Island party house. The guy was a one-night stand, and Kathleen described her post-coital feelings as: "The incredible release I felt from letting him lead me further and further into complete sexual rapture was miraculous, a major awakening for me. I was eighteen and I had finally gone all the way, without any thought of the taboos and with what I recognized right away to be an insatiable hunger for more."

From that point on, Kathleen went on "an all-out sexual spree," and she eventually incorporated a plethora of drugs into her lifestyle, all while being a productive and successful employee. Her career went from the ad agency to disc jockey to publicist. She took on the name Cherry Vanilla, and her biggest act was David Bowie. Eventually, she tried singing, but enjoyed only a modicum of success before settling into a more sedate lifestyle in her 40s. She had a three abortions and only a brief marriage later in life.

The abortions were traumatic experiences for Cherry. About the second one, she wrote: "For a woman who's in no position to bring a child into the world, having one in your womb has got to be the worst, most soul-wrenching thing that can ever, ever happen. The whole bottom falls out of your life, and every thought, plan, hope, and dream you have is suddenly eclipsed by the heaviness and the urgency of the situation at hand. And there's no getting away from it, not even for a second. It's there inside you, with a heart that's already beating. And in its primordial struggle to survive, the tiny entity is changing your hormones and manipulating all of your emotions. Your will and your reasoning helplessly fall prey to your inescapable, natural maternal instincts. You want the child. But you know there's just no way in hell that you can have it. And that was, once again, the situation I was in.... At any rate, it was my responsibility and I had fucked up. I was exhausted from crying and vomiting and going over and over in my mind what options I might have. There were moments when I was ready to just plunge ahead and have the baby, come hell or high water. But I needed Louie (young boyfriend) to want the baby too - and he didn't. He pleaded with me not to have it, saying he was just too young and that it would ruin his life. He said he would hate me forever and he would leave me."

Louie sounds like a louse, but Cherry said, "I didn't hate Louie for not wanting the baby; I understood. It wasn't inside of his body, so he could never know the depth of what I was feeling. I forgave him. And I tried to forgive myself. I reasoned that another soul destined to manifest in that baby would find another being through which to come into the world, and that, as my mother would say, everything happens for the best."

The abortion seems to reflect Cherry's philosophy of life - her focus is to enjoy life, and she takes personal responsibility for achieving that happiness. When her lifestyle leads to difficult situations, she uses reason to determine her course of action. It almost reminds me on Ayn Rand's dictate that she would never live her life for the sake of someone else and she would never ask someone else to live their life for the sake of her.

I think Ayn Rand would admire Cherry Vanilla.

Unfortunately, the book doesn't examine the 80s, 90s, or 2000s for Cherry Vanilla. Although her lifestyle is now relatively sedate (no sex or drugs), I would be interested in knowing whether the Ayn Rand philosophy is still working for her.

I have wanted to interview Cherry Vanilla for quite sometime now.. She recently released her autobiography called LICK ME.. The book is getting rave reviews... I found out that she was going to my dear friend Randy Jones party so I jumped at the chance to ask her a few questions. We chatted about Lick Me, Bebe Buell, Jayne County, David Bowie and Shawn Phillips. However I did forget to ask her about having Sting and The Police as her back up band for a tour in Europe.. I love Cherry we are both Libra's and we both love Glitter and Glamor... We also both recorded a cover of "Boys" with Jayne County, Holly Woodlawn and Constance Cooper a couple years back as Four On The Floor... I hope you enjoy the interview..

Punk Globe: Thanks so much for the interview Cherry. I know you recently released an autobiography tell us about it?

CV: It's called LICK ME and it's a first-hand account of my feelings, experiences, love affairs, accomplishments and failures, in the pursuit of my show business/music business dreams. But aside from my personal story, it's a trip through the history of an incredible era, from the birth of rock & roll to the height of punk rock. Young people are always asking me what it was like back then, and LICK ME is my attempt at answering that query in the most honest and accurate way possible.

Punk Globe: I have heard it is a delightful read and that you are so honest in the book. How long did it take you to write?

CV: Honesty is the quality I strove for more than anything else. My life has been such an incredible journey, there was no need to fictionalize even a minute of it, or to gloss-over any embarrassing and ego-crushing admissions. And even when it came to describing the atmosphere of a certain hotel room or the intimidation of a backstage scene, I really scoured my diaries and wracked my brain to convey the details as truthfully as words would allow. It took me two years to write it. And a lot of that process was in deciding what stories to leave out of the final version.

Punk Globe: Who was your publisher?

CV: Chicago Review Press / A Cappella Books. They're based in Chicago and are not huge. But they have published a lot of great show business books, and they respected my vision and my ability to write the book myself.

Punk Globe: Did you have co writer work with you on the book?

CV: No way. It was something I always wanted to accomplish for myself, and I just had to prove to myself and to the world, I guess, that I could do it. It wasn't easy, believe me. Though the greatest compliment people give me about it is that it flows so easily, like it took me no effort at all to write it. That's what I was hoping for, aiming for all along, for it to sound just like I was talking to a friend, not editing myself and not trying too hard. But it took a lot of work to accomplish that, ha ha.

Punk Globe: Bebe Buell asked me to let you know she really enjoyed your book. How have the reviews been?

CV: Well that makes me feel really great. Bebe was around for much of the history I describe in the book, especially for the David Bowie parts, and it's really nice to hear that from another woman who was right there at the time. Please tell Bebe "thank you" from me for that. The reviews have all been extremely positive, beyond my wildest expectations. I even garnered praise from the likes of sociology professors and columnists like Liz Smith and Michael Musto. I couldn't be happier with the reviews. I feel very very blessed in that regard.

Punk Globe: You also did a tour reading at different Book Stores . How many dates did you do?

CV: I did a couple o' dozen, mostly on the east and west coasts. I didn't make it much to the middle of the country, for financial and demographic reasons. My fans tend to come from the edges -- in more ways than one - and neither my publisher nor I could afford further travel. I did more than book stores though; I had the extreme honor to perform not only at the Warhol Museum and the Watermill Center (Robert's Wilson's art's lab in the Hamptons), but also at the fabulous Coco de Mer lingerie/sex toys shops in both LA and New York City!

Punk Globe: Did a lot of people come out of the wood work to cheer you on?

CV: Happily they did. I saw friends I hadn't run into in years, including my X-boyfriend, Louie Lepore and many of my X-band mates. One couple I know drove for eight hours to hear me read at the Barnes & Noble book store in Manhattan. I was floored by that. And both Angie Bowie and Nancy Lee Andrews flew into LA for my book launch party that Rufus Wainwright hosted at the Chateau Marmont. And Tim Burton flew in from the UK to host my NY launch party at the Royalton Hotel. I must say my friends really came through for me in that regard. But then, I have incredible friends.

Punk Globe: Tell us which city you felt you got the best reception?

CV: Well, the very first launch party was given in LA by my friend Betsy Parker, on my sixty-seventh birthday. So, in some ways, that was the best night of all. But I would have to say that both LA and New York were kind of equally great. But then Pittsburgh, San Jose, Montecito and Lenox, Mass all were as well, in their way. I did a lot of radio in New York City, and I love love love love radio. So, I guess New York would win on that account.

Punk Globe: I know that my pal Chelsea Rose went to hear you read and bought a book in Bay Area. How did you enjoy it there?

CV: I think she must have come to San Jose, just outside of San Francisco. That was incredible. These people from Apple threw me a delightfully ruckus house party, with decorations made of LICK-able, edible sweets and a special kind of pork dish, in honor of my role in PORK, the Warhol play ... and the girls all wore tutus, in honor of my author photo and Rufus's line in the forward about me still being "a nice little girl in a tutu." Both Betsy and this San Jose couple spent their own money throwing ME a party. I mean, how sweet and how generous is that!

Punk Globe: Did you get down to Atlanta to read from the book and see Jayne County?

CV: Unfortunately, I didn't. And I really would have liked to visit with Jayne in her environment. In all of the years that I've known her, I've never once been to her home. Though we did live together, of course, while in London doing PORK. If I ever do a reading down there, I will certainly ask Jayne to do a guest spot with me. She is one of the most entertaining people I know, and even with all of her nuttiness, I love her dearly and always will.

Punk Globe: In the book you talk about your days working with David Bowie. Has he responded to the book?

CV: Not a word, and I don't expect one. David decided to move on from all of us Mainmaners years ago, for whatever reasons I do not know. But a few years back, when the French and Italians published THE MIRABELLE MAGAZINE COLUMNS that I'd ghost-written for him in the seventies, he did, through his management, give permission to use what he'd written about them on his website for the book's intro. So, that was sweet of him. I think, for somebody who had sex with him, I kind of respected his privacy somewhat in LICK ME. He was actually a great guy to work for and a really fun friend for a while. I hope that came across in the book, and I hope he had a good laugh revisiting the "carbuncle" night at the Howard Johnson's in Boston. I did. It's one of my most cherished memories. Such a perfect rock & roll night, when you end it in bed with the star!

Punk Globe: You also talk about your fondness for Shawn Phillips.. That is a name I have not heard about for years. Are you still in contact with him?

CV: No, and for years I thought he had retired to his beloved Positano in Italy, never to tour the world again. But just a year or two ago, I heard he'd played a few gigs in the States. Man, he was unique and such a darling darling man. I hope I can catch his show next time around and get to give him a hug and kiss backstage. Please let me know if you hear of any upcoming Shawn Phillips gigs.

Punk Globe: Is your book also being sold electronically?

CV: Yes it is. Even though I am not the most hi-tech person on the planet and I don't own a Kindle, an iPod or even a fancy cell phone, I 'm so happy that those who are into that stuff can get my book in that form. Me, personally, I still like holding an actual book. But hey, I've been here for sixty-seven years already, so I'm more used to old-fashioned things like paper and land-lines. But, I swear, once they put everything - radio, TV, telephone, computer, internet, camera, kindle, make-up mirror, microwave and wine-chiller -- into one simple gadget that I can put in my purse, I will be sure to get one.

Punk Globe: Besides the book release. What have you been doing?

CV: I am trying to get a quite serious reality TV show I wrote produced. Though I'm not sure that anyone really wants to see a quite serious reality show. Anyway, it's only half-serious. It's actually quite schizophrenic, a kind of "Hell & Hollywood" type of thing, with lots of love and laughs, along with the tears. And I am working on the first draft of a LICK ME movie script. I'm not sure I'm capable of writing a really great movie script, but I am giving it a try. I have a really bright development guy pushing me and helping me. And in time he or some other experienced script writer might jump in to be a co-writer or whatever. But for now, I am giving it the old college try. I love challenges and learning how to do new things. And I'm still working for Vangelis, so, luckily, I still have a way to pay the rent while pursuing further dreams and living in the beauty of Southern California. Vangelis contains the word "angel," and so does Los Angeles, so I take that as proof of how blessed I am ... and how I have angels watching over me.

Punk Globe: I know it is really hard finding a copy of your vinyl release. Have you heard if there is any plans to release it on CD or DVD format?

CV: Some record company released both RCA albums combined as one CD around ten years ago, without my permission and against my RCA contractual provisions. When they went out of business, I bought up their surplus CDs, and you can buy them now from my website. Don't buy them from anywhere else. They're available all over the web, and I never see a penny from those other sales. And you can get them signed if you like from my site. RCA in Japan did do those specially-packaged, incredibly re-mastered CDs of each album a couple of years ago, but in a very limited number. I actually had to buy them myself from a Japanese website for like $44 each ... and I haven't seen a penny from the sale of those releases either. But don't get me started on that frustrating subject. There are so many artists out there who are getting ripped-off just like me. Unless and until you sell enough to afford lawyers and accountants to go after them, people will just do what they will and know that they can get away with it. I just try not to get too upset and to think of it all as free PR. If your readers want to buy my books, CDs or T-shirts, they can get them all at cherry-vanilla.com. I sell the books signed on my site. You can get them cheaper from Amazon, but they are unsigned there.

Punk Globe: Any bands or solo artists that you are listening to now?

CV: Well you know that I am in love with Rufus Wainwright. He's almost like a godchild to me, so he's the number one artist in my book. I also love Teddy Thompson, Antony Hegarty, Leonard Cohen, Chika Ueda, A Fine Frenzy, Gossip, Henri Salvador, Brad Mehldau and Nightmare & The Cat. And I love Lauren on this season's AMERICAN IDOL. But mostly of late I keep going back to that Bob Dylan album TELL TALE SIGNS, and playing the SERIES OF DREAMS track over and over. And I've also been listening a lot to the live version of DRIVE-IN SATURDAY on the Bowie Vh1 STORYTELLERS CD. But, as you know from LICK ME, Van Morrison is still my number one medicine man when I need the big healing that only music can bring. Mostly though, I listen to the radio, KCSN-FM 88.5, from Northridge, CA.

Punk Globe: What is in the future for Cherry Vanilla?

CV: God only knows! Just hoping we make it beyond the Mayan calendar end date and that the earth can recover from the devastating effects of overpopulation, greed, right-wing politics and religion. Hope I stick around and stay in good health long enough to see Rufus's baby girl, Viva grow into a beautiful young woman, and Lindsay Lohan win an Oscar for playing Cherry Vanilla in the film version of LICK ME.

Punk Globe: Any parting words for Punk Globe readers?

CV: Be here now ... may the force be with you all ... thank you for your interest ... love. Guess that about covers it all.

Punk Globe would like to thank Cherry Vanilla for the wonderful interview...

Cherry Vanilla's tales of rock and roll hedonism offer the reader an opportunity to re-experience the madcap adventures of a young woman who enjoyed the decadent and glam lifestyle of New York in 70s as David Bowie's first US PR rep. She lived and loved hard on the rock and roll groupie circuit, acquiring an enviable list of lovers that included Bowie and Kris Kristofferson. Eventually, Cherry became an entertainer herself and launched a punk act that toured the UK backed by Sting and Stewart Copeland of the then-nascent band, the Police.

Cherry Vanilla gradually retired from the limelight and moved to Los Angeles. She runs the U.S. office for the composer Vangelis and resides in Hollywood. Just off a quick tour of New York to promote her book before the holidays, Cherry participated in the following email interview:

I really appreciated the candor of your book. Unlike most rock bios, you were not coy about the drugs and sex you enjoyed during your youth. Was there any part of your story during those years that you didn't feel comfortable sharing?

Oh sure, I mean I talked about such highly personal things, like my OCD and my earliest methods of sexual stimulation and masturbation. And I talked about being a murderess by having abortions, and about humiliation and rejection, and the fact that I really wasn't such a great singer. Those things are all so hard to just blurt out publicly in print the way I did. But my goal was to be one hundred percent honest, and to not hold anything back. That's what I always want from a biography, the absolute truth, cringe-making moments and all. So, that's what I strove to give. And I am happy I did, despite how difficult it was. You know, I'm a person who moves on quickly from devastating things. But bringing all of these past situations to mind in the writing, that brought back a lot of the pain that I had long ago buried in the little corners of my mind. It wasn't only uncomfortable, it was a kind of torture. But then it was also a kind of a catharsis as well. I feel much lighter now.

How long did it take you to write the book and what inspired you to do it?

It took about two years. Pamela Des Barres asked me to be in her book, Let's Spend the Night Together, and based upon my chapter in it, her agent negotiated a deal for me with the same publisher, Chicago Review Press, to write my own book. My whole life inspired me to write LICK ME. All the while I was living it, I felt like I was living in a movie. I realized that the things that were occurring in my life by sheer good luck and destiny and the things I was doing to further magnify and glorify those situations were the stuff of a fantasy life. I remember thinking to myself many a time, wow, this is something quite special, rare, exciting and high. So, I always knew I would write the book one day. It was just a question of having someone put the fire under me at just the right time in my life. I'm so glad it didn't happen earlier, because the years have given me perspective.

I liked your poems and songs. Do you know of any songs written about you? Were you someone's explicit muse?

There are two Shawn Phillips songs I write about in the book, though I can't even remember the names of them now. I didn't write the titles in my diary, even though they seemed to be so monumentally important to me back then ... well, you see what I mean by perspective. There are so many songs with the name Cherry in them, and a couple of 'em might be about me. But I've never bothered to find out for sure. I can hear little influences here and there in Bowie songs, certain expressions I might have used or glimpses of things I might have called his attention to. Stewart Copeland once told me that the Police's song, "Roxanne" was about me. But I got highly insulted (not really), because I had already heard it was about a French prostitute. In truth, I think it actually is about a prostitute. But with the way I used to slither around on the piano and act like such a whore on stage with them, I think there probably is some element of truth in what Stewart said. Off-stage I was such a wholesome young woman in a monogamous relationship with Louie Lepore, my guitarist, that it was sort of like I did have to "turn on the red light" each night and sell my songs. Explicit muse? The only one I could guarantee that about would be Louie. I pretty much dragged the songs out of him when we were together.

What piece of clothing from 1974 do you miss the most?

Forget about the clothing; I just miss the body I had then! The body I could squeeze into all of those great vintage pieces I used to find at a New York shop called Early Halloween. And to think I used to think I was fat then. You see what I mean about perspective. I guess I don't really miss clothes. I mean, clothes are made to pass through our lives and not necessarily be held onto. I do wish I had been photographed in more of them though. It would be nice to have captured some of those looks for posterity.

When and why did you settle down in Los Angeles? What's your favorite neighborhood?

I moved to LA fifteen years ago. I had always wanted to move to California. When the San Francisco flower child thing was happening in the 1960's, I wanted to be a part of that. But New York was so fabulous and so familiar to me at the time, I just couldn't tear myself away. I'd visited and worked in LA a few times over the years and I always kind of envied the people who got to live in such a sunny, beautiful place. But I tended to go in the other direction, to Europe and the UK. I found myself in Massachusetts at the age of fifty-two, with almost nothing to my name and therefore almost nothing to lose. So, I figured, OK, if I'm gonna be homeless, it might as well be in some place where at least I won't freeze to death. Thanks to some friends out here, I was able to get myself back on my feet and make the lovely life I've enjoyed for all of these years. I love the big city things all combined with the mountains, the flowers, the palm trees and the sea. I get a thrill every time I drive along the Pacific Coast Highway, with the top down on my car and my sunglasses on. That's all I have to do any time I wanna feel like a star. And with all of the lies we're feed by the governments of the world, including ours, I love the fact that the truths that reach the most people on the planet do so through the movies and TV shows that are made right here. In a way, it makes LA the center of the universe. And the city is broke! What a joke. My favorite neighborhood is my own neighborhood, Hollywood.

Patti Smith seems to have embraced the idea of being a Rock & Roll Crone. How do you feel about growing older and what do you enjoy about aging?

Mostly I enjoy feeling free to express myself fully. You know, you get to a certain age and you think, well, I won't be around too much longer anyway, so I might as well say whatever the hell I want to say. And I like that people start showing you more caring and respect, that they think about your comfort and your safety, offer to pick you up and take you to the party, instead of letting you drive yourself there. I like that I have wisdom and information to impart about things the younger generation seems to have a keen interest in, things like be-ins, peace marches, Theatre of the Ridiculous, easy backstage access, pre-AIDS sex and pre-911 air travel. I like the fact that the worst possible photos of me are already out there, along with the best ones. So, I don't have to keep up the glamour-girl pretense anymore. I love the way that I've come to accept my body, old and imperfect as it is. I was never as comfortable in it as I am right now. I love that I can entertain all of the sexual fantasies I want, without feeling the slightest compulsion to act upon them. I love that I can look back and be so content with the life I have made, while still having the burning desire to keep on creating something new. Let's face it, with all of the drugs and the chances I took, I just love that I'm still alive and kicking!

It was a cozy party for a crazy book when onetime David Bowie publicist and legendary groupie Cherry Vanilla celebrated her new memoir, "Lick Me," with a dinner Saturday at the Royalton's Forty Four. Modern-day rock 'n' roll ladies were on hand to pay their respects, including crop-topped supermodel Agyness Deyn and DJ Leigh Lezark. Lezark's fellow Misshapes deejays, Geordon Nicol and Greg Krelenstein, spent the evening talking about Bowie with Vanilla, who regaled them with tales from her days as the Thin White Duke's publicist while they shared favorite songs.

Meanwhile, "Hairspray" composer Mark Shaiman mooched wagyu beef from the plate of the B-52s' Kate Pierson, a vegetarian. Also there were "Sex and the City" costume queen Patricia Field and director Tim Burton. Everyone was "on best behavior," said a surprised spy. How times have changed!

The complete lengthy interview can be read here:
www.shortandsweetnyc.com/2010/11/warhol-superstar-cherry-vanilla-talks-her-past-her-new-autobio-lick-me-and-her-reading-tonight-at-barnes-noble-lincoln-triangle/

See and read here:
tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/fete-accompli-cherry-vanilla-dinner-at-the-royalton/

Read and see at THEMAGNETAGENCY:
themagnetagency.blogspot.com/2010/11/bryan-rabin-for-tim-burton...

Pictures 35 to 38 are of Cherry's readin at Tavin:
www.laweekly.com/slideshow/nightranger-frontier-records-turns-30...

Read here:
www.laweekly.com/2010-11-11/calendar/she-s-a-lady/

In her new book, Lick Me-How I Became Cherry Vanilla (by way of the Copacabana, Madison Avenue, The Fillmore East, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and The Police), CV recounts many of her trysts Pamela Des Barres- style, but the tome is also a revealing and humorous chronicle of the music and art world at the time.

Vanilla, who lives in LA these days, did two book reading events here last week. We attended her intimate event at Tavin (a whimsical Echo Park vintage boutique that's been hosting lively author salons with help of writer Steffie Nelson) last Friday night. With the bevy of beauteous Janis Joplin-esqie Boho frocks in the store, it was no surprise that most attendees at the reading wanted Cherry to share her section about making love with Kris Kristofferson, but our wish for a Bowie bit was also granted, and it was as cosmically intense and otherworldy-sounding as one might expect.

Bowie, Warhol (she starred in the popart icon's infamous stage production, Pork) and Kristofferson weren't the only famous men in Cherry's life. John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix also make appearances in the book, and when she got into doing music herself, Vanilla's back-up band was none other than The Police. Well, two of them.

After releasing a track on the seminal Max's Kansas City comp album in 1976, and an art book, Pop Tart, after that, she moved to London and became part of the UK punk and new wave scene. Sting was her bass player and Stewart Copeland was her drummer.

Check out an excerpt from her ballsy poem, "Memo the Muddy Minded Members of the Music Medium," (written after after getting dissed by three of her conquests: sax king Bobby Keys, Flutist Jeremy Steig and blues man John Hammond), below.

Fuck you, all you rock star guys
Who come to me with cocks on the rise
Back room, low tones, hot and dirty
Late night horny, sweet and flirty
Fuck you 'cause you just don't know
This lady's head beyond the blow
Words of wisdom, goodness too
Wasted on the likes of you....

Hear Vanilla read the whole poem and more at her next reading, this Monday evening, Nov. 15 at Book Soup.

See this week's Nightranger for more on Cherry, including two scoops about her Chateau Marmont event last week, where Angie Bowie herself caused a li'l ruckus.

See Cherry Vanilla's website for more hot pics and licks.

Read here:
www.laweekly.com/2010-11-11/music/nightranger-wild-frontier/

"Between covers" partially describes this girl of the decades that gave us The Beatles, the last of Elvis, David Bowie, Sting, the Police, hippies, civic unrest, Gay Liberation and all the rest of a saga that had drugs of all types on the menu and sex on the brain. Ms. Vanilla has titled her opus Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla, and if you want to read an epoch-spanning chronicle about what these revolutionary eras were like, this is it!

Besides being a sex addict, Ms. Vanilla also became a rock 'n' roll arranger and manager, an ad executive, PR expert, performance artist, writer and poet. She is still going strong though she says she now lives without sex. Amazing!

Cherry Vanilla talks about sleeping with David Bowie in her new memoir.

It's one of many bawdy tales the rock 'n' roll tigress recounts in her memoir, "Lick Me," out now from Chicago Review Press.

Vanilla, who was born Kathleen Dorritie in Woodside, Queens, spent the '60s and '70s in the nightclubs of New York and London, doing drugs, partying with Andy Warhol and Warren Beatty - and, naturally, having lots of sex with rock stars.

While appearing (nude) in the London production of Warhol's play "Pork," Vanilla met Bowie and became his "PR lady" back in the States. The position involved writing under Bowie's name for teen magazines, pleasuring deejays for radio play and eventually bedding the Thin White Duke himself.

Their first encounter (which they never spoke of later) took place during a surprise visit from the supposedly heights-shy Bowie to her 24th-floor hotel room in Boston.

"Take your clothes off, Vanilla, and let's go to bed," Bowie implored. But though she'd been "hot" for the rocker, she hesitated. Bug bites from a vacation had developed into nasty carbuncles, and bandages on her inner thighs covered them.

Vanilla gave in when the gallant Bowie promised to ignore the unsightly sores.

"The sex was as dirty, rough and aerobic as anyone could want, but it never felt like we were just having sex," she writes. "It felt like we were really making love."

And the carbuncle awkwardness "added a sweetness and charm," Vanilla told us.

She got up the next morning to eat room-service croissants and finish typing a contract: just another day in the '70s music biz.

Of course, those days are long gone, she says wistfully. The new rock stars are tech moguls, like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, for example.

"He is sexy in a way," she said. "If I was a young girl now, he's probably who I'd be groupie-ing for."

REMEMBER the 1970s punk rocker/singer/celebrity Cherry Vanilla?

She played a necrophiliac nurse in Andy Warhol's play, "Pork," toyed around as David Bowie's publicist, formed her own group, moved to London, had some astonishing success, and became the reigning empress of glam rock and punk. She knew everybody and everybody knew her. She was a fun figure on the scene throughout the '70s and '80s.

Miss Vanilla returned to New York and continued to record, though she never quite achieved the hotness of her early days. However, wild times notwithstanding, she's survived and is still a pistol.

In November, her autobiography, Lick Me: How I Became Cherry Vanilla, will be released. Advance reviews are sensational. Dave Thompson of Goldmine magazine raves: "Lucid, telling, torrid, hilarious, horrifying ... the finest musical memoir of the century so far!" Okay ... that's a money review.

It seems a given the book will be optioned instantly for the movies, but who will play the unique and dazzling Cherry? The singer herself shrugs off suggestions, but insiders say she'd love to see Georgia Jagger, daughter of Jerry Hall and some guy named Mick, playing her very naughty self.

Zoo Magazine NO.27, 2010 (Summer issue).