Mötley Crüe legend Nikki Sixx has topped the Amazon bestsellers list with his new book, The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx.
Released on October 19th, the memoir quickly rose to the top position on Amazon’s rock music books chart, as reported by Rolling Stone. At the time of writing, it’s maintained that position, and also remains in the Top 40 of Amazon’s overall biographies and memoirs chart.
Calling it his “origin story”, Sixx’s memoir is an honest look at his early years, before he found fame with Mötley Crüe. Beginning at his birth (born Franklin Carlton Feranna), it charts his journey to becoming a member of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. It’s why the title is The First 21, referring to the first 21 years of his life.
The memoir describes how a passion for music offered an escape out of a troubled family background and dead-end jobs. “He was an all-American kid—hunting, fishing, chasing girls, and playing football—but underneath it all, there was a burning desire for more, and that more was music,” a description from publisher Hachette said.
Sixx is also unafraid to explore in detail his chaotic family life, writing openly about being abandoned by his father and eventually moving in with his grandparents, due to his single mum being unable to properly care for him.
The memoir then moves through his struggling Hollywood years, when success was rare and Sixx had to “hustle to survive.” The ending, of course, is well-known: Franklin Feranna became Nikki Sixx and formed one of the most iconic groups of the 80’s alongside Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, and Vince Neil.
“Like Huck Finn with a stolen guitar, he had a vision: a group that combined punk, glam, and hard rock into the biggest, most theatrical and irresistible package the world had ever seen,” the book description states.
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“With hard work, passion, and some luck, the vision manifested in reality—and this is a profound true story finding identity, of how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx. It’s also a road map to the ways you can overcome anything, and achieve all of your goals, if only you put your mind to it.”
The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx is available on Amazon now, on hardback, paperback, Kindle, and Audible audiobook, narrated by Sixx himself.
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Check out a trailer for The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx:
