Rock-and-roll icon and three-time bestselling author Nikki Sixx tells
his origin story: how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx,
chronicling his fascinating journey from irrepressible Idaho farmboy
to the man who formed the revolutionary rock group Mötley Crüe.
Nikki Sixx is one of the most respected, recognizable, and
entrepreneurial icons in the music industry. As the founder of Mötley
Crüe, who is now in his twenty-first year of sobriety, Sixx is
incredibly passionate about his craft and wonderfully open about his
life in rock and roll, and as a person of the world. Born Franklin
Carlton Feranna on December 11, 1958, young Frankie was abandoned by his
father and partly raised by his mother, a woman who was ahead of her
time but deeply troubled. Frankie ended up living with his grandparents,
bouncing from farm to farm and state to state. 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. He eventually took a Greyhound bound for Hollywood.
In Los Angeles, Frank lived with his aunt and his uncle--the president
of Capitol Records--for a short time. But there was no easy path to the
top. He was soon on his own. There were dead-end jobs: dipping circuit
boards, clerking at liquor and record stores, selling used light bulbs,
and hustling to survive. But at night, Frank honed his craft, joining
Sister, a band formed by fellow hard-rock veteran Blackie Lawless, and
formed a group of his own: London, the precursor of Mötley Crüe. Turning
down an offer to join Randy Rhoads's band, Frank changed his name to
Nikki London, Nikki Nine, and, finally, Nikki Sixx. 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. 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.
