Interview with Genny Schorr, Punk Pioneer and Wardrobe Stylist To Rock Stars

Summary

Under the Influence with Terry O’Reilly

Episode: Interview with Genny Schorr, Punk Pioneer and Wardrobe Stylist to Rock Stars
Date: February 3, 2026
Host: Terry O’Reilly | Apostrophe Podcast Network

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Episode Overview

This episode features an extensive interview with Jenny Schorr (also occasionally spelled Shore in transcript), a pioneering member of the early L.A. punk scene, founding member of the band Backstage Pass, co-owner of the legendary vintage store Straitjacket, and wardrobe stylist to rock stars such as Linda Ronstadt, the Bangles, Tom Petty, and more. Through storytelling and candid recollections, the episode explores Jenny's immersion in the countercultural energy of 1970s–80s Los Angeles, her rise as a punk musician and stylist, and personal anecdotes with icons from Paul McCartney to George Lucas. The interview is inspired by Jenny’s new memoir, All Roads Lead to Punk.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jenny’s Roots and Musical Awakening (03:33–06:53)

• Born on Sunset Boulevard, Jenny grew up in a liberal and “pretty hip” household, attending love-ins and peace marches in 1960s L.A.

• Early exposure to Elvis Presley and the Beatles sparked her passion for music and self-expression through fashion.

  Jenny: “I was already styling myself with like petticoats when I was 4 and 5…. I always had stars in my eyes.” [04:24]

• With guitar lessons from a young babysitter who hung out on the Sunset Strip, Jenny moved from folk to electric guitar in high school, entering the male-dominated world of rock musicianship.

  Jenny: “Guys at my school weren’t into female rock guitarists. It was sort of a similar story to Joan Jett…not accepted, you know.” [06:19]

• Jenny auditioned for the original Runaways line-up with Kim Fowley, recounting unpleasant incidents and industry sexism.

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The Rise of Backstage Pass and the Birth of L.A. Punk (07:47–13:58)

• Assembling her all-female punk band amid L.A.'s burgeoning scene was challenging—few women played rock instruments then.

• Punk provided an outlet for grief and rebellion after her mother’s death.

• Her bandmates worked in the music industry or as journalists—living “dual lifestyles.”

• Each band member took on a punk persona (e.g., "Jenny Body," "Marina del Rey"), echoing the inventiveness of the scene.

• The band helped lease and launch “The Mask,” a key punk venue co-signed by bandmate Marina and Brendan Mullen.

  Jenny: “We helped build the LA punk scene… We were one of the first bands in there. Other people started seeing us play—not really knowing our instruments that well—and it inspired others to do the same.” [09:19]

• Early punk culture was scrappy and close-knit: “We were a bunch of weirdos… just hanging out anywhere we could congregate.” [10:38]

• Naming the band “Backstage Pass” was an impromptu decision, sparked at the Rainbow Bar & Grill.

• Backstage Pass played with and was inspired by British punk imports, including The Damned and The Jam, and found early international attention—even before their first shows.

  Jenny: “We were in British magazines and in Japan before we even played. It was wild.” [13:59]

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Wild Encounters: Paul McCartney, Devo, and More (14:20–19:29)

• Jenny and friend Tammy crashed Paul McCartney’s infamous “Wings Over America” party at Harold Lloyd Estate.

  • She describes sneaking in, rubbing elbows with A-listers (Michael Jackson, Frank Zappa, Jack Nicholson), and barely escaping security after getting too close to Paul and Linda McCartney.

  Jenny: “There’s Paul and Linda with their children on the staircase, like a Norman Rockwell painting… Then we got snagged.” [16:29]

• Backstage Pass opened for Elvis Costello, Devo, and the Mumps; she briefly dated Bob from Devo ("He’s so weird!") [18:55].

• Candidly addresses the mix of adolescence, clubs, drugs, and pain fueling the punk lifestyle.

  Jenny: “We were really acting out our pain. We both had a lot of pain… Sex was our superpower and we used it. But it was really coping with our mutual pain.” [19:29]

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From Musician to Stylist: Straitjacket Boutique and Rock Star Fashion (20:24–24:20)

• Jenny transitions from performing to fashion, influenced by Tony, a seamstress/designer who would marry Stiff Records’ Jake Rivera.

• Straitjacket boutique opened on Third Street, catering to rock royalty with custom and vintage clothes.

  • Jenny explains how she and Tony would sketch and pitch outfit ideas directly to musicians at soundchecks.

  Jenny: “Any band that came into town came into Straitjacket… We made custom clothes. And we had an autograph book—all the pages are in the book.” [21:51]

• Styled Bruce Springsteen (for a Cream magazine cover), Nick Lowe, Squeeze, Tom Petty, and befriended Cameron Crowe.

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Styling Legends: Linda Ronstadt and Touring the World (24:41–36:27)

• Jenny describes how a chance interaction at a Nick Lowe concert led her to become Linda Ronstadt’s stylist.

  Jenny: “I said something cheeky to her: ‘I know what you’re doing.’ She said ‘What?’ And I said, ‘You’re checking out Tom Petty’s ass!’ And she said, ‘I am.’” [26:29]

• Jenny brought Linda a fresh rock-inspired wardrobe, helping shape her image for “What’s New” and the Nelson Riddle tours.

• Moved into Ronstadt’s Brentwood mansion, brushed shoulders with musicians like Dwight Yoakam, and lived among “musical roommates.”

• Recalls Linda’s relationships (dating Jim Carrey, then George Lucas), celebrity encounters, and run-ins with O.J. Simpson.

  Jenny: “[Linda] said, ‘Jenny, I don’t trust that man.’ … Luckily for her, she sold that house before the whole [O.J. Simpson] incident.” [32:52]

• Helped source both tour wardrobes and streetwear for Linda, employing a mix of vintage fixes and new designs.

  Jenny: “It was really fun… She loved it because it wasn’t like Beverly Hills prices… For the Nelson Riddle stuff I bought her tons of vintage.” [34:17]

• Highlights Ronstadt’s professionalism and the positive, grounding influence she had—Jenny credits the experience with her own sobriety.

  Jenny: “[Linda] was a teetotaler… I’ve told her that, and it’s true, because I also gave up any kind of recreational drugs right before I met her… It was very grounding.” [35:03]

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Later Years: Genre-Bending, Reunions, and Memoir Reflections (36:48–51:14)

• Remains close with Linda Ronstadt, describing Linda’s humor, intelligence, and enduring political engagement despite health issues.

• Discusses Ronstadt’s influence in bridging genres (from Spanish-language albums to American standards with Nelson Riddle).

  Jenny: “She was the first [rock star to do American standards]… She actually did a recording with Jerry Wexler but later went with Nelson Riddle.” [39:09]

• Backstage Pass reunion: After decades, the band reunited for select shows (“band dynamics never change…” [46:58]) and included original demos and QR codes with Jenny’s memoir.

• Reflects candidly on writing All Roads Lead to Punk—addressing bisexuality (and being prematurely “outed” by Kim Fowley), family struggles, and the emotional process of revisiting her youth.

  Jenny: “It’s like juicy 70s stories, 80s stories… I think some people can relate to it that have had trouble with their family… It’s been great to put myself out there and people seem to really dig it.” [50:16]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the energy of punk:
  “We were a bunch of weirdos, you know… wherever we could congregate and be together.” (Jenny, 10:38)

• On Backstage Pass’ impact:
  “We didn’t really know our instruments… but it inspired others to do the same.” (Jenny, 09:19)

• On opening for legends:
  “We got to open for Elvis Costello.” (Jenny, 12:47)
  “We opened for Devo… They scared me a little bit.” (Jenny, 18:46)

• On backstage fashion:
  “I was there when Tony made Nick Lowe’s Riddler suit… It was shark skin, green, with the black question marks.” (Jenny, 21:12)

• On celebrity parties:
  “There’s Paul and Linda with their children on the staircase, like a Norman Rockwell painting… Then we got snagged.” (Jenny, 16:29)

• On Linda Ronstadt’s integrity:
  “She started to become very protective about her private life… She was never photographed with George Lucas.” (Jenny, 36:27)

• On looking back:
  “It’s a little bit gnarly… Some of it was painful, remembering my mom’s illness and death.” (Jenny, 48:44)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:33 Jenny recounts her bohemian upbringing in 60s L.A.
• 06:19 Discusses being a woman in early rock and auditioning for the Runaways.
• 09:19 On forming Backstage Pass and the origins of L.A. punk venues such as The Mask.
• 13:59 Early fame: the band featured in British and Japanese press.
• 14:37 Crashing McCartney’s “Wings over America” party.
• 17:48 Backstage Pass opens for Elvis Costello and Attractions.
• 20:24 Transition into vintage fashion and opening Straitjacket boutique.
• 24:48 How she became Linda Ronstadt’s stylist.
• 32:49 Linda’s instincts about O.J. Simpson; the Brentwood era.
• 35:03 How Ronstadt’s sobriety influenced Jenny’s own path.
• 39:09 On Ronstadt pioneering the “standards” album trend.
• 42:55 Backstage Pass reunion, recording, and new releases.
• 48:44 Jenny’s reflections on writing her memoir.
• 51:14 Book proceeds benefiting Junior High LA, a nonprofit run by Jenny’s child.

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Conclusion

Through Jenny Schorr’s vivid storytelling, this episode offers a rare, unvarnished look at the intertwined worlds of Los Angeles punk, rock stardom, and fashion from a woman’s perspective. Her life, chronicled in All Roads Lead to Punk, reflects both the rebellious joy and profound personal struggles of an era. From infiltrating exclusive parties to shaping the looks of icons, and from punk clubs to world tours, Jenny’s journey is one of survival, creativity, and community—a legacy that helps new generations find their own space in the arts.

All proceeds from Jenny’s memoir support Junior High LA, an inclusive arts nonprofit.

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Transcript

[Terry O'Reilly]

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[Acast Advertiser]

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[Terry O'Reilly]

This is an Apostrophe podcast production. Beetleology. Jenny shore has led 10 incredible lifetimes. least that's what I felt after reading her new book titled All Roads Lead to Punk. Riding the first wave of the phenomenal Los Angeles punk scene through music and fashion. As we'll soon hear, Jenny was part of one of the very first female punk bands in Los Angeles and opened for such major acts as Elvis Costello on the Attractions and Devo. She was a co owner of a vintage fashion store frequented by all the rock stars of that time. She was a wardrobe stylist for artists like the Bengals, Tom Petty and Nick Lowe. She's met George Harrison. She has partied with Paul McCartney. Great story there. She also styled and toured with Linda Ronstadt. Her spouse is Kosh, who was the creative director of Apple Records for the Beatles and who designed some of the greatest album covers of all time, including 26 album covers for Linda Ronstadt. As I said, Jenny's had 10 incredible lifetimes. To begin at the beginning, Jenny Shore was born and raised in Los Angeles.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes, I was born on Sunset. It was amazing really, to be brought up in the 60s. My parents came from New York. They had a very liberal background. They were actually pretty hip for their time. So they took us to like love ins and we were at like a peace march with Martin Luther King, which launched the Summer of Love in 1967.

[Terry O'Reilly]

What was your first introduction to rock and roll?

[Jenny Shore]

I was first introduced to Elvis Presley by my first babysitter, Jill. And then we saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and that kind of rocked my world, so to speak.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Was that the moment music really ignited in you, Jenny?

[Jenny Shore]

Well, I remember listening to Chubby Checker. I think that was the first song I ever heard was the Twist. And I don't know, I always had stars in my eyes, I have to say. And I was already styling myself with like Petticoats because when I was like 4 and 5 years old, so I don't know, I was kind of primed for it and I don't know why.

[Terry O'Reilly]

I guess the Beatles was the first time you saw a band in action because Chubby Checker, Elvis were solo acts.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes. And I think Elvis was kind of banned, shaking his hips from the boob tube or whatever. But the Beatles were like young and infectious. And I think it is a story that a lot of people do tell that that was the sort of life changing experience. And then we moved to North Hollywood to a condominium, which I don't know if many people lived in condominiums yet, but I had a new babysitter named Cookie and she taught me how to play guitar. And she had a folk duo and hung out on the Sunset Strip at like Pandora's Box. And she was performing. Yeah, she was pretty young though. I think she was. Could be more than 18 years old at the time. And that was probably 1965, 1966.

[Terry O'Reilly]

So you learned guitar and then I guess at some point you want to start a band or get into a band.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes.

[Terry O'Reilly]

How old would you be then?

[Jenny Shore]

That would be high school. I graduated from my nylon string guitar to an electric guitar. I somehow convinced my parents to buy me a Les Paul Jr. And a mini practice amp. And I thought it was really cool. But guys at my school weren't into female rock guitarists. It was sort of a similar story to Joan Jett in a way. It just wasn't accepted, you know. And I did try out for the Runaways, the original three piece lineup. And of course Kim Fowley was there running the show.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Kim Fowley was a controversial producer, songwriter, and he managed Joan Jett and the Runaways. Fowley was also the emcee at the Toronto Rock and Roll revival concert in 1969 where Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band played.

[Jenny Shore]

I wasn't really a lead guitarist at that point. And I just kind of threw together something from a Lou Reed album. And he told me I needed to lose weight. I had several little run ins with Kim Fowley that were sort of crappy. And when I finally did meet my band members in 1976 via a Dr. Feelgood show at the Starwood, and then this after party party at the Continental Riot House, as we like to call it, I did finally meet my band members. I did audition for one more Kim Fi band, Don't ask Me why, but Venus of the Razor Blades. But I did finally meet the women that would become my band members.

[Terry O'Reilly]

You said in your book that it was very difficult to find other like minded female musicians at the time, right?

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, there wasn't many. I mean, there was people that came before us like Fanny and things like this. But the time that we got together, it was sort of glam, which turned into punk. We were sort of comprised of almost like groupies, but groupies that wanted to be in a band, you know.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Right.

[Jenny Shore]

So I had been running away to Hollywood, by the way, in high school because my mother got sick. And then she did succumb to her illness when I graduated high school. So I was already running away to Hollywood, like In sort of mid-70s, I started seeing bands play live. The first band I saw was the Kinks. And I fell in love with them. But I was running away with this kind of. She was pretty wild. Her name was Robin and I really cared for her a lot. And we were going to the Rainbow, to Rodney's English Disco in the Valley. It was the Sugar Shack. And we were really in our wild era. And I don't think I would have rebelled that hard if my mother hadn't gotten sick. But I really needed an outlet and I really wanted to find other musicians that would accept me. My other bandmates were also hanging out at the Rainbow, but they were working in the industry. Marina, she was like a rock journalist for Team magazine. And there was other women that were working at record companies and things like that. So everyone had like a dual lifestyle in a way. And when we started our band, we all eventually came up with punk names. So I was Jenny Body. Joanne became Marina Del Rey. Our bass player, Joanne, she became Spock because Dave Vanian named her Spock because she was like a lover of science fiction. So we all like took on punk names. And then we had Holly Vincent. I think she was at one time called Barracuda Majors or something like that. And we helped sort of build the LA punk scene. Marina, who had a real job, she signed the lease for the club the Mask with Brendan Mullen because he was Scottish. So we co signed the lease. We were one of the first bands in there. And then other people started seeing us play, not really knowing our instruments that well. And it sort of inspired others to do the same.

[Terry O'Reilly]

What was the punk scene like at that time in la?

[Jenny Shore]

We were a bunch of weirdos, you know, a bunch of people that didn't fit in. I was my mom's golden child, but then became the black sheep of the family when she died. So we were just from all over and we just used to hang out. We would hang out anywhere, just like at the Mask or just like sit. There was a apartment complex called the Canterbury. We would just like read fanzines, hang out on sidewalks, wherever, you know, wherever we could congregate and be together.

[Terry O'Reilly]

How did your band get the name Backstage Pass?

[Jenny Shore]

Well, Marina, she hatched the idea at the Rainbow and she said to Rodney, I just started a band. And he said, what's the name? And she said, backstage Stage Pass. And then that's how it got started.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Right. That's a great name, though. What year are we in now, Jenny? When you've formed and the band's got a name and you're starting to perform around town, what year would that be, roughly?

[Jenny Shore]

So in 1976 we started and we started rehearsing at Cherokee Studios, where people were there like David Bowie. And we were like sort of a curiosity. And I think Alice Cooper may have been there as well. And we didn't really play shows. We met Jake Rivera at this Dr. Feelgood show. He started Stiff Records and he brought the Damned to the States. They were the first British punk band to come to the States and they were opening up for Television. Got kicked off the tour for Upstaging and then they came to LA and he scrambled and got the McKenna, the Starwood. And then he all stayed with different punk people, so they stayed with us. I was hanging out with Brian James and he was hanging out at our apartment and we had to answer our phone. Stiff Records, how can we help you? And keep. He was doing things like going to Island Records and standing on the desktops and yelling at them, trying to get Elvis Costello a deal. And we got to open for Elvis Costello.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Amazing.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, yeah. The Jam were the ones that said, get your asses, you know, out of the rehearsal and do a gig. So they were the ones that pushed us to start playing. So that was 1977 and Dave Vanny was on the COVID of Slash magazine, which was a pretty insane, great punk magazine. And I was heavily in all of those pages. Yeah, with the Screamers mostly. So we were really good at promoting ourselves in the way, like I was pictured with Tom Petty and the caption said, chic to chic, Backstage Pass will be going on tour with the Heartbreakers, which was all a bunch of crap. Before we even played. We were like in British magazines and in Japan.

[Acast Advertiser]

Wow.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, it was wild. I'm really excited though, because my book is in Japan, by the way, and it's all over the world now in Europe and Australia, and really excited about that.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Back in 1977, Jenny and a friend found out about a big party Paul McCartney was throwing in Hollywood to celebrate Wings over America. They weren't invited, so Jenny and company decided to climb over the fence and. And crash the party.

[Jenny Shore]

Oh, my God. Yeah, that's a good one. I was friends with a girl named Tammy Taylor. We actually auditioned for Vitus and the Razor Blades together. And I don't know. We found out about this insane party at Harold Lloyd Estate, which was Wings over America. They were celebrating their two best selling albums. So we decided to go. Now, we didn't know this, but the dress code was white. I was not wearing white. She had mostly white. And so we had to climb over these fences and we get there and white tablecloths, white everything. And there's all these incredible stars, like the Jacksons, Michael Jackson, before he did anything to himself. He looked amazing. And Ricky Nelson and Frank Zappa. And Tammy had an Instamatic camera and people just thought she was like a photographer supposed to be taking pictures. So she took everyone's pictures. Also Jack Nicholson. She let me use all these photos in my book, which was just so.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Kind and generous for listeners listening to this. It's full of great photos from that era.

[Jenny Shore]

Thank you so much. And so everything was going well and we got to see some of the entertainment. Oddly, also Linda Ronstadt was there, who became a big client of mine, which.

[Terry O'Reilly]

We'Ll talk about in a moment.

[Jenny Shore]

We'll talk about that. And oddly, Nelson Riddle was like the entertainment, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, which featured in My Life Later.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Right.

[Jenny Shore]

So then there was the mansion and I had to use the powder room. So we went in and there was Paul and Linda and their children, like on the staircase. It was like a Norman Rockwell painting or something. And Tammy was going nuts and she wanted a Picture with Paul and Linda. So Linda McCartney had taken the kids upstairs stairs, and Paul came down and Tammy said, can I get a picture of you and Linda? And he said, oh, yeah, sure, you know, when she comes back down. And then, I don't know, he must have, like, signaled to the guards or whatever. And bam. I was like, tammy, we need to go. She's like, no, no, I want to get a picture with Paul and Linda and I, Tammy. And then we got snagged. We got stuck in the tram with like, some other party crashers and ferried back to the entrance, you know, wow, what an experience, though. So we did get to meet everybody. And then again, thankfully, I met Paul McCartney later when him and Elvis Costello were together.

[Terry O'Reilly]

As mentioned, Backstage Pass opened for Elvis Costello and the Attractions at the Whiskey in la.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes. That was crazy, because I guess Jake didn't want Elvis to be upstage, so he chose us. And we were a little bit inexperienced. Yeah, that was November of 1977. And the whiskey always had two shows a night. And they would kick out the people from the first show. So we used to, like, huddle, like, upstairs. Well, that night we were playing, but, you know, normally we would, like, huddle upstairs. But we did a debut show with Quiet Riot, who I knew from high school, my high school days. Kevin Dubrow was the first guy I ever kissed. And I knew Randy Rhodes through Kevin. So we opened for them at Hotel, I think it was called the Roman Inn. And we opened for Elvis and we opened for Devo.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Devo. Wow.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, they were great. I didn't know what to make of them. They scared me a little bit. I don't know why.

[Terry O'Reilly]

I know they were very unusual. There's no doubt about that.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, I briefly, like, dated Bob. I don't think he spoke more than two words the entire time. And I thought, he's so weird. I don't know. I don't know. He's so weird. Oh, we opened also for the Mumps, who I love. We had heard about them from Blondie, who we were hanging out with. And so we played with them at Mabuhay Gardens. And that was a wild scene. And that's also, in my book, an incredibly wild scene.

[Terry O'Reilly]

And in that whole period of time, Jenny, you're underage, right? You can't even drink in these clubs, am I right?

[Jenny Shore]

No, I'm getting hand stamped. I'm getting hand stamped. I'm not really drinking in clubs. No, but we were doing Quaaludes. We were doing poppers. Especially when my mom was sick and I was running away to Hollywood with Robin. We were doing all kinds of nonsense. There was orgies, there was, you name it. I mean, we were going out with guys in bands. We were really acting out our pain. We both had a lot of pain. Mine from my mother's illness and then death. And then she had a lot of pain from some serious wrongdoing by her stepfather. So I say the book that sex was our superpower and we used it. But it was really coping with our mutual pain.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Jenny was in Backstage Pass for two years. Then she decided to make a big gear change.

[Jenny Shore]

Her name was Tony and she was from Texas. She was an army brat. She was an incredible seamstress and designer and sketch artist. And she lived on Clark street right next to the Whiskey where it was all happening. And I met her and she ended up marrying Jake Rivera and moved to England. But before that, she was the seamstress for the band. And I was wowed by that because my mother was also a seamstress. And I was always looking for mommy, you know, and she was older and I so admired everything she did. And I was with her when she made Nick Lowe's Riddler suit with the question marks. And I was like there, like watching her do it. So it was shark skin, it was green, you know, with the black question marks. It was amazing. And he wore it a lot in that period. And I was wowed by her and what she did. And she would draw rock stars in outfits. She did all Rick Nelson's checkerboard, everything. It was her idea to come up with, I think, this certain kind of bow tie and she made it was Cheap Trick underwear. And then they kind of stole the idea in a way. I mean, she wasn't mad at it or anything. But anyway, she would draw like, let's say Ray Davies or Tom Petty in an outfit, go to the sound check, which you could do then. You could do all these things back then. And then she would get orders. That way they would see themselves looked exactly like them, the sketch. And she would have them come to her apartment and they would come up with what they wanted. And she would make custom clothes for these bands. And I thought, this is it, this is it, you know. And so I was actually working at a store called Straight Jacket. But then we ended up buying it and co owning it together. And Jake was our silent partner. But I was really young, I didn't quite know what I was doing. But I had chutzpah and had contacts. Any band that came into town came into straight jacket. So we had, like, vintage clothes, vintage embellished clothes. We made custom clothes. And we had an autograph book. All the pages are in the book.

[Terry O'Reilly]

While Jenny worked at Straitjacket, lots of different rock stars would come in to shop, including one particular guy from New Jersey.

[Jenny Shore]

One time, someone just ambled in and I was like, are you in a band? He said, yeah, I'm in the E Street Band. I was like, oh, yeah, I knew that. And it was Bruce Springsteen. And so I ended up dressing him for the COVID of Cream magazine. And that was 1981.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Wow. You also styled Nick Lowe, as you mentioned. Squeeze, Tom Petty, Cameron Crowe, the Spark, Split Ends. Like, what a great roster that was.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah. For Cameron Crowe. I didn't exactly style him, but he was friends with Jake. He was doing Fast Time at Richmond High.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Right.

[Jenny Shore]

And he used an Elvis Costello poster. I don't know what it was, but we became friends and he was so sweet. I almost started dating him, but that he met Nancy from Hart, so that kind of just. I really liked him, though, you know, and we would talk on the phone sometimes. I really, really liked him.

[Terry O'Reilly]

He's an incredible raconteur. I really enjoy listening to him. He also has a new book out right now, I think.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes, he does. When I saw Almost Famous, I cried the first time. It was just.

[Terry O'Reilly]

I love that movie.

[Jenny Shore]

I loved it. And it just made me think of some of my past, you know, in kind of very nostalgic, emotional way. So I absolutely loved it.

[Terry O'Reilly]

One of Jenny's other amazing lifetimes was working with the great Linda Ronstadt.

[Jenny Shore]

So I absolutely adore Linda to this day. And my spouse Kosh did 26 of her album covers.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Wow.

[Jenny Shore]

So we first met back then, by the way. Right. But it wasn't many years later until we got together. But straight check had closed and I was panicking. I didn't even know what panic attacks were. Were back then. I just know that I was having them. I didn't know what I was going to do. But Nick Lowe came into town and he was opening up for Tom Petty, the Heartbreakers at the Universal Amphitheater. And this was 1983, I think it was the spring. And I had Nicklo tickets and Linda had Nickelo tickets through Danny Farrington, who was her roommate. He was a guitar luthier. He did all that incredible pearl inlay on, like, Johnny Cash's guitar. And then all the British people wanted him, so he did Elvis Costello, which he still uses. He did custom guitars for Squeeze. He did beautiful stuff. And we had a lot of the same clients, so they had Nickelo tickets, I had Nickelo tickets. And we were sitting side by side, and he introduced me to Linda, said what I did, you know, with clothing and everything. And we were watching Nick Lowe, and then Tom Petty comes on, and I said something cheeky to her. I said, I know what you're doing. And she said, what? And I said, you're checking out Tom Petty's ass. And she said, I am. She loved Tom Petty the Heartbreaker. She ended up doing a Heartbreaker song like, I think she did the Waiting. So she had me come to Peter Asher's office on Doheny. I was working for her the next day. Wow. I started working for her and she was blown away by what I had brought her.

[Terry O'Reilly]

So she wanted you to style her. Did she love what you were wearing? How did she make that jump to hiring you to do that?

[Jenny Shore]

I think it was just her instinct. Yeah. Probably what I was, how I looked, probably when I was dressed, that I was young and I didn't know about the Nelson Riddle album that she was about to launch, but they were really hesitant to let her do it. You know, there's a really cool interview about that. And she had to do one last rock tour, which was Get Closer. So I brought her all these clothes that were like petticoats, that were like pre Madonna era. And she loved them because her previous stylist, she adored, I guess she was getting married or something. And she had dressed her kind of like Beverly Hills in a way, not rock and roll, not stage clothes. And I brought her a 50s torch singer dress that was black sequin. And she was like, oh, I love this. I. I wish I had it, but I just already shot my album cover and it was what's new. She wore the dress and other things I ended up purchasing for her on all these what's New videos. And then she started touring with Nelson Riddle, and she took me around the world with her.

[Quiz Host]

Linda Ronstadt only covered one Beatles song in her recording career. It was originally sung by Ringo. What song was it? Answer after this.

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[Quiz Host]

Answer Linda Ronstadt famously only covered one Beatles song in her vast catalog. It appeared on her 1996 album dedicated to the one I love. The song was Good Night. Jenny's spouse Kosh designed the album cover.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Jenny didn't just tour with Linda Ronstadt, she actually moved into her home.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, she lived in Brentwood on Rockingham Avenue. And yeah, she likes living with people. She likes having roommates. And Danny lived there also. And also Nicolette Larson, who was on tour a lot. And it was insane. So Dwight Yocum picked me up with his El Cavino and it was insane. Like being buzzed into Linda's little mini mansion. I think it was previously owned by Zazu Pitts and had all these, like, hidden staircases and things. It was wild. And yeah, I loved it and I couldn't believe it was real. It was such a blessing to have her, like, help me in that way.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Tell us who she was dating at the time. I didn't remember this beat.

[Jenny Shore]

So when she was putting the Nelson Riddle show together, there was a couple things. We went to this club to see this band, the Stepsisters, which I renamed Red and the Red Hots. And we also met Jim Carrey, who was very young. I think he couldn't have been more than 21 because a lot of times these big acts had comedians opening up for them. So we met Jim Carrey and she started dating Jim.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Ah.

[Jenny Shore]

But then she realized that he was very young and there is like a fabulous picture of me in a Tinkerbell outfit. And Jim and Linda dressed up as Minnie and Mickey Mouse and we're going to the Leland Sklar Halloween party that he had every year.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Great photo.

[Jenny Shore]

But then she got introduced to Mr. Star Wars.

[Terry O'Reilly]

George Lucas. George Lucas and started dating George.

[Jenny Shore]

They were so similar and I thought they were both so boring. They both had the same car. It was wild. So we started going up to George's, the ranch or whatever.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Skywalker Ranch.

[Jenny Shore]

Skywalker Ranch, yeah. Going in Learjets. I was so scared. And with the dogs. Linda's big Akita dogs and everything. Yeah, it was crazy. And he had a daughter who was very little, Amanda. She was pretty wild. Linda lived across the street from O.J. simpson.

[Terry O'Reilly]

She had an instinct about him, didn't she?

[Jenny Shore]

She did. And we used to, like, walk in the neighborhood. We would also go to, like, Jane Fonda's workouts. We would, like, try to be in shape if she had to go on tour and that kind of thing. And we saw O.J. like, in his yard with his Chow Chow dogs, and he was scowling at us. And she said, jenny, I don't trust that man. And she probably knew Nicole, you know, and luckily for her, she had sold that house before the whole incident happened, so she missed that circus.

[Terry O'Reilly]

You started styling Linda for her Nelson Riddle Tours, but you also started styling her streetwear, too, right?

[Jenny Shore]

Oh, yeah, I did all that. I would go and get her all of her streetwear. You know, places like Fred Siegel's stuff like that Street Jacket was on Third Street. We were one of the first boutiques like that. But then the Melrose Boom happened, and so I was buying stuff from her from Melrose stores as well. And she just loved it because it wasn't like these Beverly Hills prices for the Nelson Riddle stuff. I bought her tons of vintage, which you could get them for, really inexpensive. And then we had things made as well from Western costumes. So, yeah, I got to do all that stuff. It was really fun.

[Terry O'Reilly]

And you said in your book that dressing Linda was the highlight of your career. Why do you say that?

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, well, it's one of the biggest highlights, I think, because she's such a kind, generous person. I got to hear her sing every night when we were on tour. And she also loved my songs that I was writing. I was still writing songs past Backstage Pass, when I would just hear her sing in the house with no microphone, no studio. I said, your voice is more beautiful in person. And she loved that.

[Terry O'Reilly]

And you said she was a teetotaler, too, which is interesting, because not a lot of rock stars were. And you said. And I thought this was very interesting. You said it added years to your life.

[Jenny Shore]

I've told her that, and it's true, because I also gave up, like, any kind of recreational drugs right before I met her. I wasn't doing tons of cocaine, but I was doing drugs, and I was smoking some. But she also had her days with drugs, I'm sure, or alcohol, I don't know. Yeah, I'm saying, like, in her SNL period, you know. Yeah, she wasn't doing any of that stuff. I mean, we were, like, drinking Diet Coke and things like that. But, yeah, it was very grounding experience. But then later ended up touring with the Bengals, and they were more my age, but it was definitely easier to work for one person.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Yeah.

[Jenny Shore]

Than a band for Linda, you know, than a band. And also, Linda had already been through that pressure cooker of being pushed to tour tor tour, so she got to call the shots at this point. She also got badly taken advantage of by Rolling Stone at the time, you know, with the Annie Lebowitz photos and that kind of thing. So she started to become very protective about her private life. She was never photographed with George Lucas.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Yeah, interesting.

[Jenny Shore]

She started to be Become pretty strict about things, and there's some interviews where she really lays it down the way she wants to lay it down, and she doesn't get prodded by nosy questions or she won't talk about her private life.

[Terry O'Reilly]

That was a long time ago. But Jenny is still in touch with Linda Ronstadt to this day. I asked Jenny how Linda was doing.

[Jenny Shore]

She has the same wit and brain. Physically, she's not like she was, but she is clever and smart and has a wonderful viewpoint about the world and politics. And I adore Kosh, and I have both been to see her. We spent a couple Christmases with her. Yeah, we talk on the phone. And I'm also really close with her personal manager, Janet, and we also know her manager, John Boylan, who was with her, like, since the beginning. And I'm sort of like a nerdy encyclopedia, especially about her career and her clothes. And she loves that. She wants me to help, like, sort of categorize some of that stuff for her, which I would love to do.

[Terry O'Reilly]

I was lucky enough to be at the Rock hall of fame induction in 2014 when Linda Ronstadt was inducted. And she was formally inducted by Glenn Frey of the Eagles, as Glenn played in her band before the Eagles were formed. Linda couldn't be there that night, but Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, and Carrie Underwood sang Linda's biggest hits. It was amazing.

[Jenny Shore]

And nobody sings her music like Linda. Yeah, nobody. Nobody. The amount of, like, different genres. I mean, I remember when we were doing Nelson Riddle interview, but she was saying, I think the future of pop is Latin. You know, she was taking Spanish lessons when I first started working for her, so she was already prepping for all these things. I also got to go to New York with her. She did an opera, which wasn't as successful. Not nearly as successful as Pirates of Penzance, but it was La Boheme, right.

[Terry O'Reilly]

And I have to say that her albums with Nelson Riddle. Am I right about this? That was really kind of the start of rock stars doing American standards.

[Jenny Shore]

100. She was the first. She was the first. And she actually did a recording with Jerry Wexler. Jerry Wexler. It was a little jazzier and she felt very rushed. And it was during the Pirates of Penzance era and she ended up deciding on going with Nelson Riddle. And she didn't know if Nelson had ever heard of her or, you know, what he would think. I mean, because rock and roll to people like Frank Sinatra and that kind of thing, they were pretty threatened by it, especially like the Beatles and all that kind of stuff.

[Terry O'Reilly]

I think the Beatles actually ended a lot of careers, you know what I mean? When you think about the Frankie Avalons of that era, yes, it was hard for them to get a gig after that. When we return, Linda Ronstadt wants to work with Nelson Riddle, but Riddle doesn't know who she is. Rover makes it easy to book pet care whenever you need it. Connect with trusted pet sitters in the Rover app today. Get $10 off your first Rover booking with code Rover PET10. Additional terms and conditions apply. Rover loving pet care in your neighborhood.

[Acast Advertiser]

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[Lifelock Customer]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

[Lifelock Representative]

One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

[Lifelock Customer]

What do I do?

[Jenny Shore]

My refund though. I'm freaking out.

[Acast Advertiser]

Don't worry, I can fix this.

[Lifelock Representative]

Lifelock fixes identity theft, guaranteed, and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.

[Lifelock Customer]

I'm so relieved.

[Terry O'Reilly]

No problem.

[Jenny Shore]

I'll be with you every step of the way.

[Lifelock Representative]

One in four was a fraud. Paying American American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com Specialoffer terms apply.

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[Jenny Shore]

When she did the Nelson Riddle and we went to Radio City Music hall and they had some of those songwriters like the Tim Pan Alley that were people that were still alive, were celebrating Linda and they felt so honored that she was doing this material. But this is the Material she grew.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Up on, you know, When Linda Ronstadt first approached Nelson Riddle about working together, he didn't know who she was. As Jenny mentioned a moment ago, artists like Riddle were from another generation. So Riddle asked his daughter who Linda Ronstadt was, and his daughter said, oh, my God, dad, you have to work with her.

[Jenny Shore]

Yeah, Nelson was incredible. I was sitting next to him on a flight from Japan to Australia. He said, ask me anything. And I was like, I don't know what to ask. I'm like, young. I was really missed opportunity because he had all the good dirt on everybody. You know, Rosemary Clooney, you know, you name it.

[Terry O'Reilly]

He's such an exquisite artist and arranger. Nelson, even his work with Sinatra, is among my favorite. Just an amazing music talent. Backstage Pass reunited.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Tell me the story around that.

[Jenny Shore]

There's this woman, Terry Moreland Henderson. She is married to one of the members of a band called the Pop that was playing sort of in that era, and she put together this reunion show, and she asked us to perform, which was amazing. I think we opened up for the Pop as well, and needles and pins and there was a lot of bands of that era. So Marina and I had played for years, you know, but it's like riding a bike. I've been playing Since I was 8 years old, you know. So we ended up getting some of our friends that were good musicians and good harmony singers, and we reunited and we did this show, and a lot of people hadn't seen us. It was amazing. We only did like three songs, and then we started playing other shows, and then Covid happened, and that kind of put the kibosh on things.

[Backstage Pass (Band Vocals)]

Every time you come to town you pretend you're not around. Can't keep staying underground living alone in a lost boundary. So come on up to me. Come on up to me. You're pretty legendary and just racing to the free. So come on up to me. Come on up to me. Every time you try to hide, you must know. Come and play with me inside let's go out and take a little ride. Come on up to me. Come on up to me. You really legendary and just racing to be free. So come on up to me. Come on up to me. Sam. Next time you peep round your doors Be prepared for what is your. You might end up on the floor Cuz you know we both know the score. Come on up to me. Come on up to me. You're pretty legendary and he's raising to the freeze. So come on up to me. Come on up to me. Come on up to me Come on up to me Pretty legendary and just racing to be free so come on up to me Come on up to me Come on up to me Come.

[Terry O'Reilly]

On up that was Legend by Backstage Pass. I wondered what it was like to get together again after all those years.

[Jenny Shore]

Fun, but band dynamics never change.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Is that right? Even after 42 years.

[Jenny Shore]

Never, never, never, never change. Ask anybody. They never change. But it was great. And it was great to kind of see what we could have sounded like if we developed a bit more, because we had this opera singer who sang back up. She just loved it. It was just kind of fun to see it with, like, a little bit more musicianship, a little bit more harmonies, a little bit more groundedness. But I don't think we'll do anything in the future. But my book comes with our original demos.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Yes.

[Jenny Shore]

Well, two songs from the original demo. It comes with a 45 single, and Kosh designed the single cover and the book cover.

[Terry O'Reilly]

And there's QR codes.

[Jenny Shore]

Yes, there's QR codes to some of the songs I had written after Backstage Pass that I really enjoyed. I ended up doing a demo in England at Nicklo's studio. I also did a demo in Texas with Golden Earring.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Radar Love.

[Jenny Shore]

Radar Love. Tony was dating the lead singer, Barry, at that time, and then her brother Tom Wright, who photographed the who in their early stages. Pete Townsend says that he's partly responsible for helping them break out. I think they met him in art school. Like I said, Tony was an army brat, so she lived in. In England, so her family lived there. And that's how Tom met the who. So Tom, he produced it.

[Terry O'Reilly]

What was it like to look back on your life, to write this book? What was that experience like for you?

[Jenny Shore]

It's a little bit gnarly. It's like 30 years of my life. I would say it was gnarly. I did a lot of crazy things. I dated a lot of rock stars. I got my heart broken several times. I was experimenting. I was bisexual. Yeah, that was one thing that happened, too, where Kim Fowley outed me for being bisexual in front of a crowd. I wasn't ready to come out in that way. It was emotional because of my mom's illness and death, and I was remembering things that. Some of it was painful.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Yeah. Did you keep journals when you were going through all this?

[Jenny Shore]

It feels like a journal. One compliment someone gave me was. Was my neighbor. He's. He's in the film industry. And he said, you know, I felt like I was reading, like, A diary of a 15 year old. And you sounded like a 15 and 16. 16 year old. And he loves it, you know, so I've gotten so much great feedback. I never knew if people could relate to it. I think 2025 has been such a shitty year in a lot of ways. And I think this maybe provides some kind of entertainment, some kind of outlet. It's like juicy, you know, it's like juicy 70s stories, 80s stories. I think some people can relate to it that have had trouble with their family. You know, certainly there's been a lot of strife this year politically where families are like splitting apart, right? So I'm really glad that my book came out this year. It was like therapeutic for me. It was good for me. It's been great to put myself out there and people seem to really dig it and I didn't know how people would respond, but I've just gotten these like incredible notes from people, like just saying it's sexy, but it's emotional and I can't put it down. Linda's manager, Janet, she like read it in one night. She said, I made myself a cup of tea and I said, you already read it. And she was like, I laughed, I cried. You know, I've gotten some incredible response and people telling me that it was so well written. I just never expected to hear those things. But I'm so pleased it's so enjoyable.

[Terry O'Reilly]

Jenny. And it's all of those things, by the way, I love that. That was my interview with Jenny Shore. Her book All Roads Lead to Punk is available now and all proceeds from the book benefit junior high la, which is Jenny's adult child Eden Haynes nonprofit, which is a community art space and safe space for people who feel marginalized. A big thank you to Jenny Shore. And as mentioned, her spouse is Kosh, who was the creative director of Apple Records. And you can hear my interview with Kosh right here on your podcast app. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This episode was recorded in the Tear Stream Mobile recording studio. Director Callie O'Reilly producer Debbie O'Reilly chief sound engineer Jeff Devine tunes provided by APM Music. Follow me at Terry Oinfluence. This podcast is powered by Acast. Stay tuned for more Beatleology interviews. Coming up.

[Acast Advertiser]

Lifelock. How can I help?

[Lifelock Customer]

The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.

[Lifelock Representative]

One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.

[Lifelock Customer]

What do I do?

[Jenny Shore]

My refund though. I'm freaking out.

[Acast Advertiser]

Don't worry, I can fix this.

[Lifelock Representative]

Lifelock fixes identity theft guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.

[Lifelock Customer]

I'm so relieved.

[Terry O'Reilly]

No problem.

[Jenny Shore]

I'll be with you every step of the way.

[Lifelock Representative]

One in four was a fraud. Paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com Special offer terms apply.