It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Thirty Years Married to a Rolling Stone by Jo Wood | Goodreads
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It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Thirty Years Married to a Rolling Stone

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In this wild, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the biggest rock bands in history, Jo Wood comes clean about her three decades as the girlfriend and eventually the wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. This startlingly honest, laugh-out-loud memoir vividly describes life on tour, in the studio, at the legendary parties—and every raucous moment in between.

From teenage model to hard-partying rock 'n' roll devotee, through motherhood, marriage, breakdown, and the challenge of starting over again, Jo Wood has had a roller-coaster ride of a life. At the age of sixteen, Jo burst onto the British modeling scene and became a fixture at London's most glamorous parties. A few years later, just twenty-two years old and a single mom, she met Ronnie Wood and her life changed forever.

Holding nothing back, Jo paints an astonishing picture of the sex, drugs, booze, groupies, and—above all—the fun that filled her thirty years as a member of the Stones' inner circle. Telling never-before-heard stories about what life on the road with the Stones was really like, she offers intimate portraits of the band's legendary cast of characters, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Jerry Hall, and Patti Hansen. She recalls the excitement of getting to know international A-list celebrities like Kate Moss, Andy Warhol, Johnny Depp, and Slash.

Jo also opens up about her family life with Ronnie: their passionate love affair, the demands of being a mother by day and a wild child by night, and eventually coping with Ronnie's increasingly difficult behavior as his addictions consumed him. For the first time, she reveals her heartbreaking account of what happened when Ronnie left her for an eighteen-year-old waitress, explaining how she was able to forgive, live without bitterness or regret, and find new happiness as an entrepreneur and organic beauty expert.

Including never-before-seen photographs from Jo's personal collection, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll is a compelling piece of rock 'n' roll history from a woman with a backstage pass and front-row seat. Enchanting, candid, and moving, this page-turning fairy tale of fame and fortune has the best of the era's many euphoric and reckless moments within its pages.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

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Jo Wood

27 books8 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
Profile Image for Lynx.
198 reviews93 followers
July 12, 2017
Jo Wood is the type of woman you wish you were friends with. Her light, bubbly personality shines through and makes this such a fun, enjoyable read. She shares in this book all the things Ronnie does not. She honest about all the drug and alcohol abuse as well as the pain she went through when Ronnie left her for a girl 41 years younger then him. All of this is done without a hint of animosity. For me the book shines most when Jo talks about the years she worked as Ronnie's tour PA. She takes you backstage, and you feel the excitement as though you were walking alongside with her, gearing up for a great night of rock 'n' roll.

To learn more about Jo Wood check out Muses and Stuff a podcast dedicated to celebrating the women who live, love and breathe all things music!
Profile Image for False.
2,369 reviews10 followers
August 22, 2013
One thing she doesn't address is her plastic surgeries and it's obvious she's had them. What a depraved life the Rolling Stones lead. I had read in another book on Mick Jagger what an insulated from reality life it really is, and she does get into that more at the end of the book, once she has been pulled off that teet for good. The drug excessives, the carelessness with money, the removal of responsibility. I loved how she kept saying her first son (born from another man) was "happy" living with her parents in another part of the country. I seriously doubt it. Her hedonism didn't start with Ronnie Wood at 16. She was already at it at a much younger age, with two abortions under her belt, a serious lack of formal education and indulgent parents. I have zero sympathy for any of these people. They are given such a rare opportunity in success and they treat it with indifferent contempt. Also, good luck with that alcohol addiction, Mr. Wood. He'll die a drunk. Hopefully his young girlfriend at the time will weep prettily at his grave. Personally? I still don't consider him a Rolling Stone. Hired help.
Profile Image for Allison Mcleary.
22 reviews
August 22, 2013
How boring!!! Other than the train wreck they made of their lives at times, they are sheltered, indulged idiots!! I love a good train wreck, so those passages were entertaining. The end- couldn't be more typical. Kids grow up, she starts a little homey business based on new interests, the attention isn't on him anymore and she leaves her for an adoring 18 year old. Yawn!!!!!! And mind you her seizure while freebasing didn't shock her into change but Crohn's disease did?? Give me a break..
Profile Image for Valerity (Val).
1,002 reviews2,755 followers
February 2, 2014
A book about the crazy rock n roll lifestyle that the Stones were living behind the scenes as they made their meteoric rise to fame and sustained it by Ronnie Wood girlfriend then wife who was around it for 30 years, Jo Woods. She endured the ups and downs, the groupies, drugs, the extravagant lifestyle that soon came to be taken for granted. The addictions and sickness when trying to clean up. Trying to juggle being a parent with partying all night.
Profile Image for Dave Schwensen.
Author 11 books4 followers
April 7, 2014
Unlike some rock biographies that only hint at or gloss over past bad behavior and dirty deeds, Jo Wood names the names and what was going on where and when. My first thought was that Ronnie Wood (with a hefty contribution from Keith Richards) would have to fight this one and offer his ex a big bucks payoff to keep it off the market. But then I realized when it comes to The Rolling Stones, there really is no such thing as bad publicity. Part of the allure is their five decades long image as carousing, drinking and drugging bad boys - and this book simply adds to the legend.

As a reviewer, I should only stick with the writing of the book itself, which is actually quite good. It was fun to read and I had a hard time putting it down, simply because each episode of Jo and Ronnie's life together seemed more unbelievable than what had happened before. There were many anticipated "page-turners" and the author kept it moving at a lively pace. I thought the story bogged down a bit when she detailed her business ventures, which came off to me as advertisements for her products. But on the other hand, that's who Jo Wood is as an entrepreneur and this is her story.

There were numerous questionable opinions throughout, such as Jo's continued declaration of being a good mother to her children while spending years in the bathroom free-basing with Ronnie and partying non-stop for days without sleep on Stones' tours. She gives credit to her family and nannies for their assistance, but her message reads loud and clear that she was not simply a dedicated party girl, but would do almost anything and put up with just about everything to hang onto Ronnie Wood.

And speaking of Ronnie Wood, whose name and reputation as a Rolling Stone is really the main incentive for reading this book; he comes off as a self-centered alcoholic and drug addict starved for attention. His only saving grace is a carefree and "anything for a laugh" personality in pubs, parties and on tour, with enough talent as a musician to compliment Keith Richards as the second guitarist in the Stones. Out of the spotlight he could be moody and mean, and continued a string of affairs with celebrities, groupies and "drinking buddies" who never seemed to age as he grew old enough to be his latest conquest's grandfather. One cutting moment was when he looked at Jo the day after her fiftieth birthday and declared he never thought he would ever be married to someone that old. But instead of being a testament to their life together, he meant it as a statement about how his mind works.

This is a fun and gossipy look inside The Rolling Stones protective bubble. It may read as a fantasy for those of us on the outside, but it was everyday life for the inner circle. If you're a fan, this is a welcome addition to your Stones library.
Profile Image for Bonnie|thebookishinsomniac.
256 reviews8 followers
August 11, 2013
I read a lot of memoirs and quite a few on the rock and roll lifestyle and it will never not shock me. So much cocaine. I also learned what freebasing is, so that's cool. Ending every chapter with "and then my life changed forever" or "then the bomb dropped" did get old, but it was a fun and fascinating read. And another good reminder why I'll never marry a rock star.
1,411 reviews35 followers
May 6, 2014
would make a good People magazine "whatever happened to....?" article but kind of boring and repetitive as a book. It's exciting to be backstage at Rolling Stones concerts...but frustrating and worrisome to know your husband gets lots of attention from groupies and does not discourage it...rock stars and their entourages do lots of drugs and stay up late frequently...narcissistic male rock stars with serious drinking problems are difficult to live with and sometimes take up with younger women rather than remaining faithful to their wives....if you find these conclusions extraordinary and demand extraordinary amounts of anecdotal evidence before you will be convinced of them, this is the book for you. If not, it gets tedious.

Some passages were funny to me, not necessarily the ones intended to be so. For instance, recapping her wedding to Ronnie Wood, she notes: "When it was over the two of us bounded out of the church...into the white Bentley waiting to whisk us to the reception at a nearby pub....but before we could head off, Keith [Richards] jumped in too and....whipped out a little packet of coke.....I was actually furious with myself for doing it, as I knew it would kill my appetite at the reception" (p. 171). I know, right, it sucks when coke ruins your appetite. Presumably she let her kids in on this nasty side effect when giving them drugs at age 15 or 16 so they could be introduced to drug use in a controlled setting.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,132 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2020
There were interesting sections of this book by Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood, but mainly I found myself shaking my head at why she would put up with Ron Wood's behavior, chronic philandering, and substance abuse. The money would NOT be worth it!

Jo admits she partied with her husband for many years (leaving the nanny to do most of the raising of the children, one must assume), but after her 50th birthday party Ron turned to her and said, seriously, "I can't believe I'm married to a 50-year-old woman." (He was over 60 at the time he said this, and she was still absolutely beautiful.) Sure enough, before long he ran off with a 17-year-old Russian cocktail waitress (you can't make this stuff up!).

Jo has found a career for herself in recent years and now enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, so she has straightened herself out nicely. Unfortunately, we can't say the same for her ex-husband. When Keith Richards tells you you have to cut out the booze and drugs, you KNOW you have a problem. One wonders if Ron Wood will ever grow up.

**#50 of 100 books pledged to read/review during 2015**
#38 of 130 books pledged to read during 2020
Profile Image for Poppy99.
209 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2014
She is a very pretty woman but not the brightest spark. She spent all those years living with a man who was completely self absorbed, a drunk and drug addict. Oh yes, and all the women on the side including in the latter years, ones 40 years younger than him. The constant humiliation. She keeps on saying, like a golden thread throughout the book, that she was a good mother. She mothered Ronnie okay, but she abandoned her first child, she left him with her parents while she jaunted around the world. And then there were the days, weeks, months and years when she and her OH were living a completely debauched life, high as kites, bringing drugs in the country. And still she claimed to be a good mother. I think the nanny may have done the mothering. One of her sons ended up with a heroin addiction. Mmm, wonder where he got the idea from. Both Ronnie and Jo seem incredibly immature. I get the impression she is not fully over him, God knows why. This was okay as a filler book but I cannot give it more than 2 *. I hope she goes on to make a life for herself rather than the ex Mrs Wood.
Profile Image for Lorna Gilder.
118 reviews
January 16, 2016
An eye opening read about the rock n roll lifestyle! Jo started off with a privileged life but had no aspirations to work hard at school. She became a model and subsequently got involved in the hedonistic lifestyle. Met Ronnie and her lifestyle heightened with many recounts of days and days of drug/alcohol binges, the mafia, amazing holidays, tour antics, groupie stories, famous friends, and even a four day stint in prison.(all with young children which I did find uncomfortable to read about at times) The pair lived in a "golden prison" she says. As Ronnie's alcohol addiction heightens, I did feel some sympathy for her due to his behaviour.
Jo does come across as a fun, outgoing person who had the strength to get over the end of her marriage as she clearly adored Ronnie. An interesting read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Joanne.
1,151 reviews25 followers
November 8, 2013
This book was actually kind of boring. I should have known better than to expect any kind of "expose" of the Rolling Stones (they control their message way too well for that) but it was dull. Other than glossing over years and years of drug abuse and the discovery of organic living, there wasn't much to it. I found out more about these people by reading articles on Google.
Profile Image for Tad Richards.
Author 34 books14 followers
September 11, 2013
These are horrid, boring people. I wouldn't want to know them, and I don't want to read about them. I did not feel this way about Keith Richards's book, so I'd say that all this is the fault of Jo Wood, not the Stones.
Profile Image for Anna Gibson .
5 reviews
December 16, 2013
Fun book, but toward the end kinda boring, I guess even rock and roll gets boring after 30 year of getting/high and stupid. And lots of name dropping, talk about someone that will not admit it, but missing the lime light
Profile Image for Nicole.
256 reviews
February 13, 2015
Somewhat interesting insight but mostly I just feel badly for how Jo was treated.
21 reviews
May 26, 2019
Not the best one in this category.

Jo Wood is not a sophisticated or cultivated writer. Don’t expect anything similar to the very talented and beautifully written Marianne Faithfull’s Memories. Marianne Faithfull is right: they all (the Stones) choose models who are moduls. Having read this book I still don’t know surely if Jo Wood loved really Ronny Wood or the fame of Ronny Wood. I have the impression if she’d had met with Mick Jagger in the same party as with Ronny, she’d written a book about Mick Jagger and not Ronny Wood now. Inspite of the fact that I am not a big fan of Ronny Wood ( I definitely prefer Mick Taylor don’t mentioning Brian Jones) I don’t regret to read this book at all. A lot of stories that were new for me, about sex and drugs and rock and roll, endless parties all over the world, drugs, freebase cocain, alcoholism. I found very interesting that the book is really focused on the personality and the ego of Jo Wood, and it is against that background that Ronny has a really big ego. I like her part of organic products business, however found extremely poorly described her 4 days in Bangladesh. It’s not even 2 pages. Also, sometimes she is just telling you something about meeting with Bob Dylan or David Bowie but again, nothing interesting: “I might find myself cooking shepherd’s pie for Bob Dylan (a sweet guy, but very quiet) or whipping up spag bol for David Bowie.” I can imagine that she is very proud of meeting those artists, but that’s all? Bob Dylan , a sweet guy but very quiet. We don’t know how is Bowie 😀. Also I found very contradictory how she introduced drugs to her children, don’t know if that is the right way. I liked very much that she didn’t want to be hypocrite, that’s fine, but I am hesitant on this issue and don’t know if she was wright or not. Read the book, then you’ll see it.
Profile Image for Denise Hale.
123 reviews2 followers
July 24, 2019
Good times and bad times revisited as Jo looks forward

I'm a similar age to Joe and recognised the same naivety and eagerness to experience life as Jo expresses. Ron Wood is a friend of Rod Stewart and I saw Ron on stage with him. By the time he and Jo got together he was with the, already established, Stones. At first, the rock'n'roll lifestyle comes across as you'd expect; parties, drugs, meeting the famous. And Jo enjoys it, but as their family increases Jo has to be the one taking care of things, as she grows up Ronnie doesn't.
Jo's writing style is confiding and honest, she 'clicks' with a lot of people who become great friends. She looks to click with the reader and sometimes assumes they have similar experiences and/or a willingness to be on her side.
I don't think anybody seeking to learn more about the Rolling Stones would gain much from this book, besides the awareness that even the famous have money problems, their's are just different to most people's. When Jo ditches Ronnie, she comes back to life and you can feel her do so. The last couple of chapters were worth reading to the end for. Accept, forgive and move on.
Profile Image for Judy.
3,282 reviews22 followers
December 30, 2018
This turned out to be a pretty quick read, and painfully honest in many aspects. It certainly didn't paint Ronnie Wood (the author's husband of decades) in a very flattering light, but she didn't stint on revealing unpleasant things about herself either. Some of it was really fascinating, but watching Wood falling again and again into alcoholism and drug addiction, and his seeming inability to think of anyone but himself was pretty depressing. If you are reading this to find out about the Rolling Stones, this probably isn't for you, because it really centers on Wood and those close to him (especial Keith Richards). Still, not a bad glimpse at life in the center of a phenomenon like the Rolling Stones.
Profile Image for Crystal.
62 reviews
September 29, 2017
A must read for a Stones fan. And if you were big on Keith Richards already (as I was) you will still be after you read this. What an awesomely cool guy. But I digress. Ronnie Wood. If you were big on Ronnie Wood before you read this, you may be a little less enamored of him afterwards. This book did change my view on Ronnie and it really is kind of a bummer, so be warned. I don't get the impression that Jo Wood was trying to slander Ronnie at all; she was just telling the truth. What a strong woman Jo Wood was and is. I couldn't put this one down.
Profile Image for Ali.
60 reviews
August 27, 2019
I absolutely LOVED this book! I really enjoyed reading about Jo's stages of her life and all such adventures! What an interesting, raucous, loving, challenging life she has had! An easy, open and honest story about life on the road with a world famous rock band which she worked (and played) hard and living with an alcoholic husband who she obviously adored to making a new life for herself. It makes you want to be her friend, to pop round for a cup of tea and a natter....and to eat some of her tasty food!
Profile Image for dear3st.
38 reviews
July 22, 2022
‘The more people told me I couldn’t do it, the more I wanted to prove them wrong'

god bless all the people who survived the 70s and 80s. The amount of detail on drug intake in this book is insane - more insane that they survived through that.

It was nice seeing Jo develop into her own person and care for herself more and more instead of her husband. The book overall is nice as it details all the highs and lows of being with Ronnie but also touring with the band.
Profile Image for Leanne.
1 review
May 20, 2018
A beautifully written account of Jo Woods rollercoaster ride of life within the Rolling Stones bubble, enriched with plenty humorous anecdotes about their escapades with Keith Richards and the electrifying experience of joining the Rolling Stones on tour. Couldn’t put it down. Jo Wood was certainly long suffering!
Profile Image for Sam Rae.
235 reviews1 follower
November 19, 2021
How the other half live. Jo has had lots of fun but I wouldn't swap places with her. Read Ronnie's auto too, mmm always 2 sides to a story and Jo deserves some fun on a more legal basis 🙄 Great easy read and I like the lass even if I now think Ronnie is abit of a ungrateful, selfish pillock. Decent on a guitar tho.
Profile Image for John Lyman.
505 reviews4 followers
August 26, 2019
Cool, insider's view of a Rolling Stone's life. It was hard to see her getting betrayed so much. Jo seems like a very good person. I wish I could remember what exactly Ron Wood said about her, and himself, in his autobiography.
58 reviews
October 12, 2019
Loved the book!

Great book, so glad Jo came out the other side of her fairy tale life, devastating breakup and divorce, and how she grew as a person!! Can't even imagine the life of rock and roll legends!
284 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2019
An interesting look at the rock & roll lifestyle

I enjoyed this book and am delighted that Jo has achieved success and happiness on her own.
The book is inspiring however unlike most people she know doubt received millions of pounds when she got divorced?
Profile Image for Lynette Robb.
30 reviews2 followers
February 12, 2020
The Face of 1972 - I remember Jo Wood from a long time ago!

Anyone who loves The Rolling Stones will find this book fascinating.
I’ve always been interested in how the wives live their lives - amazing that most of them have survived and lead pretty normal lives.
A good read!
Profile Image for Rory Costello.
Author 18 books16 followers
April 12, 2020
Not particularly good or interesting, alas. Woody is a second-rank figure in Stones history to begin with. The Stones are why I checked the book out to begin with, and there simply isn't enough on them here.
June 8, 2021
Brilliant book
Highly recommend reading this
Well written and absorbing
Fascinating personal insight into the hedonistic lifestyle and the work hard ,play hard ethics of the talented Musicians and artists
Fame comes at a price
Karma….




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