To put it mildly, Buell has kept herself in front of an audience for decades and hasn’t looked back since she started. She co-wrote a song with Sally Tiven (“By a Woman”) and had performed it several times with the incomparable Crystal Gayle. It was shortly after that that Bebe and Jim made a move to Nashville in late 2013 and once again she began to reinvent her style to include forays into country-tinged music. Buell’s country interest was brought out to the forefront when she recorded a 2012 Eddy Arnold tribute for Plowboy (Cheetah Chrome) Records.
Her real comeback success came in the form of the 2011 release of Hard Love, a grungy, pop jewel produced by husband Jim Wallerstein (Das Damen) and Stephen DeAcutis. While Buell has a huge New York following, mainstream success was still a tough customer to catch.
Once Liv was up and running Buell returned to music, utilizing the services of producer Don Fleming (Sonic Youth, Hole, Teenage Fanclub, The Posies, Alice Cooper, Andrew W.K., The Dictators, Joan Jett, Nancy Sinatra, Screaming Trees, The Smithereens, Pete Yorn to name an illustrious few). She also formed The Gargoyles, a band that released singles and garnered major label attention, before Buell disbanded that group to focus all her attention on daughter Liv Tyler’s blossoming career. Then-boyfriend John Taylor (Duran Duran) got some friends together to back Buell in another musical effort. The band, The Cars, served as her band on two of the tracks. Her very first real song success was in 1981 when she recorded a four-song EP with producers Rick Ocasek (The Cars) and Rick Derringer at the helm. When she wasn’t busy jet-setting all over the world with one-time beaus such as Todd Rundgren, Elvis Costello, Rod Stewart or Jack Nicholson, the former school choir singer was honing her songwriting craft and putting her career as a singer and band leader together. Buell may be known for dating rock idols, but she also wanted to be one in her clear way since she first showed up. Yes, she was a very lucky young Southern girl who was hired by the Ford Modeling Agency in New York, and yes, she was a Playboy centerfold in the 1970s, but she was also so much more. He said he created some of Penny’s dialogue from statements Buellhad made in interviews over the years.Ĭoincidently, Hudson is working on her own groupie resume and has two kids with two rock star ex-husbands Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes and Matthew Bellamy of Muse.When it comes to describing Bebe Buell, there’s not much standard information that can be given that hasn’t been printed before.
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In 2002, Buell married musician Jim Wallerstein.įilmmaker Cameron Crowe, in his commentary on the extended DVD of his 2000 movie “ Almost Famous”, said he based the film’s “ Penny Lane” character (played by Kate Hudson) on two women he met during the early 1970s - Bebe Buell and Pennie Trumble, a.k.a “ Penny Lane“. They divorced in 1999 after a year-long separation. In 1992, she was married for the first time to sometime-musician and actor Coyote Shivers. Buell allowed her daughter to believe that Rundgren was her father until the late 1980’s, as Tyler was still deeply addicted to drugs at the time.īuell and Rundgreneventually broke up. In the fall of 1976, she unexpectedly became pregnant by Tyler, and gave birth to daughter Liv Tyler on July 1, 1977. Many people had assumed Bebe & Rundgren were married and Bebe was often referred to as Bebe Rundgren in the media. As well as Elvis Costello, Stiv Bators, Billy Idol, John Taylor ( Duran Duran) and actors Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty. In 1972, while working as a teenage model in New York City, Buell met and dated rock star Todd Rundgren.ĭuring and after her “open relationship” with Rundgren, she also became intimate with many other famous musicians, including Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, and Steven Tyler. Bebe Buell(born Beverle Lorence Buell on July 14, 1953, in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American fashion model and singer, and Playboy magazine’s November 1974 Playmate of the Month.īut what Buell is most famous for is being “The Ultimate” Rock N’ Roll Groupie” known for dating and marrying rock musicians.