Electric Light Odyssey

In 1998 Parthenon Huxley, widowed and unemployed, successfully auditions to be the guitarist/singer for Electric Light Orchestra Part II, led by ELO's Bev Bevan. After years of ups and downs in the tough-luck music business, Huxley's life trajectory changes for the better-lavish tours, world-class bandmates, fan adulation-until events threaten to pull it all apart.

Driven by a fluid, enthused writing style, Electric Light Odyssey is packed with captivating and often hilarious anecdotes about the rock 'n' roll life-from sharing an invisible joint with Paul McCartney and being serenaded at his wedding by Stephen Stills, to singing harmony with Brian Wilson, performing with Linda Ronstadt, and much more.

A must-read for music lovers, aspiring artists, and fans of triumph-over-adversity stories, Electric Light Odyssey chronicles Huxley's life journey as he grows from budding songwriter to rock n' roll veteran with the scars and rewards to show for it. Huxley fearlessly leads the reader on a tour of his thrilling wins, humbling failures, and heart-stopping personal drama.

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"Reading Electric Light Odyssey instantly reminded me of Parthenon's many literary gifts, such as knowing which details will carry his story into the reader's heart. That's impressive but not surprising if you know his lyrics and music. Parthenon's unpredictable and adventurous life is a tale worth telling, and as his past band mate, co-writer and good friend, I'm honored to be a small part of his story's fabric. Well done, brother." - Rusty Anderson, singer, songwriter, recording artist, guitarist for Paul McCartney, gear designer

"Parthenon has made some of my favorite records and now he's created one of my favorite books. Electric Light Odyssey is a beautifully written and often laugh-out-loud look at one man's determination to penetrate the cutthroat but intoxicating world of professional rock and roll. If you love strivers with a wry perspective, you'll love this memoir." -Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, neuroscientist, record producer and New York Times best-selling author of This Is Your Brain On Music

"Reading Electric Light Odyssey instantly reminded me of Parthenon's many literary gifts, such as knowing which details will carry his story into the reader's heart. That's impressive but not surprising if you know his lyrics and music. Parthenon's unpredictable and adventurous life is a tale worth telling, and as his past band mate, co-writer and good friend, I'm honored to be a small part of his story's fabric. Well done, brother." - Rusty Anderson, singer, songwriter, recording artist, guitarist for Paul McCartney, gear designer

"P. Hux can not only conjure a great song out of thin air, his talent for raucous storytelling is on full, shining display throughout Electric Light Odyssey. A self-taught musician who dove into the super tough world of the music business, these missives detailing his highs and lows along the journey are quirky, heart-felt, and fun. When I met P. Hux at a fundraising show I instantly recognized his immense talent...and humor! His story is amazing and I'm so pleased he decided to tell it here." -Duff McKagan, founding member of Guns 'N' Roses and New York Times best-selling author of It's So Easy: And Other Lies

"I've read hundreds of great memoirs and biographies by and about musicians from Charles Mingus, Tina Turner and Johnny Cash, who were never my friends, to Amy Rigby, Ivan Bodley and Robert Crenshaw, who are. Parthenon Huxley, who I consider a dear friend, has managed to do something rare in this genre. With his unique wit, style and rhythm he has captured what it's like to wade waist-deep in the crazy world of rock while never going under, Illuminating that indescribable yearning for more. Electric Light Odyssey proves that talent and tenacity are their own rewards." -Don Dixon, singer, songwriter and producer

"With a singer-songwriter's soul, a novelist's observant eye, and a musician's spirit, Parthenon Huxley has crafted a riveting memoir that takes readers inside the creative process and on the road." - Holly George-Warren, author of A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton and Janis: Her Life and Music

Parthenon Huxley is lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter for The Orchestra Starring ELO Former Members. He wrote his first song at age ten in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and has chased his muse ever since as an indie artist, staff songwriter for MCA Music Publishing, recording artist for Columbia and Universal Records, producer of film and TV music, and other roles. Four of his nine studio albums have earned Album of the Year awards. Huxley holds a B.A. in Journalism from UNC Chapel Hill and honed his skills writing rock criticism for Spectator Magazine in the 1980s. He lives in Chevy Chase, MD.

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