MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX:A.M. founder Nikki Sixx is now a four-time New York Times best-selling author with his new book, "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx" entering the coveted list at No. 8 on the Hardcover chart and No. 11 on the Combined Print And Ebook List. "The First 21" joins Sixx's other three bestsellers, "The Heroin Diaries", "This Is Gonna Hurt" and the MÖTLEY CRÜE biography "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band". In addition, "The First 21" quickly rose to Amazon's bestsellers list since its release on October 19, occupying the top spot on Amazon's rock music books chart and in the Top 40 overall biographies and memoirs chart. "The First 21" is also No. 22 on USA Today's best-selling books top 150 list, as well as No. 9 on Canada's The Globe And Mail bestsellers list.
"I am such a fan of books and storytelling," Nikki said. "The whole process is extremely creative from the beginning to the end, which allowed me to open up candidly in the memoir about addiction, sobriety and reflect about the formative years of my life, while unpacking the complicated childhood that had some twists and turns along the way. I am really happy 'The First 21' connected with people in such a deep way.”
In "The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx", Sixx tells his origin story: how Frank Feranna became Nikki Sixx, chronicling his fascinating journey from irrepressible Idaho farm boy to the man who formed the revolutionary rock group MÖTLEY CRÜE.
Nikki 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 to 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 of 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 your goals, if only you put your mind to it.
"You've heard the tales of excess and debauchery. All the peaks and the valleys that came with rock and roll stardom and my life in one of the world's biggest bands. This is the story that you haven't heard. The one that led up to those stories," said Sixx. "It's the intimate, personal story of how an innocent Idaho farm boy with a burning dream and desire — for music, for love, and for fame — became the notorious Nikki Sixx. I believe our first twenty-one years have a lot to do with shaping who we become. These are my first twenty-one, and it's my hope that they thrill and inspire you to invest in your own, biggest dreams."
