A Faux Band with a Real Following: “Daisy Jones & the Six”
Published on March 23, 2023, at 11:33 p.m.
by Helen Carson.
A new band has taken the stage, but it’s not quite what you would expect. A 1970s-inspired rock band with feuding lead singers and a killer soundtrack, “Daisy Jones & the Six” has quickly risen to popularity for readers, viewers and listeners everywhere. The initial story was written as a novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid in 2019, but the storyline was quickly picked up by Amazon Prime for a series release on March 3. Reid has struck a pot of gold with Daisy Jones and her bandmates having achieved over a million readers and a No. 1 album on iTunes.
Reid has already written several other wildly popular novels headed for the big screens, but “Daisy Jones & the Six” is arguably her greatest success. There are many implications for the book’s success, but the biggest one is the brand awareness around all of its external factors.
Reid quickly teamed up with Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine, and Reid was able to turn the bestseller into a show that’s just as addictive to watch as it is to read. With the help of Witherspoon recommending the book for her monthly book club and her production company funding the film adaptation, the fanbase grew and expanded from Goodreads all the way to Amazon Prime and iTunes.
The original soundtrack for this series alone has been topping charts on iTunes, but the series also collaborated with popular clothing brand Free People for a capsule collection inspired by Daisy Jones’ whimsical, 1970s hippie-disco-infused style. With over 300 products to choose from, fans have the opportunity to channel their inner Daisy with the clothing and accessories offered.
Starring none other than Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, as the one and only Daisy Jones and well-established actors such as Sam Claflin, who played Finnick in The Hunger Games series, this star-studded cast has been debated as making a subtle tribute to Fleetwood Mac. “Daisy Jones & the Six” released an album, “Aurora,” that easily parallels the popular “Rumours” album by Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s.
The tension seen between Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne similarly reflects the same turmoil between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. Nicks’ powerful performance of “Silver Springs” in 1997 conveniently mirrors Daisy Jones’ in the band’s love-scorned hit “Regret Me” — ironic, I know. Long, wild hair with dark eyeshadow and long-flowing caftans is a signature look for Daisy Jones. Does that remind you of someone maybe named Stevie Nicks? Interesting.
Even without the alleged Fleetwood Mac tribute, this book, series and album combination has created a name for itself aside from the rumored allegory.
Despite the impressive connections from her mother and grandfather, Lisa Marie Presley and Elvis Presley, Keough shared that she didn’t have much musical experience and lied about it in her initial interview. Co-star Claflin, who plays Billy Dunne, added that he also never picked up a guitar in his life before filming the show. Having no musical inclination myself, I’d say the soundtrack is highly impressive since neither star has much experience. The fiction-based band has even loosely discussed going on an actual tour.
Overall, “Daisy Jones & the Six” has done a lot of things right as a novel and show in the publicity world, despite the irony of feuding lead singers. Reid’s ability to create an entire brand around one storyline has proven to be a successful public relations campaign. The collaborative efforts seen through the entirety of the novel, show and soundtrack have made “Daisy Jones & the Six” memorable, no doubt, even if the band is fictional.
