Redbone - The True Story of a Native American Rock Band by Staebler, Paoloni and Balahy

 In the 70's, I totally dug Redbone's big hits, "Come and Get Your Love" and especially "Witch Queen of New Orleans" and distinctly remember their appearance on TV's In Concert, where they came out in native garb and did a ceremonial dance before moving into their rock show. Obviously, that stuck with me over the decades, as did their music, but never thought to look any further into the group until I just happened upon this book. It was not expensive so I picked it up not realizing that it was a graphic novel, but that made it all that much more appealing to me! Turns out that it is highly enlightening as well as entertaining!

The story of the band revolves around Pat and Lolly Vegas (Americanizing - sorta - Vazquez) who started playing in bands in LA in the early 60's and managed to get work on Sunset Strip, on TV and even in movies and hung around with the likes of the Doors and Hendrix (who, being part Cherokee himself, encouraged them to embrace their heritage). As the 60's went on and the civil rights movement extended to all minorities, they took up the challenge as they got signed as Redbone.

A good portion of the book is - rightfully - dedicated to the plight of the Native Americans and the movements that rose to help combat the injustices and how these movements coincided with the rise of Redbone and how they used their fame to promote Native American affairs. Of course, everything comes to an end and they briefly touch upon the post-Redbone careers as the book concludes.

Fascinating and informative - the team did a great job on this story and fitting it all into one graphic novel. If you have any interest in this band or even just in NA civil rights, this is a fine read.