Connie Hamzy, the groupie immortalized in Grand Funk Railroad's "We're an American Band,"died on Saturday at the age of 66. She went into hospice care on August 19th, but no cause of death has been given.
Having lost her virginity at 15, she made it her goal to be the most famous groupie.
And that fame grew when Grand Funk drummer Don Brewer sang this line in "We're an American Band": “Out on the road for forty days / Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze / Sweet, sweet Connie, doin' her act / She had the whole show and that's a natural fact.”
Brewer says, "So sorry to hear of Connie’s death. My memory of her is of a very outgoing ‘sweet’ girl that wanted to be famous. That was her goal in life. May she Rest In Peace!”(Out of respect for many of the artist's wives, we're not reaching out to anyone for comment.)
Connie once told Joan Rivers on her NBC talk show that she had 24 guys in one night -- mostly oral copulation -- and she averaged around 15 per show.
Among her other star-studded sexual conquests, which always started with the person who gave her the backstage pass, were:
- Gene Simmons
- Paul Stanley
- Keith Moon
- John Bonham
- Frank Zappa
- Geddy Lee
- Peter Frampton
- Eddie Money
- Alice Cooper
- Neil Diamond
- ZZ Top
- Eddie & Alex Van Halen
- Rick Nielsen, who like Don Brewer, also worked her into a song. In 1985's “Standing on the Edge,” Cheap Trick singer Robin Zander sings, “Connie likes candy, every bite / All day sucker, Connie might / Swallow that thing 'cause she does it right.”
When not backstage, Connie was a substitute elementary school teacher.
In 1995, she wrote her memoir,Rock Groupie: The Intimate Adventures of "Sweet Connie" From Little Rock. And in 1996 she sought to run as an independent for the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's second congressional district, but ultimately did not appear on the general election ballot.