Living the rock ‘n’ roll dream

You Can’t Always Get What You Want is a quintessential addition to any die-hard rock and roll fan’s bookcase. In this revealing and fascinating memoir, Sam Cutler, former tour manager of The Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead, provides his personal account of life among iconic figures of the music industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Beginning with his somewhat humble origins in England, Cutler talks about his rather unique childhood experiences with his adoptive parents. His mother Dora, a revolutionary of sorts, raised him within the teachings of a “socialist Sunday school” that encouraged values of love, peace and motives to fight oppression.

Some time after Cutler’s adoptive father passes away, his mother marries his stepfather, Mel. And so persists Cutler’s account of regular teenage angst. He yearns to get away from life in England to discover this great place he keeps hearing about—America and its new musical frontier.

Even from a young age, Cutler aligns himself with local musicians, and in the book he reminisces on his first encounter with marijuana. A little while later he gets handed a piece of literature that changes his life—Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.

Cutler describes his first acid trip, which opens up a new wave of self-awareness and thoughtfulness that he describes as a common theme at the time. The experience causes him to leave his profession as a teacher and pursue a new lifestyle that every kid in their 20s would dream of—a life full of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

Cutler goes on to describe his life in London and the amazing shifts going on in the musical industry. He talks of his friendship with Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his interactions with Syd Barrett.

As a protégé to Alexis Korner, a well-known blues musician in London, Cutler finds himself on his first tour, experiencing the life of a tour manager. From then on Cutler knows that’s where he belongs.

After putting on a successful free concert in England, big names like The Rolling Stones came to Blackhill, the company Cutler worked for, saying they wanted to put on a free show. Shortly after giving Mick Jagger one of the “best days of his life” and paying his dues, Cutler was offered a job as the tour manager of the Rolling Stones.

Cutler describes The Rolling Stones’ American tour, including the low and high points. With vivid imagery, he recounts his interactions with the band, specific shows, and all the crazed groupies along the way.

Cutler also talks openly about taking a job as the Grateful Dead’s tour manager, and the new adventures that followed. He expresses his sentiment to a particular member of the Dead’s crew, “The Bear.” The Bear became Cutler’s psychedelic shaman, supplying him and others with legendary acid that inspired some major musical works, including Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix.

A highlight of Cutler’s experiences with the Dead is when he recalls going to the airport, and demanding—much like a babysitter would—that the band members try to act normal.

It’s no doubt that Sam Cutler has lived the life that many could only dream of. From chatting with Jimi Hendrix to visiting a pool in Winnipeg with hungover musicians including Janis Joplin, Cutler has partied and babysat some of the world’s largest rock legends.