C’mon—My Story of Rock, Ruin, and Revelation

by Christopher Long

I do not usually read autobiographies; I certainly have never written a review for one. Chris’ book C’mon ended up on my blog after I requested free titles on Twitter and enticed me to Amazon Kindle as a free download.

I found when thinking about what I thought that I had a difficult time separating what Chris wrote and how he wrote. I had to keep in mind that all these icons that he interacted with, much like Forrest Gump’s fictional journey, were very real people—so do I believe him or not? Of course, he had me running for Google... I have no choice but to believe that what he wrote was true (this is my problem, being literal; had this been fiction, there would be no conflict).

Next problem (for me): the title “C’mon” combined with rock and roll, conjured for me the images of the Partridge Family (“C’mon, Get Happy”) and Chris did not disappoint me, actually. He and I are close in age and what I enjoyed so much about his journey (because ultimately, this was a journey) was that it was portrayed through his rock and roll eyes. I think that everyone that is approaching or has recently met fifty in age has had a deep connection with their love or hate (remember “Disco Sucks”? I was a Beatles, Stones, and Who fan in the ‘70’s during the disco era) of music, more than the current generation because it was so hard won back then(I remember “record stores”—I had to save allowance and baby-sitting money and then get a ride to the store to be able to buy music). Chris’ love of music and his determination to have a career in it were very compelling themes in his book and were the parts that I found most interesting, although I think his intention was to highlight how he later embraced God.

I feel that C’mon sends a cautionary message that goes beyond the author’s intent: in pursuing ambition we need to be careful not to overstep and to avoid negative influences. Sometimes we might perceive ourselves as successful, only to find out that what is really important has been pushed aside while we are chasing dreams.

C’mon is well-written with a dose of self-deprecating humor; Chris is a likeable protagonist in his own story. He pulls no punches nor does he present himself in a false light (I found myself getting angry at him when he detailed how he caved when A Shot of Poison was written—I wished he had told them to stuff their threats!—read the book to see what I mean!). I enjoyed the pictures that accompanied the text and the clever way he incorporated many of the biblical quotes that must provide a framework for his life now.  

C'mon is available on Amazon Kindle