"Cheech and Chong-The Unauthorized Autobiography" by Tommy Chong

I never thought I would even read this book. It has stared at me from the shelves of several libraries for almost 2 years now and I have kept on passing it over. Couldn't be good. Couldn't be worth reading. Boy, was I wrong!

This is one of the most well written and entertaining autobiographies that I have read in quite awhile. If you are expecting, as I did, a rehashing of old Cheech and Chong bits, with not too much substance in between, forget this book. It's not for you.

But if you are looking for a true life story that spans the 1950's through the 1980's and takes you from Calgary, Vancouver to Detroit and the Second City Comedy days and then on to the rest of the world- this is your book.

Whatever preconceived notions you might have about Cheech and Chong need to be checked at the door before you begin to read. This is the story of Tommy Chong, a Chinese-Canadian-Black Man who plays jazz guitar. Turned on by a Chinese jazz musician to marijuana he begins a musical journey that leads him to the world wide fame he imagined while growing up.

Along the way he performs and tours with the Supremes, T. Bone Walker (the Blind Man Chittlin' skit comes from a memorable night when Mr. Chong shared a bill with him), The Temptations and Berry Gordy himself. He even mentors Joe Jackson when The Jackson Five receive their first contract from Motown. Along the way he jams in London with Jimi Hendrix on bass. This guy has really been around.

In 1967 he was a member of Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers. They recorded for Gordy Records, a subsidiary of Motown. They had several minor hits, among them "Malinda" and "Does Your Mama Know About Me?" The latter was written by Tommy Chong.

By 1969 when he met Richard Cheech Marin, Tommy was on his third marraige. Rae Dawn Chong is his oldest daughter. Although some of the stories here do end up as the basis for the comedy duos sketches, the book is more a history of the changes taking place in show business during the early 1960's. Mr. Chong does an incredible job of relating the Canadian club scene of the era and how it came to cross with the American entertainment of the time.

Influenced by comedians such as Lenny Bruce and especially Redd Foxx, he begins to veer away from music and is drawn toward the comedy of Second City in Detroit and the comedy clubs of Los Angeles.

Tommy Chong was a Canadian trying to get into the United States and obtain a "Green Card" at the same time Richard Marin was trying to get into Canada to avoid the draft. Through a series of misadventures they meet in Canada in 1969. Mr. Chong is by this time an accomplished musician and an Improvisational Comedian. He is looking for someone to play off of when he meets Cheech.

After a few false starts things really take off for them. A meeting with Lou Adler at A&M Records lands them $1,000 apiece and a tape recorder to make demos with. Before the day was over they had recorded the first sketch of the album that would make them famous. By the next morning Lou Adler had the "Dave's Not Here" bit sent to every major radio station in the country. The phones were ringing off the hook with requests to play it again and again. "Big Bamboo" had arrived.

There is also a little mystery being played out in this book. In the beginning Mr. Chong recounts sitting in an airport with his wife Shelby when Cheech passes by. Mr. Chong makes no effort to greet him, wondering instead why he does not "have the urge to reach up and grab him, as I would have a few years before..... why did I just watch as he passed by? ...What caused the rift that has seperated us for more than 20 years?"

I'm no spoiler so you will have to read the book to find out the answer. As for me,this was such a good read that I'm going out to get a copy of Mr. Chongs first book, "The I Chong."