Like a satellite of love, Bebe Buell flew into the Nashville music scene. Until her arrival, this writer was bored and waiting on a musical priestess that would set his soul free. Don’t get me wrong: there are many great acts here in Nashville. But Bebe brings a streetwise, poetic, superstar vibe that is out of this world and missing in the modern scene of Rock. Bebe can speak to the generations because she has lived it, earned it and most of all worked restlessly on her craft for her entire life like a starving poet.

Her quest for art began at birth and developed in the presence of Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Lou Reed, Sir Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, Todd Rundgren and yes! Steven Tyler. She has contributed to the world of Rock in ways that most people will never know. If you have noticed how Sir Mick Jagger’s dance moves changed in the 70’s, thank Bebe for encouraging him. Or the way Steven Tyler makes love to his microphone? Bebe had trained herself in stage presence as a young girl in front of the mirror, singing into a hairbrush with Iggy Pop on the Hi-Fi.

God knows what songs she inspired. Although we do know she helped sequence an entire Rolling Stones album. Like a Zen master of humility, Bebe never takes credit for any of her milestones, but she was there and did have the ideas that made the cut. It is not enough that she was the “It” girl of 70’s modeling: her daughter and her husband Jim are everything that Bebe represents: family, friends and loyalty.

Ok! Her past is beyond groovy, but Bebe and her band, The Nashville Aces, are ready to show the world what Patti Smith told her when she first opened Bebe’s notebooks: “You are a poet artist!” For me this Interview felt like I was doing a Rock & Roll version of 10 questions for the Dali Lama. Take it away Bebe!

Tell us all about your new single?

It's a double A side~ "SECRET SISTER" & "HELLO MUSIC CITY". "Secret Sister" embodies our love of The Rolling Stones. It also has a plot twist- a bit of a secret. The emotion that goes with feeling like you've known someone your entire life- that they are your kin. "Hello Music City" is about my love affair with my adopted home. I feel like I'm finally "home" and the song explains exactly why.

Give us the skinny on all the new songs you have been recording?

Jim and I started writing with Jon and Sally Tiven pretty much as soon as we got here- two weeks after we moved into our new house, we were in Jon's kitchen drinking tea and writing songs. We birthed 18 in two months. Recorded all of them in Jon's home studio... it just keeps moving forward- there are six new ones in the works as we speak. We're also writing with Stevie Kalinich who's a brilliant and deeply profound poet. Songs like "Give Good Away" and "Nothing Really Changes" are from that collaboration. There will be more, too, as we just click with him. So does Jon. It's a very inspiring coupling for sure.

We would love to know everything about your new band?

Bebe Buell & The Nashville Aces are: Bebe Buell- vocals & harmonica, Shannon Pollard- drums, Jimmy Walls- guitar, Jon Tiven- guitar and sax, Sally Tiven- bass guitar, Beth Hooker- harmonies & backups, Harry Stinson- harmonies and percussion... I've known Jon since the early 70s in NYC. Sally, too. Shannon becoming our drummer changed our entire sound for the better so we decided we wanted to rerecord everything with him on the skins. The result is this new single. I hope people dig it because I want nothing more than to get back in the studio and make an album with this magical line-up. I love this band! I'm blessed to have such solid talent in my orbit. Harry Stinson is one of the most talented people I know. Honored to work with him. I'm a huge Marty Stuart fan. Jon is also our producer and that too is a real Godsend- he got the golden touch.

How is it working with a new record label and recording in Nashville?

It's exciting- I feel really grateful to have been embraced so warmly by the Nashville musical community. It's a real honor. I feel like I'm doing my best work and the bulk of that is because of the great people I have in my life personally and musically. My support system is key to my doing good work. I'm writing with super talented writers and that just helps drag the best lyrics out of me. It's a process- Jon, Jim, Sally and I have a chemistry. It just clicks. Toss Shannon in the groove and we have our special soup called The Nashville Aces.

Can you let us in on your songwriting process?

Songs come to me in all different ways- sometimes it's a hook or a concept. A title. I then take it to my dream team and we hash it out at the kitchen table. We have a couple of new ones where we're writing them right there in the rehearsal space so that involves Shannon's vibe. For me I write about what I'm feeling at any given time. I sometimes reflect but more frequently stay in the now. It really helps to have a band to bounce everything off of. It makes it better- stronger. Cuts to the core.

Has your move to Nashville inspired you in new ways?

Yes, of course. I moved here because of how being here made me feel so alive. So renewed and moved. My sense of purpose reinstated for me artistically. It has been a rebirth and a reinvention all in one. But it has also been all my hard work coming full circle. People love to focus on my 70's Wild Child days~ I'm OK with it but it was a long time ago. I've been singing in bands and writing songs for a long time now. This is my heart- my soul and exactly who I am. I've lived a lot of life and it reflects in the songs.

Please tell us a Lou Reed story? I love it when you play “Satellite of Love” in your set.

I had seen his picture in my Mom's Vogue before I came to NYC to be a model so I was already clearly in tune with the entire vibe. I took to it like a duck to water. I felt like I had found "my people"... my like minded tribe of misfits and geniuses. I met Lou at Max's the first time. He was with Rachel then... I never knew for sure if Rachel was a girl or a boy but one thing for certain- Rachel was gorgeous! I always had nice exchanges with Lou and he was always someone I looked up to. He was even patient enough to listen to my teenage boyfriend dramas and give me some advice. I really liked him. I know he had a reputation for not being so nice to everyone but I never saw that side of him. He could be downright fatherly when I look back on it now. He was just one of those people that you thought would always be around- immortal. We'll all miss him.

How do you feel about the myth of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll?

For me it was Rock & Roll first- drugs and sex were just a footnote. Sex was the least important part. Not the sexual tension or the sexuality of the music but for me, the act itself was not as important. We did have a great time in the 70s though- the last era of true innocence. I'm blessed that I got to live in those times and see the music I've seen. I had such divine boyfriends and lovely memories abound.

Could we have one exciting story from your past?

I had many exciting times and there are far too many tales to tell in one interview. But I have to say being in the studio with The Rolling Stones, having Mick Jagger read to me as I soaked in Haley Mill's former bathtub at The Wick, driving in a Bentley with Keith Richards behind the wheel, seeing Elvis Costello at Hollywood High in 1978, meeting and befriending John Lennon, having my daughter Liv, being in London and seeing The Sex Pistols and the Clash for the first time, being photographed by some of the legendary great photographers, flying on the Concord, my first trip to Cannes... there are so many experiences that still to this day thrill me. Having tea with Dali in 1973 is one of them. Meeting Groucho Marx. The Flamin' Groovies at the Whiskey... seeing Johnny Cash. Listening to my Mother's Frank Sinatra records and trying to sing just like him... oh, and let's not forget having a private plane or two sent to fetch me. I'm hoping that the stories of the next ten years will be my most exciting yet. The best is yet to come!

If you could change one thing about the world what would that be?

That we didn't eat animals and that we didn't destroy our resources. More respect for the planet and all living things. An elevated conscienceness. No more violence or war. I hope technology doesn't take life out of life itself.