![A still of Riley Keough as Daisy Jones and Sam Chaflin as Billy Dunne singing on stage in Prime Video's limited series, Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/8eb1c69/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1350x900+125+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F82%2Ff6%2F4339a79d47938c0570153b9e54a1%2Fdaisyjones-inline013.JPG)

# ‘Daisy Jones & The Six’ stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin on the music that made them

*Taylor Jenkins Reid’s rock ‘n’ roll roman à clef comes to Prime Video, with a lot of help from its cast of actors-turned-actual musicians.*

Prime Video’s *[Daisy Jones & The Six](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/entertainment/daisy-jones-and-the-six-prime-video)* details the rise and fall of a fictional rock band that burned bright—then flamed out in a blaze of interpersonal drama, drugs, and damaged egos. Based on the best-selling novel by [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Taylor-Jenkins-Reid/author/B00DX8B85M?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true), the limited series (premiering March 3 on Prime Video) stars Riley Keough and Sam Claflin as the band’s lead singers, Daisy Jones and Billy Dunne, charismatic talents whose fraught relationship fueled the Six’s meteoric success *and* subsequent demise.

But the series isn’t just another cautionary tale about rock ‘n’ roll excess. It’s a warts-and-all look at a bygone era of popular music, when the heady idealism of Sixties folk gave way to the oversized everything of Seventies arena rock, and an ode to the brotherhood (and *sisterhood*) of bandmates living out their dreams on the stage and in the studio. While the Six might be a fictional band, everything about their world feels incredibly authentic—including the music they play, which was recorded by Keough, Claflin, and castmates Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Josh Whitehouse, and Sebastian Chacon, and will be released as an album, *[Aurora](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0BSK23F1F)*, on March 3.

We spoke with Keough and Claflin about the challenge of playing rock stars who actually *rock*, the musical icons that inspired their roles, and the music they grew up loving.

![A still of Riley Keough as Daisy Jones in Prime Video's limited series, 'Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/caafb37/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F49%2F8f%2Fcf287afc4874af24e4d61fc896e9%2Fdaisyjones-inline010.JPG)

**Your characters have such different backgrounds—Daisy Jones was sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip as a teen, while Billy Dunne was a blue-collar kid from Pittsburgh. Did that influence the music each of you listened to as you prepared for the roles?**

**Sam Claflin:** I listened to a fair bit of [Bruce Springsteen](https://music.amazon.com/artists/B000QJJW2M/bruce-springsteen)—specifically *[Born to Run](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B006ONY954)*, and his early ventures into the music scene—and [Fleetwood Mac](https://music.amazon.com/artists/B000QJJPUG/fleetwood-mac)’s *[Rumors](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B00B1MHXY2)*. There was a book we were told to read, *[The Making of Rumors](https://www.amazon.com/Making-Rumours-Inside-Classic-Fleetwood/dp/1118218086)*, which gave a little behind the scenes of the writing of that album. I also listened to [The Doors](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B00G798T5Q/the-doors) quite a bit … my character Billy [Dunne] goes through a bit of a journey [laughs]. There are aspects of Bruce [Springsteen] and aspects of Jim Morrison. He starts off Jim, thinking he’s really artistic, then he realizes ‘No, I’m just going to sell out stadiums.’ He becomes someone who doesn’t take themselves quite so seriously.

**Riley Keough:** I wasn’t directly looking for inspiration in terms of character, but I did watch as much as I could from the ‘70s. I watched *a lot* of performances—[Joni Mitchell](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJNOMG/joni-mitchell), [Linda Ronstadt](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJPFAK/linda-ronstadt), [Stevie Nicks](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJHWFQ/stevie-nicks), [The Mamas & The Papas](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B00GAR6XAI/the-mamas-the-papas). I would go down these YouTube rabbit holes of every performance I could find from that era, to get an idea of what the stage performances felt like and looked like.

![A still of Riley Keough as Daisy Jones in Prime Video's limited series, Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/158e7c4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F03%2Fbb%2F664a5b744384803f93cb9455d6d7%2Fdaisyjones-inline011.JPG)

**Daisy and Billy’s relationship is complicated, which leads to hit songs, but also plenty of drama. Despite that, there’s a great scene where they bond over the first albums they bought as kids. Do you remember the first albums *you* bought?**

**Keough:** Mine’s really stupid [laughs]. You go.

**Claflin:** Mine was Michael Jackson, *[Bad](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B00976QBBU)*. It was a double cassette. After watching his *Moonwalker* film, I was obsessed with [Michael Jackson](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJK2YE/michael-jackson) for a few years. I never learned how to dance like him, though.

**Keough:** My dad used to take me to the record store to walk around and pick out CDs. He would always buy me CDs; I think he bought me a [Tom Waits](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJHRXS/tom-waits) CD …

**Claflin:** That’s not embarrassing!

**Keough:** No … but it wasn’t my choice! I had Tom Waits, and I had [Nirvana](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QKLV4I/nirvana) … those were the ones *he* got me; the first one I chose was [The Offspring](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B00GBG63PI/the-offspring). I chose it because of the artwork; I didn’t know the music. It was a crazy, colorful thing … that’s *very* me. If it gets me aesthetically, and it’s sparkly and colorful, I’m like, ‘*Yes*!’ And then, I listened to it and, um, went back to Tom Waits and Nirvana [laughs]. No, I loved The Offspring, I did, and [Blink-182](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000TDU58U/blink-182)!

![A still of Sam Chaflin as Billy Dunne in Prime Video's limited series, Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/9fd6382/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F57%2F98%2F5ea279184a3e8d901bf55d6cae05%2Fdaisyjones-inline012.JPG)

**Everyone who loves music has *the* album … the one that changed their life forever. What’s yours?**

**Keough:** I would say the first album that impacted me in my young life was *[Astral Weeks](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/albums/B00122MBY8)* by [Van Morrison](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJK8WK/van-morrison). That was the first time I had an experience with an *album*, from front to back. I had it on vinyl when I was maybe 19 or 20, and I was just like, ‘*Woah*.’ I think a lot of people have that experience with that album!

**Claflin:** It’s so easy to make a playlist now, so it’s very rare that I’ll listen to a whole, singular album. Depending on my mood, it will depend on where I venture. My go-tos, and they may be boring, in the sense that we keep talking about them in the context of the show, are Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac. Genuinely, I think Fleetwood Mac, no matter my mood, I go back to them, because I know every lyric, and especially with *Rumors*, every song has a different mood, a different feeling. It covers all the bases.

![A still of the cast from Prime Video's limited series, 'Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a967aec/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F19%2Fc7%2F1abf5e8d484c9589f93a0635bdb2%2Fdaisyjones-hero.JPG)

**What was the first concert you went to, and what do you remember about it?**

**Claflin:** Mine was a band called [Starsailor](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000TOTD2S/starsailor). I can’t remember any of their songs off the top of my head, but I was about 14 or 15, and I went with my girlfriend at the time. It was a big deal, because it was a night out without your parents—it felt like a very grown-up thing to do. I was obviously too young to drink any alcohol, but I just remember watching music for the first time and being spellbound by it.

**Keough:** My first concert was [Janet Jackson](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000RSDW00/janet-jackson) …

**Claflin:** That’s a bit of a step up, isn’t it?

**Keough:** That’s why I wanted to go second [laughs]! I was maybe 8 or 9, and I don’t remember much, but I remember the sort of largeness of the crowd and watching her and what it felt like to see a performance of that size. She’s amazing.

![A still of the stars of Prime Video's limited series, Daisy Jones & The Six.'](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/af35ce1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F54%2Ff3%2Fd143c1b742b3b75d3060dd849627%2Fdaisyjones-inline014.JPG)

**Speaking of performances, you and the rest of your fictional bandmates recorded an *actual* album, *[Aurora](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0BSK23F1F)* (available March 3). Did working as a musician change your relationship with music?**

**Claflin:** Honestly, I never really listened to music for the *enjoyment* of music, or fully understanding what the lyrics meant, or never really been genuinely emotionally moved. I liked playing it in the background, but I never really engaged with it like I do now. Working on this [series], and realizing the amount of work that goes into making a record … I’ve really started appreciating the art of music-making.

**Keough:** Sociopath [laughs]. ‘I don’t feel anything …’

**Claflin:** [laughs] No, but … like on long drives, my parents used to listen to the same three or four cassettes over and over: [R.E.M.](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJJS9O/r-e-m), Fleetwood Mac, [The Cranberries](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B00G72AOSS/the-cranberries), [Crowded House](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000SA1CKE/crowded-house)—I know all the lyrics to all of those songs, but for years, I didn’t know who sang them, didn’t know the names of the songs. That was how music was for me. It was always playing, but I was like ‘Oh, God … it’s that flipping song again.’ But I’ve really grown in appreciation for it as I’ve gotten older.

**Keough:** You just reminded me that before my Offspring era, I had my first tape, which was [Jewel](https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QJJL8W/jewel). And then I went to her concert, and I met her, and I remember I went and bought blue hair dye, to do streaks in my hair like you would do in the ‘90s. I remember thinking ‘Jewel will *love* this.’ I did it for her [laughs]. I have a very different experience than Sam. My whole family are musicians, so I grew up in a very musical household. I’ve been on tour; music’s been very much in my life and I’ve always had an emotional connection to it. But like Sam was saying, my relationship to music is definitely different now, because of this experience on the show, and getting to record an album and play live … I have a much greater affinity for musicians.

*[Daisy Jones & the Six](https://www.amazon.com/Daisy-Jones-Six-Season-1/dp/B0B8NRNTSM)* premieres March 3 on Prime Video. Watch the trailer for the limited series below.