During the 1960s and early '70s, as such rock royalty as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and the  Rolling Stones burned up the charts, a prominent set of women played a key, but quiet, role in the proceedings.

They were the dedicated fans, the ones who took their love of rock 'n' roll a step further by assuming the role of groupies. They proudly served as treasured paramours -- and oftentimes muses -- to some of rock’s most iconic statesmen. And now they are telling all for a new documentary, premiering Wednesday on VH1.

Adapted from Pamela Des Barres' bestselling book "Let’s Spend the Night Together: Backstage Secrets of Rock Muses and Supergroupies,” the doc follows Des Barres -- heralded as the "queen of groupies" -- as she travels across the country reconnecting and reminiscing with the women who lived up to their reputations.

“I’ve been wanting to do a documentary on the true heart of the groupie ever since I was one. The groupie is just a girl who loves music and loves to be around the people who make it. She is the fan that takes it to the next level to experience the whole shebang,” Des Barres said backstage at a private screening for the film.

The winsome San Francisco band Girls has a history fraught with religious cults and tweaked gender expectations. But for four minutes in the Gobi tent, they were as sweet and simple as a kiss on the cheek. "We've got something special for you," said their impressively-maned singer Christopher Owens, before chiming the opening chords of the Everly Brothers ballad "All I Have To Do Is Dream."

Picking a perfect cover is a tough thing for a band, but this one fit Girls like a favorite sweater. Owens' stoned baritone is pitched right in line with the tune's writer, Roy Orbison, and the band has a sad-eyed jangle that conjures the teen-dream fantasies of early rock 'n' roll. Between the balmy air, beautifully underdressed crowd and distant mountain silhouettes, when Owens sang "trouble is, I'll dream my life away," the prospect didn't sound so bad at all.

-- August Brown 

Coachella 2010: photo gallery, live updates and full coverage.

Photo: A crowd tries to keep cool at Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival on Saturday. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times