Debbie Gibson talks about her memoir 'Eternally Electric'

Debbie Gibson is taking time to reflect. As the pop star from Merrick turns 55, she has decided on this moment to tell her story in a new memoir, "Eternally Electric: The Message in My Music." Gibson will also have a Long Island homecoming on Nov. 21 when she headlines the Patchogue Theatre. .

"I think it’s important that my audience knows I’ve been through the same challenges they have been through or are going through, and that I am thriving," Gibson said in a phone interview with Newsday. "I hope my music and my journey inspires people who feel stuck, counted out or helpless. When they read my story, they can say, ‘If she can come through all of this, I can, too.’ I want it to feel like it’s a friend talking to them."

Gibson is open throughout the book (Gallery Books, $30), which begins with her parents meeting and goes up until the present. The question is, why now?

"After I released my album ’The Body Remembers’ in 2021, it felt like the start of a true second act," Gibson said. "It was a moment where I had my health under control [she dealt with Lyme disease in 2013] and I experienced what it was like to have everything stripped away plus to rebuild it all. I’m in a place right now where I feel very empowered and have a sense of freedom about myself."

Gibson has dedicated the book to her mother, Diane, who served as her manager for the first 25 years of her career before her death in 2022.

"We had all the extreme highs and extreme lows. But we were meant to be a team. I’ll take all the hard stuff that came with it," Gibson said. "We were two girls against the big bad music business and we did it the hard way through grassroots. I can’t think of anyone I would have rather done that with. It is one of the greatest gifts of my life."

Long Island roots

When Gibson’s debut single, "Only in My Dreams," cracked the Billboard Top 5 in 1987, she didn’t leave for Los Angeles. Instead, she remained in Merrick and graduated from Calhoun High School in 1988. When she moved to a more upscale abode, it was in Lloyd Neck.

"Long Island was so inspiring for my development as an artist," Gibson said. "When my parents didn’t have the money to send my siblings and I on a teen tour at a summer camp, they sent us to the Town of Hempstead Teen Repertory Theater, where we were in rehearsals six hours a day. We could go out and ride our bikes in the neighborhood until it was dark then head back home. It was a great place to grow up."

Gibson’s management office was in Jericho and she would meet with musicians and producers at her Lloyd Neck home.

"We got to experience both the middle class and the upper class there," Gibson said. "My friends from Long Island are still the foundation of who I am."

As a teenager, Gibson sold out seven shows at four major New York venues within two years: two nights at Jones Beach and three nights at Radio City Music Hall in 1988 plus one night at Madison Square Garden and one at Nassau Coliseum in 1989.

"It blew my mind because those were the venues where I grew up going to see concerts," Gibson said. "I was calling into radio stations winning tickets to see shows at Radio City two years before I headlined there. That connection was so meaningful and powerful to me."

Finally, Gibson got to meet one of her idols — fellow Long Islander Billy Joel, who taught her a valuable lesson.

"When I went backstage to get my T-shirt signed, Billy was mocking his expression on the T-shirt because it was really serious," Gibson said. "It showed me that you can be a hit artist and take your craft seriously, but you do not have to take yourself seriously. I feel like I learned that from him because he never lost that Long Island punk attitude."

Debbie vs. Tiffany

During her days being heavily featured in the teen magazines, a tug-of-war was started in the press between Gibson and fellow pop starlet Tiffany. However, Gibson declares this was all fabricated.

"People have a desire for salaciousness. There’s always some type of popularity contest where they want someone to be a winner and someone to be a loser," Gibson said. "I don’t know where it comes from and why it happens. There’s room for everybody on the charts. It was always strange to me because we were friendly."

All the world's a stage

Gibson got to live out many of her theatrical fantasies such as playing Sandy and Rizzo in "Grease," Sally Bowles in "Cabaret," Éponine in "Les Miserables," Belle in "Beauty & the Beast," Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," Louise in "Gypsy" and Velma Kelly in "Chicago."

"I had so much responsibility so young, I needed a moment where I got to be one of the gang. Theater really served me in that way," Gibson said. "My favorite was Sally Bowles because I didn’t know the layers that I was going to explore in order to play that role. It was a whole side to me that I never got to use. I think it surprised people seeing me portray a character that was edgy and self-destructive because I wasn’t."

Playboy and more reveals

In the book, Gibson discusses her controversial decision to pose nude in Playboy’s March 2005 issue at age 34.

"It became an exciting adventure that was wild and fun. When I looked back at the pictures, I made sure it was ones that I was comfortable with. Anything that was too explicit didn’t make the cut," Gibson said. "I looked at it as playing a role and got theatrical with it."

Another of the book's reveals is Gibson’s dislike of being called "Debbie."

"Debbie was just never my name. I loved the name my parents picked for me [Deborah]," Gibson said. "I didn’t understand why people always had to do this nickname thing. At this point, I’ve embraced the fact that it is the brand name I’ve created and people have a connection to it."

One of the biggest takeaways from the book is the theme of agelessness that ties in with the title.

"My spirit is ageless. I don’t really put an age on myself. You can and should authentically be who you are at any age," Gibson said. "Age truly doesn’t matter. We are all electric at any age. It’s about never losing your vitality. Keep doing the things you want to do. Don’t think about the limitations people place on you. It’s how I live my life."