Long before she began making headlines of her own, Beth Ditto had a little brush with fame as a kid growing up in Arkansas. The Gossip frontwoman had an odd and unexpected run-in with Bill Clinton, back when the former president was still just governor of that state. Ditto explains that she was in the backseat of her family's pick-up truck, headed to a fish fry. "My hair is blowing out, all matted and nasty, there's food all over my face, my dad throws a cigarette out the window and it knocks me right in the head because I'm sticking my head out like that, of course," Ditto tells Spinner. "So I have this huge burn mark on my face and my hair looks like it hasn't been brushed in my life."

Around that time, the Dittos pulled up to the fish fry. Shortly thereafter, a limousine drove up and Clinton steps out. Caught up in the frenzy of everyone around her clamoring for his autograph, little miss Ditto presented the future President of the United States a dollar bill that her grandpa had just given her and asked him to sign it.

According to Ditto, Governor Clinton looked down, patted her on the head and said, "I think that's illegal, darlin'."




This tale is one of many that Ditto plans to include in an autobiography she's currently hard at work on. Don't expect her to finish immediately, though, as the Gossip have just launched their tour in support of their major label debut, 'Music for Men.' When approached by fans, Ditto will gladly sign the CD, her book (once it comes out) and probably just about any other object you could present to her. We doubt she's as worried as the former president when it comes to autographs and legal technicalities.