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Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved
 
 
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Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved [Hardcover]

Chris O'Dell (Author), Katherine Ketcham (Contributor)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 6, 2009

CHRIS O'DELL WASN'T FAMOUS. SHE WASN'T EVEN ALMOST FAMOUS. BUT SHE WAS THERE.

She was in the studio when the Beatles recorded The White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, and when Paul recorded "Hey Jude," she sang in the chorus.

She was at Ringo's kitchen table when George Harrison said, "You know, Ringo, I'm in love with your wife." And Ringo replied, "Better you than someone we don't know."

She typed the lyrics to George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. She lived with George and Pattie Boyd at Friar Park, developed a crush on Eric Clapton, and unwittingly got involved in the famous love story between Eric and Pattie.

She's the subject of Leon Russell's "Pisces Apple Lady," a song he wrote to woo her. Other rock legends with whom she was intimate include Ringo, Mick Jagger, and Bob Dylan.

She worked with the Rolling Stones as their personal assistant on their infamous 1972 tour and did a drug run for Keith Richards.

She's "the woman down the hall" in Joni Mitchell's song "Coyote" about a love triangle on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour. She's the "mystery woman" pictured on the back of the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street. She's the "Miss O'Dell" of George Harrison's song about her.

Miss O'Dell is the remarkable story of an ordinary woman who lived the dream of millions -- to be part of rock royalty's trusted inner circle. Illustrated with private photographs and jam-packed with intimate anecdotes, Miss O'Dell is a backstage pass to some of the most momentous events in rock history.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ever wonder what was really going on in the studio when the Beatles recorded the White Album? Chris O'Dell offers these entertaining vignettes of her backstage experiences with the boys in the bands—Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, and Eric Clapton—for whom she was variously muse, lover, typist, confidante, and, on one occasion, drug runner. O'Dell pops up with Zelig-like ubiquity in pop music's most iconic moments, and the book is a gossip gold mine—but it's also a deeply felt account of living a full life, with all its concomitant regrets. Renee Raudman delivers a stunning wallop of a recording that captures the essence of the stories with easy glamour and raw emotion. A Touchstone hardcover. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

“If there were such a thing as a female Forrest Gump of rock ‘n’ roll, Chris O’Dell would be it.” --High Times

"One of the most rollicking and enjoyable classic rock memoirs of recent years…don’t mistakenly file this book under Groupie Lit." --Houston Press

“Nick Carraway to classic rock’s Gatsbys…brisk and excellent.” --The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Touchstone; 1ST edition (October 6, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416590935
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416590934
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

85 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (85 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A rock 'n' roll memoir with heart, October 14, 2009
This review is from: Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved (Hardcover)
Given all the rock memoirs that have emerged over the past twenty years or so, it's hard to pick up another without thinking wearily, "Now what?" After all, Chris O'Dell was not a star herself, but a friend, employee, helper, and lover of a few you might have heard of. It's easy to be cynical, but I fell in love with this twenty pages in. Guilelessly, like Alice down the rabbit hole, Miss O'Dell stumbled upon a life even she could not have dreamed. Looking back, she paints a living portrait of the Beatles, the Stones, her friend Patti Boyd Harrison Clapton, and many others. At the same time, however, she manages to tell an engaging tale of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll with a loving, caring eye and a warm, forgiving heart. After all, she reminds us, even the highest (literally or figuratively) among them had also stumbled onto that 60s Mount Olympus unprepared for what fame, money, and position could do for--or against--friendship, love, artistry, and happiness. An unusually insightful and loving account of an amazing time.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This delicious page turner will not disappoint!, October 14, 2009
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Faith "PHOTOFAITH" (Indianapolis, IN, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved (Hardcover)
This book, once picked up, is difficult to put down. I have read almost every book on the Beatles, and there were first hand accounts of stories just hinted in other books. Great insights into the Beatles and the women in their lives, and the goings on at Apple. Interesting accounts of how musicians feel about their peers. There were loads of surprises too.
Miss O'Dell's voice is instantly likable. her honest and wide-eyed approach is refreshing. She is practically sitting on the couch with you telling you about all her mostly wonderful adventures. I simply did not want the book to end. I hope there are more stories she hasn't shared yet......Can I pre-order her next one?
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book, October 20, 2009
This review is from: Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved (Hardcover)
Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved

Many of us grew up not just listening to the Beatles, but LOVING them...feeling something different...maybe female, no..no...it transcended that, but definitely stronger than admiration...it felt intimate. It felt as if you were family...well, okay, distant family, but still a like a cousin who couldn't wait to see and hear the updates about each step in their music and lives...waiting for the post cards. Rather than from your mother, however, you got your updates from the radio, t.v., Rolling Stone and Circus and 16 and Tiger Beat...or the drum beats of friends.

Because every single thing you wanted to learn and emulate and remember about this amazing, reverberating time in your life seem to somehow generate directly from these four magical men, you also came to greatly admire their insiders...the wives, the friends, the staff, the scruffs. They seemed like they were family too. Their lives were so appealing since they experienced the magic firsthand. I remember distinctly wanting to know more about Chris O'Dell...I had seen her photo on albums, and there she was on the rooftop for Let It Be! And, just why did George Harrison write a song about her? I thought she must be someone very special. Chris O'Dell was just exactly where I wanted to be. And, as it turns out, she was not only there, but everywhere and led an even more amazing life than any of us could ever imagine.

Whether you shared that kind of experience or not, this is the book that music fans have been waiting to read since the 60's. Clearly it is not a repeat of any other biographer or insider's account. It is a true, fresh view...an extraordinary account by Chris O'Dell, who was there...who can truly say she was family. Bravo, Chris and thank you.
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