Miss O'Dell

By: Chris O'Dell, Katherine Ketcham

Narrated by: Reneé Raudman

Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles,The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved

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.

Jam-packed with intimate anecdotes, Miss O'Dell is a backstage pass to some of the most momentous events in rock history.

©2009 Chris O'Dell (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A riveting, honest, and brave account of life with the most famous names in rock and roll history...hard work, tough love, huge loss, pain and gain. I couldn't put the book down. I just loved it." (Pattie Boyd, author of Wonderful Tonight)
"[D]evastating detail yet without envy or malice...a rockin' good read." (Philip Norman, author of Shout! and John Lennon: The Life)
"I enjoyed reading it very much. It is an astonishing look into the backstage of rock and roll." (Leon Russell)

absolutely fascinating

this book filled in so many empty spaces in possibly the greatest period of musical creativity in the western world. so refreshing to see these "gods" as flawed and very human. highly recommended !!

How Could She Be Anybody's "close friend"?

Occasionally insightful about how others may have viewed her, but wow, get a clue!
She ends her relationship with Leon Russell for kissing someone else but has no qualms about sleeping with married men, some of whom are married to her "close friends". She sponged off of people then got offended when she got called out for it. Every man she ever met seemed to be a potential boyfriend. She married the one mom musician she met who had serious cash to go along with his serious addictions, then gets offended when Eric Clapton calls her on it. She doesn't want to exploit her "friendships" but she sells books about it and still hangs their pictures on her office wall. I get that at the time, she was a drunk and a drug abuser (as were many of her associates) but she doesn't seem to have gained much perspective. Glad she's alive and sober, though, and that her son survived his formative years. Chris O'Dell's friends would be wise to keep their hands on their wallet and not let her stay in their spare room lol!

Amazing

Great listen! You feel like your in the story hanging with Chris, George, Party and friends at the kitchen table. Truly a wonderful listen!

Awesomeness

Love the book and the story , truth is stranger than fiction ! Keep up the good work 😊

Great Book

I can't imagine starting out your career working for the Beatles. Everything after that would be a step down because they were The Band....and still are in a lot of ways. I learned a lot about George, Pattie, Clapton, and Dylan...how they were as people not as stars.
Very good book for music fans of that era.

One of the best Rock books ever written!

Loved the clarity of the detail from O’dell and the reader was also fantastic. Such an amazing story told beautifully and honestly that I couldn’t stop listening. I must for lovers of rock and roll bios.

Best rock autobiography! Detailed & interesting

It is unusual to read an autobiography like this and get such detail and a sense of character. Usually, the writing is extremely lazy and they pretty much rehash things everyone already knows. However, with this book, you get very detailed anecdotes about working at Apple Corp., living at George Harrison's Frair Park, working for Mick Jagger, working on famous tours, etc. I read the book and was very pleasantly surprised so I got the audio version. It was just as good to listen to.

Really enjoyed it!

Fantastic all around! Brought me back in time and felt like I was right along with her..

A must read

A great book to read if you dream of working in the music industry or just a fan of classic rock

Fantastic

O’Dell lived the life, mingling with all the super stars , to bad it didn’t pay better, seems she was a bite of a leach asking for money , flights , housing and leaving others to pay here bills ,seems honest to admit that, but doesn’t seem to realize how that really pisses people off