Miss O'Dell: Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton

I have mixed feeling about this book. It kept me interested throughout and it was compelling to hear an insider's account of lesser written about musicians like Leon Russell and Jim Gordon in addition to some well worn material about the Claptons, Harrisons and Starrs. However, the writer has made several factual errors which make me think that the book was 1. poorly edited 2. a bit confused due to the hazy memories of a person who spent most of her life intoxicated and on drugs 3. full of embellished details when the memories no longer exist. For instance, Chris talks about playing Pac Man with Mick Jagger on the road in 1972 (despite the game not being released until 1980). It is a throwaway comment however the book is peppered with very specific descriptions and quotes (compared to Clapton's autobiography which admits not remembering huge chunks of time let alone specific details and descriptions). I wouldn't say Chris is inventing stories but rather than her memory may not be the most reliable. The other challenge of the book is that I didn't find the author particularly likable. She was someone who bounced from celebrity to celebrity leeching the drugs and resources off of rock stars and their friends like a mosquito bouncing between hosts. She seems to have the air of self-importance despite having a "career" of being a paid friend, drug mule and occasional sex partner for 70's era rock stars.

The most revealing thing about this book is how awful Eric Clapton was not only to Patti Boyd but to himself and anyone else who appeared in his life around that time. The book also reminds us of how girls were mere trophy prizes for the rock stars and had no status. Awful.

The most revealing thing about this book is how awful Eric Clapton was not only to Patti Boyd but to himself and anyone else who appeared in his life around that time. The book also reminds us of how girls were mere trophy prizes for the rock stars and had no status. Awful.

Not many people I'm sure will have worked for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the list goes on and on. Everybody gets a mention but there are gaps. For example, Miss O'Dell travelled with John and Yoko in their private jet yet tells us nothing about how they related, spoke to each other, behaved with each other. Even when John is with May Pang on his lost weekend in Los Angeles, there is no comment on how they related. There is hardly any mention of the music, which is odd also. By the time she got to work for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young I was bored with the constant cocaine and alcohol addiction. Clearly girls with rock stars are trophies and gain little respect. It contrasts so markedly with my own non-drug, hardly any sex experience living and working with Frank Zappa from 1968 to 1972.
[[ASIN:0859654796 Freak Out! My Life with Frank Zappa]]

This was generally well written and a page turner. You'll find character notes on famous musicians such as David Crosby, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Keith Richard and others that generally have not been featured in newspapers or magazines. You get the insider view of life, mostly the A list, and see just how these pampered pets live a life so different to the rest of the world. The author has obviously made the most of her personality and talents and somehow surviving the drug fuelled lifestyle she generally shared with so many others. It gives a great insight into life behind the scenes and at the end one can't help but wonder about the shallowness of it all too. It is also proof that often in life it is not what you know but who you know in order to get on in the world. I enjoyed reading the book. It tended to sag a bit towards the end but overall well worth buying or borrowing from a library.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book, if it was going to be more of a catalog of the times or if the author would be able to capture the personalities of some of the most honored musicians of their age--or any age.

From the very first page, I was completely and utterly charmed with Chris O'Dell. Her story was heartfelt, affectionate, and softly nostalgic at times, and very hard hitting at others. I really respected that she didn't pull any punches when artists behaved badly,

Throughout, I kept mentally referencing her first moments with rock royalty, when she expressed a hope that Pattie Harrison would help her with her makeup. There was something so fresh and innocent (though not naive) about that girl, and as Chris evolved, I could still sense that young woman inside the more seasoned lady.

Thanks for sharing your story, Chris! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the music world of the late sixties and seventies through your eyes!

This was a fascinating and enjoyable read. It's a detailed account of this young girl's witness to music history. She was present at many important events in The Beatles creative lives, and became a personal friend as well. The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, CSNY, plus others she knew and partied with them all.
She became close friends with Pattie Boyd, Maureen Starkey & Bill Wyman's 1st wife, Astrid. She lived this amazing peripheral life of Sex, drugs and rock n' roll that really blew my mind.
I ask the question how did a young 20 something girl from the middle of the USA wind up having all these experiences? All these people really seemed to like her (except Clapton) and she got jobs and free plane fare, places to live including living with George & Pattie Harrison at their Friar Park Estate.
That's the part of the book I don't get, all the automatic acceptance.
I think Chris is the ultimate opportunist ala' Eve Harrington in "All About Eve" She was obsequious and ingratiating to the Rock folks. She wormed her way in, and once she was in, there was no getting rid of her.
The book is peppered with stories of her just leaving places right before she was going to be kicked out. Also she seems devoid of sensitivity and unable to sense that there are boundries in personal relationships.
for instance, one time she has the nerve to tell Clapton he should be nicer to his wife, well the dude flipped out and seriously who can blame him. Yet she records this episode like SHE is the injured party.
Also Maureen is one of her closest friends, and Maureen had been very good to her. She pays the lady back by sleeping with her husband, and then puts all the blame on Ringo.
The book is really about her experiences with these Rock Legends, but she has a few chapters about her battle with drink and drugs, her marriage and a few pages about her son. I really didn't care about her experiences alone, only how they related to the interesting people in the book.
So in summary, I recommend this book if you like stories about those Rock Gods that peopled the 60's & 70's. I think you will like it

I am LOVING this book...takes me back in time to a wonderful place! Chris O'Dell went to my high school!

Of all the Beatle books I’ve read, this is the best fly-on-the-wall for a behind the scenes look!

An amazing account: honest, insightful and engaging. Chris O'Dell's story may be improbable and incredible but it's believable. I think it wrong to suggest, as some have, that she was simply lucky. Lucky certainly, but George Harrison, Patti Boyd, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan and many others found Chris O'Dell fun to be with and easy to work with. Enough so that George Harrison and Leon Russell wrote songs for her. Her book illustrates that she was and remains authentic; she has personal integrity. Her life demonstrates that when you dream big and believe in yourself anything can happen. What an experience! The book is like Miss O'Dell herself, fun to be with. A great read!

A must-read for george harrison & ringo starr fans. A lovely, engaging biography of someone who worked with the beatles in the years just after they were beatles. She's an excellent writer and brings many bigger-than-life characters into focus with warmth and humor.

Entertaining and informative (in a People Mag kinda way)