"I wasn't famous. I wasn't even almost famous. But I was there..."
It all started in 1968...
Photo of a young Chris O'Dell answering phones during her time in the music industry..
In February 1968, my friend Allan excitedly called to tell me he was rubbing elbows with Derek Taylor, famed Beatles (yes, THE Beatles) press officer. Allan insisted I come down to meet them at the La Brea Inn in Los Angeles. I did, and the night ended up being one I would never forget. Derek and I became fast friends and Allan and I spent the entire night talking with him, listening to his incredible stories about his life with The Beatles, laughing, playing records and getting stoned. It was magical.
While Derek was in town for a few weeks, he introduced me to many people in the record and entertainment industries and it sparked something in me. I knew I wanted to be part of something like that - something bigger. Derek was going to head back to London to head up the press department of Apple Corps. Ltd. - The Beatles' new multimedia company in London. He told me Apple was going to be huge and that's when he offered me my first big gig: to go to London and work with him at Apple Corps.
Opportunities like this don't come often - if at all - so after talking with my parents and friends, I sold my record collection and life insurance policy, and on May 17, 1968, I flew to London. I had no idea that I would be taking on a job that would change my life forever.
While Derek was in town for a few weeks, he introduced me to many people in the record and entertainment industries and it sparked something in me. I knew I wanted to be part of something like that - something bigger. Derek was going to head back to London to head up the press department of Apple Corps. Ltd. - The Beatles' new multimedia company in London. He told me Apple was going to be huge and that's when he offered me my first big gig: to go to London and work with him at Apple Corps.
Opportunities like this don't come often - if at all - so after talking with my parents and friends, I sold my record collection and life insurance policy, and on May 17, 1968, I flew to London. I had no idea that I would be taking on a job that would change my life forever.
From Apple Records to rock n' roll tour manager...
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From 1968 to 1970, Chris worked as a personal assistant at the Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. multi media company. During her time at Apple, she worked closely with John, Paul, Ringo and George of The Beatles and encountered countless other musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker and James Taylor.
She found her way back to Los Angeles in 1972, when she was hired by the Rolling Stones to assist with the L.A. sessions for their double album “Exile on Main St.” and then later accompanied them on their infamous "S.T.P." tour in the U.S.. From 1974 to 1984, she oversaw Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's 1974 reunion tour, Bob Dylan's 1975 "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour along with tours for George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Queen, Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, Santana, the Grateful Dead and others. |
Apple press office: George Harrison, Chris O'Dell and Derek Taylor, 1969. Original photo credit: unknown.
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...to present-day best-selling author
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Best-selling author, Chris O'Dell, worked as an assistant and tour manager for some of the most influential musicians in recent history.
Miss O'Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved, 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. *She was i n the studio when the Beatles recorded The White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be. When Paul recorded "Hey Jude", she sang in the chorus. *She typed the lyrics to George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass" And she's the "Miss O'Dell" of George Harrison's song about her. *She's the subject of Leon Russel's "Pieces Apple Lady", a song he wrote to woo her. *She's the "mystery woman" pictured on the back of the Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street and she worked as their personal assistant on their infamous 1972 tour. *She's "the woman down the hall" in Joni Mitchell's song "Coyote" about a love triangle on Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review tour. |
Advance praise for Miss O'Dell
Chris O'Dell and Mick Jagger during The Rolling Stones' infamous tour in 1972. Original photo credit unknown.
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"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." "I enjoyed reading it very much. It is an astonishing look into the backstage of rock and roll." "Chris O'Dell knew all the greatest names in sixties and seventies pop, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. Nicknamed "the Pisces Apple Lady", she was the ultimate insider, a uniquely trusted employee and friend in a world where betrayal and backstabbing are the norm. Now at last she tells her story, in devastating detail yet without envy or malice... a rockin' good read." |