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

Miss O'Dell My Hard Days and long Nights

I could not put this book down. Well written and full of intimate details about the life and times of our favorite artists. Thanks to Miss O'Dell for sharing her experience with those of us that only wish we would have taken the leap.

This book will make great holiday gifts for the lovers of music in my life.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Backstage all-access pass to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame

Chris O'Dell's new book Miss O'Dell is like having a backstage all-access pass to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. At the ripe old age of 20, she manages to not only land employment at Apple Records and work for the Beatles but to actually become intimate friends with them, their wives, and their world. Her charmed life then takes her on a magical mystery tour with the Stones, Dylan, CSNY, Queen, Zeppelin, and Echo and the Bunnymen (you'll just have to read the book). As a genuine lover of 60's and 70's rock, I was completely engaged in the compelling scenes behind the scenes and living vicariously through the ups and downs, the highs and lows of my musical heroes. Its down-to-earth narrative style is almost matter-of-fact and never salacious or smarmy yet doesn't fail to deliver the raw details, warts, track marks, and all. It is so much more than just "Wow, I can't believe I'm singing on the 'Hey Jude' chorus" or, "George Harrison really wrote a song just for me?" If it was just star-gazing from close up, it would have been plenty for me, but this book also shows the propensity one has for getting burned when one gets too close to the fire. It's been a long time since I said, "I couldn't put it down", but I put this book down long enough only to sleep four hours then wake up and finish the journey. After reading Miss O'Dell, it's a wonder that there weren't more tragedies like Jimi and Janis. Bravo to Chris for telling her story and for triumphing over the kinds of excess that made rock 'n' roll famous and infamous.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book was boring

Sorry Miss O'Dell, but unless someone is interested in chapter after chapter of reading about how drunk/drugged you were, this book will bore a them to tears.
When she finally gets to a good point (like her affairs with Ringo, Mick and Dylan) she immediately changes the subject and goes back to writing about how much she likes cocaine.
The only thing I found interesting is that it was possible to call George Harrison (out of the blue) and ask him to buy a plane ticket back to London, expect him to pick you up at the airport - and then be disappointed that he sent someone else to get your strung-out sorry excuse for a friend self. The purpose of the trip? To ask him for money that she had no way of paying back!!
The only one she is critical of is Eric Clapton because he didn't fall in love with her. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because she was supposed to house-sit for him while he was on tour, but ran off (only after painting his kitchen yellow and orange while stoned)? Or could it have been the time she ran out on him and Pattie in Jamaica, leaving Eric stuck paying her hotel bill?
Buy this book only if you want to count the number of times she must fly to London, only to become bored and then she must fly back to LA, only to become bored again and then fly back to London (a must) only to realize no one wants her around and then she must, must, MUST fly back to LA. Yawn!!!

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Real Page Turner

Chris O'Dell's story will enthrall those interested in what happened in the "real" lives of the rock stars. It was a fascinating read and well worth the price of admission. I grew up a few years after Chris and had my fair share of encounters with rock stars but nothing compared to her. George Harrison, Leon Russell and Joni Mitchell never wrote songs about me!!! She worked with, lived among, and became friends with the cream of rock royalty and their wives.

I can only ask: What took you so long, Chris? Great book!!!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

One gets used to the self-flattery of biographies which makes Ch

One gets used to the self-flattery of biographies which makes Chris O'Dell's remarkable story all that more extraordinary: she takes pride in her accomplishments with pride but not conceit. Her biography should be required reading for anyone who wants to be in The Business. While being an attractive young woman didn't hurt her career any, her successes ultimately all came from her intelligence and her willingness to work hard at whatever needed done. None of the rock legends she encounters throughout her career suffered from a lack of hangers on - it's Miss O'Dell's smarts and moxie that made her so valuable.

As savvy as she was, she wasn't perfect and she's the first one to tell you. She makes a series of poor choices and mistakes and when things go wrong in her life, she's very often the one at fault. To her credit, O'Dell takes responsibility for her screw ups without belittling herself or engaging in extended bouts of self-pity. She is sympathetic in part because she never asks for your sympathy, she simply tells it like it is.

While many readers will be attracted to this book specifically because of the many famous people mentioned in it, I found that the most interesting person was always O'Dell herself. That's not to say she's not interesting when she's talking about others, though - she brings people like Ringo Starr or Eric Clapton to life quite vividly. Rock'n'roll was always a man's world, but she talks about the women in it that she encounters (most notably Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey) with all the respect they deserve as well.

This is one of the rare books for which my chief complaint is that it wasn't long enough. Chris O'Dell is so engaging and interesting that I would love to hear even more from her.

Recommended for rock and roll fans

I found this book to be well written and a quite interesting tale of Chris has she traveled around with many of rock's greatest acts. I was surprised and thankful with her complete honestly - whether it was drug use, her sex life or people's personalities, she held nothing back. It was a great read by someone who was behind the scenes and who virtually no one had heard of. I would recommend this book for a rock and roll fan who is curious about how the lives of some of the greatest rock stars of the 60s and 70s were behind the scenes.

No Sense of Humor!

The person I bought this book for has the last name of "Odell" and I thought the title of the book was so apropos that she might even enjoy it even though she has the personality of a bump on a log. Sure enough, I did not even get an email thank you, a thank you card in the mail, or a phone call regarding this gift. I read it and thought it was quite good.

A Gently-Told, Heartfelt Tale of the Rock and Roll Scene

Originally from Oklahoma, Chris O'Dell was seen as being your everyday, average young woman, who moves to Los Angeles, California in the 1960's in hopes of making something of herself, and following her dreams. What she got in return was an opportunity of a lifetime, which included working at Apple Corps, Inc. in London. She was a right-hand woman, who ran errands and took orders from not just anyone, though some of the most well-known, elite musicians and bands of all time - Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, though most notibally, the Beatles, and many more.

She had plenty of connections, which helped her befriend Beatle, George Harrison and his then-wife, Pattie Boyd, who is still one of O'Dell's closest friends. Her writing style was simple, casual and easy to understand. In ways, you felt as if Chris was talking to you one-on-one, so her story-telling was very comforting and on your sort of level.

Though, Chris spoke frequently about her past drug-use and casual alcohol drinking, which led to an addiction, I admired Chris for her honesty, and will to tell her story. Her story is truly heartwarming, and full of enough detail to get you excited for the chapters to come.

I am still currently reading it, and I'm half-way done, and it's only been a good three days. I enjoy reading "Miss.O'Dell" and for anyone who would like to get a glimpse of the Rock and Roll lifestyle, feel free to read this memoir. Trust me - You'll never put it down.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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