Miss O’Dell
By Helen Marketti
To be part of an inner rock and roll
circle where trust was earned, not just given was a place that Chris O’Dell
found herself in during the late 60s. If
Chris had not taken the leap of faith to move from Tucson to LA and embark on a
new way of life - certainly things would have turned out completely different.
Chris was 20 years old in 1968 when she
first met Derek Taylor who was the Press Officer for The Beatles. They met one evening at the La Brea Inn in
Los Angeles and were introduced by a friend.
She knew in her heart that life would never be the same. Derek took her under his wing and they became
friends. He kept in touch after he
returned to London, calling her frequently to see how she was doing. During a conversation one day, he suggested
she come to London because Apple Records was going to be huge and that it would
be a good idea to show up.
“How do you say “no”? How could you say “no” when someone
asks you if you would like to work for The Beatles? Derek never said in natural fact that he had
a job for me; he just kept mentioning that I should come over to London. So a lot of what happened I worked hard and
created it for myself,” remembers Chris.
“At first I was on the outside looking in
before I went over there. Things like
this just don’t happen,” said Chris. “I
found they were just people but there was an extra air about them. I really didn’t think such people or such
life styles existed but they did and it was very much real.”
While working at Apple Records, Chris
eventually became close friends with Pattie Boyd who was married to George
Harrison at the time. For several
months, Chris lived with George and Pattie at their Friar Park home. “Pattie and I became close friends, like
sisters. We are still close to this day
and always will be,” said Chris.
Chris had been a witness to the blossoming
romance between Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton.
“Eric and I never really got along well,” remembers Chris. “I guess every story needs an antagonist (laughs). I feel he was depressed. I think the drugs and alcohol had a lot to do
with it - on both our parts. I had
always been very close with Pattie and George so when Pattie and Eric got
together, I think he knew my loyalty was to George. Because of that we were never close.”
Eventually, career moves began to present
themselves and Chris spent time working as a personal assistant to the Rolling
Stones. Chris shares her thoughts on
having worked for two of rock’s top bands, “I was a fan of The Beatles. I thought they were the greatest band in the
world. Even though I admired the Rolling
Stones, I didn’t find them to be as lofty as The Beatles. I started at the top
with the top band and then went to the next top band but it felt like a step
down.”
There was also a definite contrast between
Beatles women and Stones women. “Except
for Yoko, The Beatles still had the same relationships from the earlier
days. Their women were nice and
soft. The Stones women were tough, heavy
drug users. They were definitely
different,” Chris said.
Looking back on her rock and roll life,
Chris said, “It was the most historical time, an unforgettable time. The best time was working for The Beatles! There was once an article written about me in
1969 and the title mentioned something about me having the job that thousands
of girls would want. I thought about
that and realized that was very true. I
loved The Beatles music. I was a fan,
too. Fellow musicians who were their
friends were also fans. I knew I was in
a unique place in music history. The
Beatles changed music. They offered
hope. I was drawn to the hope.”
For more information about
Chris O’Dell, you can visit her web site:
www.missodell.com
