As rock’s first female tour manager, Chris O’Dell was there for some of the most pivotal and private moments in music history, including:
• Being in the studio when the Beatles recorded The White Album, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, as well as singing in the chorus on “Hey Jude.”
• Touring with the Rolling Stones on the infamous 1972 tour and doing a drug run for
Keith Richards.
• Becoming best friends with Pattie Boyd when she was married to George Harrison, witnessing Pattie’s relationship
with Eric Clapton, and being a bridesmaid at their wedding.
• Living with George and Pattie during the traumatic last months of the Beatles breakup.
• Sitting with Yoko Ono and Maureen Starkey at The Beatles’ last concert “on the roof.”
Three songs have been written about Chris: Leon Russell’s Hummingbird and Pisces Apple Lady, and George
Harrison’s Miss O’Dell. She is also the “mystery woman” on The Rolling Stones’ 1972 album Exile from Main
Street, and the “woman down the hall” in Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote,” which was written about the love triangle between Joni, Chris and playwright Sam Shepard.
CREDENTIALS: Chris O’Dell is the author (with Katherine Ketcham) of MISS O’DELL: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. She has appeared on television and radio, and in print media relating her stories of her years in the music world as a tour manager from 1968
to 1984. She also is a licensed professional counselor and licensed substance abuse counselor.
AVAILABILITY: AZ, nationwide by arrangement and via telephone
CONTACT: Chris O’Dell, (520) 891-6720 (AZ), chrisodell123@gmail.com