WILL KARR
Staff Writer
They say that behind every great man is a woman. These words rang true for Chris O’Dell, “The First Lady of Rock & Roll,” who has lived mostly in the shadows of men of rock.
“I worked with the Holy Trinity of rock and roll: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan,” O’Dell said in a 2013 lecture while visiting Fredonia.
In 2013, O’Dell visited campus to give a lecture titled “Gender, Drugs and Rock and Roll.” Now, almost ten years later, she is returning to Fredonia to speak once again on Tuesday, Sep. 27th at 6 p.m. in Thompson Hall W101. The event is being hosted by Fredonia’s Hail Record Label and the Fall 2022 music marketing and promotion class.
“O’Dell will offer insight into what the music industry was like at the time, and the development of the music industry and how things came to be. The Beatles were such a significant force in shaping music,” said Nathan Bedford Swanson, a senior music industry major.
O’Dell’s journey in the music industry begins at the age of 20, when her father dropped her off in Los Angeles. In L.A., she joined a band and was later hired by Dot Records. One day, she was invited to dinner by Derek Taylor, who worked as a press secretary for The Beatles. She reluctantly accepted the invitation, thinking it was too good to possibly be true.
Taylor offered her a secretarial job at Apple Records, The Beatles’ label, in London. O’Dell sold her car and records, and traveled across the pond. She joined the Apple Publishing Company during its inception.
She started out cutting newspaper clippings of The Beatles and plastering them into scrapbooks. After a few positions, she received a job as an official employee: fetching sandwiches. O’Dell knew this menial job would help get her to where she wanted to be.
Peter Brown, the assistant to The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, offered her the chance to be his personal assistant. This led her to eventually join The Beatles’ tight-night inner circle.
“She was up on the rooftop at The Beatles’ last ever performance at Apple Headquarters,” said Liam Wicks, a senior music industry major. “The Beatles just had their documentary on Disney+, and she was featured a lot in it.”
O’Dell shortly became George Harrison’s personal assistant. She went to Abbey Road with the group and sang back-up vocals on “Hey Jude.”
“O’Dell has been with a lot of major figure heads in rock and roll and has made a large contribution to it,” Swanson said.
In addition to The Beatles, O’Dell has worked with and organized tours for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
In 2009, she published her first book, “Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved.” The novel details her interactions with all these musicians. Her book takes a different approach than many other historical accounts of rock and roll.
“Her book is significant in the way that she interviewed all of the rock and roll stars wives to get their perspective from more of a feminist viewpoint,” Swanson said.
O’Dell’s appearance will feature never-before-seen photos of rock and roll stars. Attendees are encouraged to come and ask her questions.
“We are going to have a warm welcome for O’Dell,” Swanson said. “SUNY Fredonia is very excited to have her back.”