LEON RUSSELL AND THE LADY THAT INSPIRED THE SONG, CHRIS O’DELL!
Chris O’Dell has so many stories to tell about her illustrious and notable career in music. The list of musical artists that she has worked for is probably longer than your arm and the musical figures include many giants in the field. The purpose of this particular blog post is to highlight what two very famous and legendary musicians thought of her in song! Chris was very fortunate and genuinely pleased to have had three songs written for her by very notable music legends Leon Russell and George Harrison. The three tracks I am referring to are Pisces Apple Lady and Hummingbird by Leon Russell, and of course, Miss O’Dell by George Harrison!
Here is a fabulous What If story about a special track written for Chris O’Dell by musician, Leon Russsell
Chris O’Dell had what could be described as a tenuous or fragile romantic relationship with Leon Russell, which never worked out for a number of reasons, but Leon Russell did write two songs about her!
Listen to this link to hear a few fascinating stories about the tracks we have mentioned:
LEGENDS | Chris O’Dell: The Beatles, Leon Russell, & The Rolling Stones
Ringo and George did play on the Pisces Apple Lady track and that is confirmed by the Bill Janovitz book that is featured below. You heard the link above where Chris verified that both George and Ringo were on the track. John and Yoko were in the studio booth watching the Pisces session and Chris O’Dell eventually was to ask John Lennon why he didn’t play on the track, and he because he wasn’t asked. When Chris asked Leon why he did not ask John to play on it, his startled reply was that he didn’t think that John would have wanted to!
Being an amateur psychologist. I believe John was always hesitant to be a session player on other artist’s recordings. He was extremely insecure about his guitar playing and technical abilities and was possibly fearful of being judged negatively by his peers or the other respective musicians. With the Beatles he had the security of the others to help him with any lack of technical know-how or guitar prowess. John himself always called himself a primitive musician technically. Another reason Leon may not have asked John to play on the track was to avoid John’s reputation of being very sharp-tongued and critical. Perhaps Leon feared John’s judgement or a possible confrontation. We’ll never know, but it is very interesting to speculate!
Ironically a few years later when John was on his so-called infamous Lost Weekend, Phil Spector had asked Leon Russell to play on a few Lennon sessions. One confirmed session was Bony Maronie which was confirmed to Lennon expert Chip Madinger by another well-known session guitarist that played on the track named, Larry Carlton. Another track featuring a possible Leon involvement was Be My Baby. Chip Madinger has informed me of the following:
“Leon was not a documented (meaning he wasn’t on the AFM contracts) to two of the RNR sessions.“
“Leon Russell lasted only two sessions.” [Robert Hilburn 12/30/73 LAT]
If we take this to mean the first two sessions, that would have been ‘Bony Moronie’ and ‘Be My Baby’.
The bottom line is that Leon did play on the Lennon sessions and that has been confirmed and it has been confirmed by multiple sources!
A great book by Bill Janovitz about Leon Russell:
Bill Janovitz | Leon Russell Almost Had 3 Beatles on His Album | Abbey Road to Tulsa Time | EP 2
AND NOW…BACK TO OUR NARRATIVE:
The song Leon wrote for Chris that reportedly featured two of the Beatles on it. Pisces Apple Lady with George and Ringo both playing:
The lyrics to the song:
Leon Russell – Pisces Apple Lady Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
Leon Russell – Pisces Apple Lady – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture
Pisces Apple Lady was not the only track that Leon Russell wrote for Chris O’Dell. He wrote another tack inspired by Chris called:
The lyrics to the number:
The lyrics to Leon russell’s Hummingbird – Search
THE ALBUM LEON RELEASED FEATURING THE 2 SONGS HE WROTE FOR CHRIS O’DELL – PISCES APPLE LADY AND HUMMINGBIRD
Recently I acquired a vinyl copy of this album:
My CD copy signed by Leon Russell:
The back cover of the LP:
A Leon picture sleeve featuring the Pisces Apple Lady B-side:
Back cover of the picture sleeve of the 45:
A nice interview of Chris O’Dell as conducted by James D. Jomes
Chris O’Dell: Beatles Insider & Tour Manager Reveals Untold Beatlemania Stories | Beatles-A-Rama TV
A COVER VERSION OF PISCES APPLE LADY BY THE GROUP TUCKY BUZZARD – THIS COVER WAS PRODUCED BY BILL WYMAN OF THE ROLLING STONES
Tucky Buzzard – Pisces Apple Lady
Tucky Buzzard is the second studio album by British hard rock band Tucky Buzzard and their first for Capitol Records. It was produced by the Rolling Stones’ bass player Bill Wyman. The album was featured on the band’s 2005 compilation album Time Will Be Your Doctor – Rare Recordings 1971-1972 in its entirety. Time Will Be Your Doctor is on the other side of this recording.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY: (Check out Chris O’Dell’s fabulous stories about her career in music)
AMAZON US:
AMAZON UK:
GEORGE HARRISON’S SONG FOR CHRIS O’DELL:
A photo of a 45 from Belgium with picture sleeve featuring Miss O’Dell on the flip side of the record:
George Harrison – Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Apple Records – 4C 006-05354
Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Single, Stereo:
Belgium
1973
I was startled at the lack of the detail on the white exposed area of the B-side of this 45 from Belgium:
George honored Chris O’Dell in a song that he dedicated to her:
George Harrison – Miss O’Dell (2024 Mix) [Official Audio]
An alternate version of the song:
George Harrison Miss O’Dell (alternative Version)
The lyrics to the song about Chris:
George Harrison – Miss O’Dell Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
Some biographical details about Chris O’Dell on Wikipedia:
Some details about the recent Chris O’Dell DVD documentary:
CHRIS O DELL – NEW DOCUMENTARY
THE DVD:
AMAZON US:
AMAZON UK-PRIME VIDEO
Watch Miss O’Dell | Prime Video
Chris O’Dell’s DVD which presents many of the highlights of her career in music: The DVD was directed by Simon Weitzman!
Back cover of the DVD case:
The book and the DVD will serve as two great companion pieces to highlight the extraordinary life of Chris O’Dell. Seek them out and marvel at the stories that she has to tell!
Make sure you check out Chris’s great YouTube channel and podcasts; Here are a few sample programs:
Leslie Cavendish | The Beatles Hairdresser Tells Stories From Behind the Chair | EP3
LEGENDS | Chris O’Dell: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Leon Russell
Pattie Boyd | The Real Stories Behind George Harrison, The Krishnas, & Life at Friar Park | EP 1
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
Thanks for highlighting! This Leon album does indeed carry an all star lineup. It took me a few years, but I finally located a special 24k gold coated CD release of this Leon Russell album that has five bonus songs. Ringo Starr plays on one of them!
Unissued tracks from the Leon Russell sessions:
THE NEW SWEET HOME
CHICAGO (Leon Russell -Marc Benno)
JAMMIN’ WITH ERIC (Leon Russell & Eric Clapton)
INDIAN GIRL (Leon Russell)
SHOOT OUT ON THE PLANTATION
Solo Plano version 1989 (Leon Russell)
(Can’t Seen To) GET A LINE ON YOU
(Mick Jagger sings while Ringo drums- rehearsal)
Great album!!
Thanks Jennifer! Your mention of the tracks caused a search. All of the bonus tracks were available on YouTube, and I found a regular copy of the CD signed by Leon thanks to you! Much obliged!
Awesome!!! The gold CD is cool if you ever come across.