Behind every successful, globe-trotting rockstar is a team of dedicated professionals who keep gas in the tank, bookings on the calendar, and the musicians (reasonably) well-fed and well-rested—and few women have as impressive of a track record of juggling all these duties as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s first female tour managers, Chris O’Dell.
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The woman behind George Harrison’s song, “Miss O’Dell,” and a biting lyric from Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote” has no small shortage of riveting tales from the road, which re-entered the spotlight with the May 2025 release of her titular documentary, Miss O’Dell.
From Low-Level Assistant To One Of Rock’s First Female Tour Managers
Chris O’Dell started her career in the music industry where many professionals do: on the lowest rungs of the corporate ladder. She transitioned from her position as a personal assistant to her “first big gig” working with Beatles press officer Derek Taylor at the London press department of Apple Corps. Ltd. “Opportunities like this don’t come often,” she later recalled. “If at all. So, after talking with my parents and friends, I sold my record collection and life insurance policy, and on May 17, 1968, I flew to London. I had no idea that I would be taking on a job that would change my life forever.”
And not just her whole life—the landscape of rock ‘n’ roll music forever. O’Dell was one of the first female tour managers of some of the most popular groups of the time, including Bob Dylan during his “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour, George Harrison, Linda Ronstadt, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead, and Queen. She excelled at her job while maintaining a gentle approach that was uncommon in the brash, male-dominated industry. O’Dell once shocked Ronstadt when she offered to buy the singer’s mother flowers for Mother’s Day while she was on the road. Ronstadt told her no previous tour manager had ever asked her that.
O’Dell was a close friend to both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She was sitting at the breakfast table when Paul McCartney announced to the rest of the group that he was leaving. Keith Richards once told her that she could “keep up with the guys.” She later reflected, “I thought that was a compliment then. Today, I don’t see it quite that way” (via The Guardian).
Chris O’Dell Was A Source Of Lyrical Inspiration For Some Stars
If you thought Chris O’Dell’s name sounded familiar, there’s a non-zero chance you were thinking of George Harrison’s 1973 track, “Miss O’Dell.” The B-side to “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” was indeed about his colleague, friend, and, at the time, a woman not returning his calls, hence the song’s refrain. A couple of years later, O’Dell would prove to be a valuable source of lyrical inspiration for yet another star.
Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote” recounts a love affair the Canadian singer-songwriter had with playwright Sam Shepard during Bob Dylan’s 1975 “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour. At one point in the song, Mitchell sings, Now, he’s got a woman at home. He’s got another woman down the hall. He seems to want me anyway. The “woman at home” was Shepherd’s wife. The “woman down the hall” was none other than O’Dell, who had also been having an affair with Shepard at the time.
The 2025 documentary Miss O’Dell calls her “the woman who lived it all,” and even that might be an understatement. Though not the most recognizable name in the music industry, she was always nearby, serving as a friend, colleague, and manager to some of the greatest rock stars of all time.
Photo by United Artists/Kobal/Shutterstock
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