I love Leon’s soulful playing and that voice. I’m reading a book now about a lady named Chris O’Dell who worked for the Beatles at Apple records. She dated Leon Russell for around 4 months before she went back to London to finish working for Apple. I’ll be reviewing the book in a few weeks…after the Beatles, she worked for Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and The Rolling Stones.
O’Dell was Peter Asher’s personal Assistant and she booked studio time for the Beatles and other artists. George Harrison was working on a Jackie Lomax session and needed a piano player. George wanted Nicky Hopkins but he was in America so O’Dell mentioned Leon Russell who visited Apple earlier that day. George was ecstatic and later on, Ringo and George played on Leon’s sessions at Trident studio. After work, she walked into the studio and they were recording this song. She began to figure out it was about her (she is a Pisces) and that was Leon’s way of saying he fell in love with her.
This is not the only song inspired by Miss O’Dell. George Harrison wrote a song called Miss O’Dell and Leon wrote another song about her called Hummingbird. Both Pisces Apple Lady and Hummingbird were on his debut album released in 1970 along with his song about Rita Coolidge that Joe Cocker covered… Delta Lady.
Leon was able to get Ringo, George, Charlie Watts, Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Bonnie and Delaney, Steve Winwood, Jim Gordon, B.J. Wilson, Mick Jagger, Joe Cocker, and more…on this album.
The album Leon Russell peaked at #60 on the Billboard Album Charts in 1970.
Leon Russell: “I met her when she was working at Apple Records. We had a little thing for a minute. She wrote an autobiography, and she sent me an advance copy. I’m sorry to say, as a young man, I was capable of some actions I’m not proud of. So I was afraid to read the advance copy, I gave it to Jackie [his bass player Jackie Wessel] and I said, ‘Will you read this and see if there’s any untoward activity in it?’ He read it and said, ‘It’s a beautiful little show-business autobiography. There’s no untowardness in it.’ So I was happy.”
Pisces Apple Lady
Get off your bottleGo down and see a friendHe’ll know what to do, lordyWhen you tell him how bad it’s beenHe said you oughta get awayTo the English countrysideThis cryin’ won’t help you now boyWhy don’t you look how many tears you’ve cried
When I got down to ChelseaI had no expectationsOh, But to get away from the delta girlAnd the painful situationBut I hardly had the timeOh, to laugh and look aroundAnd I found my heart was a-goin’ againLike a-English leaps and bounds (yeah)
And she’s a Pisces apple ladyWhen she speaks softlyShe screams,(She really got herself together) whoa-whoa (oh-oh)And she’s a Pisces apple ladyTook me by surpriseAnd I fell into a hundred piecesI said a-right before her eyes
Now were togetherAll the way to L.A.I know she that loves me‘Cause she can brighten up a smoggy dayIf I believed in marriageOh, I’d take her for my wifeAnd move on down into high gear babyFor the rest of my natural life
And she’s a Pisces apple ladyWhen she speaks softlyShe screams,(She really got herself together) yes she does (oh-oh)And she’s a Pisces apple ladyTook me by surpriseAnd I fell into a hundred piecesI said a-right before her eyes
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This is a very lively song that is so typical of Leon Russell.
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I didn’t know that one but it was easibly placeable to Leon. What a talent he was. that book sounds like it would be quite good, btw.
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Yea he has his stamp all over his music… this one is pretty cool and I like the story.
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That jaunty piano kicks it all along nicely; Miss O’Dell seems to have got a few hearts a’fluttering!
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It’s a nice book obbverse… she is not a groupie but she had her romances…gives an insight on all of them that I never knew… when you work for the Beatles, Stones, Bob Dylan, and Clapton…you have some cool stories.
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Leon sure pulled in some serious musical muscle back in 1970 for this record. Wow
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Love him and I imagine he would have been very hard to resist in those days for any female.
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That is what Chris O’Dell said…almost in those same words!
I think you would like this book. George was really kind and nice to her…so was all of them. She lived with Pattie and George for a while when they moved in to Friar Park.
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Yes does sound like I’d like it.
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That was an interesting story about the song. I don’t remember this specific song but I remember the album and I know Delta Lady and A Song for You, of course. You know what song I love by him? Tightrope. It is so great, ain’t it? It’s one of my favorite songs from the ’70s. I had the album called Carney but that’s the only song I remember from it. I also love his song Superstar. Especially by Bette Midler but the Carpenters is pretty good too and I think it was Luther Vandross who also did it, or some other soul singer. but I know it was a man. And I also like the song Lady blue. Remember that one?
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We are on the same wavelength…I wrote up Tight Rope! I have it in my drafts for later this month….I love that song as well. I am reading this book so I thought I would do this one first.
I heard Lady Blue last night…of course I’m going through his catalog now but I do remember it. This Masqurade is a good song by him also….I rediscovered that one last night while listening to Carney.
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I always wondered why there were so many seventies songs that had that circus music in it like in Tightrope. It’s that one where whenever you see a circus in a movie or on TV they always play that Circus theme song in the background, like usually when the clowns come out. And Tightrope has that right in the middle of it . There was a whole bunch of songs in the 70s that use that. Three Dog Night and a whole bunch of other ones . And also carnival music was a big thing in the 70s. The kind of music you hear at a carnival. It’s like really old timey sounding, so maybe it was like a nostalgia thing.
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When I was reading your reply you beat me to it…what I think of is The Show Must Go On by Three Dog Night…one of the ones you referenced…I had their greatest hits as a kid.
Nothing gives me more nostalgia than a carnival at night with the lights.
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It’s comforting to hear this. A lot of his songs sound like this…
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They do John…he put his stamp on his songs…there is no doubting who it is.
For some odd reason when I was much younger I would get Dr John and him mixed up…totally different vocals but I just did.
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I always like Leon Russell’s quirky voice, and I’ll add that I love “Tight Rope” too.
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