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Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me

by: Pattie Boyd, Penny Junor

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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42166092
EAN: 9780307393845
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0307393844
Label: Harmony
Manufacturer: Harmony
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Publisher: Harmony
Release Date: August 28, 2007
Studio: Harmony

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Editorial Review:
A Q&A with Pattie Boyd, Author of Wonderful Tonight

Why are you writing the book now?

I have been asked for the last 15 years to write a book, and it is only now that I feel the time is right. My confidence in myself was restored after two successful exhibitions of my photography, and it occurred to me that I was finally ready to take a look at the unique experiences of my life and to share them--including all the ups and downs.

Tell us about the first time you met George Harrison.

Working as a model, I occasionally went for castings, mainly for television commercials. I went for an interview with one of the directors I had worked with in the past, and he cast me in his first movie, A Hard Day's Night, to play the part of a schoolgirl. When I first saw George on the set, I thought he was the best-looking man I'd ever seen. I was so surprised when he asked me out on a date at the end of my first day of filming.

Tell us about the first time you heard George Harrison's song, "Something."

George said he had written a song for me, and he played it on the guitar at home without the words. Then when I heard the song after it had been recorded I couldn't believe how utterly beautiful it was. It was released on a single in October 1969, and I felt so thrilled and flattered.

Tell us about the first time you heard Eric Clapton's "Layla."

Eric invited me to his band's flat one day and played a rough recording of "Layla" on a cassette recorder. I was sitting on a sofa and he on the floor as it played, and he kept looking up at me for a reaction. I was stunned; the intensity, passion and tenderness came across so strongly--I knew, as he said, it was written for me.

An iconic figure of the 1960s and ’70s, Pattie Boyd breaks a forty-year silence in Wonderful Tonight, and tells the story of how she found herself bound to two of the most addictive, promiscuous musical geniuses of the twentieth century and became the most famous muse in the history of rock and roll. She met the Beatles in 1964 when she was cast as a schoolgirl in A Hard Day’s Night. Ten days later a smitten George Harrison proposed. For twenty-year-old Pattie Boyd, it was the beginning of an unimaginably rich and complex life as she was welcomed into the Beatles inner circle—a circle that included Mick Jagger, Ron Wood, Jeff Beck, and a veritable who’s who of rock musicians. She describes the dynamics of the group, the friendships, the tensions, the musicmaking, and the weird and wonderful memories she has of Paul and Linda, Cynthia and John, Ringo and Maureen, and especially the years with her husband, George. It was a sweet, turbulent life, but one that would take an unexpected turn, starting with a simple note that began “dearest l.” I read it quickly and assumed that it was from some weirdo; I did get fan mail from time to time.... I thought no more about it until that evening when the phone rang. It was Eric [Clapton]. “Did you get my letter?”... And then the penny dropped. “Was that from you?” I said....It was the most passionate letter anyone had ever written me.For the first time Pattie Boyd, former wife of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, a high-profile model whose face epitomized the swinging London scene of the 1960s, a woman who inspired Harrison’s song “Something” and Clapton’s anthem “Layla,” has decided to write a book that is rich and raw, funny and heartbreaking—and totally honest and open and breathtaking. Here is the truth, here is what happened, here is the story you’ve been waiting for.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating:

Rating:

- Cannot recommend
I am glad I skimmed this book in a bookstore and did not waste my money by purchasing it. Pattie's book includes a lot of information that Beatles fans probably already know. Also, Pattie seems to have felt superior to Cynthia Lennon because Pattie says that, unlike Cynthia, she had a career and attended private schools. So, I would like to know why, in my opinion, Cynthia's memoir, which is entitled John, is vastly superior to Pattie's book. Unlike this book, Cynthia's is very well written and insightful. ... Read More

Rating:

- Don't Let Pattie Get Your Money Too!
I'm a Beatle fan of epic proportions and have been since I was twelve (I'm in my forties now). I was so excited when this came out I couldn't wait to read it. My wife bought it for me for my last birthday and I have to say, this isn't just one of the worst books on the Beatles I've ever read, it may be one of the worst written books I've ever read, period. Everything the other reviews say about timelimes being erratic, well known facts totally being distorted and Pattie sounding like nothing more than a whinning, ... Read More

Rating:

- Should Have been a Better Book
After reading Eric Clapton's autobiography, I was keen on reading Patty Boyd-Harrison-Clapton's own biography/testimony. Now that I have finished her book, my reactions are mixed.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn Ms. Boyd spent her early years as a child in Kenya. Although there are sad memories in Kenya, her discussion about that time is one of the best parts of the book.

Unfortunately, once grown up and beginning her life as a model, her story becomes a horn of plenty for names, food, ... Read More

Rating:

- Wonderful Tonight by Patti Boyd
This book was a lot of name dropping which I found annoying seeing as I didn't know most of the names she mentioned. I loved the history with the Beatles and Eric Clapton the most. Learning that Patti was the muse for some of the greatest love songs of all time like "Layla" and "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton and "Something" written by George Harrison. I almost feel like Patti has repeated all the wrong patterns without learning any lessons life tried to teach her. She always relied on her ex-husbands to support ... Read More

Rating:

- Interesting Book
I thought that this book was very interesting. I especially found it interesting that even though she did not stay married to him, she, until the day he died, always loved George Harrison.

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