A Review of Pattie Boyd's Wonderful Tonight
How She Inspired Rock Legends George Harrison and Eric Clapton
Jun 18, 2009
Classic rock music fans will certainly appreciate Pattie Boyd’s book Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me. In it, she tells her life story, including details of her life with The Beatles’ George Harrison and Cream’s Eric Clapton. For rock fans looking for an impressive summer read, Wonderful Tonight is sure to deliver.
Life With George Harrison
Wonderful Tonight opens with a narrative history of Pattie Boyd’s life. She details her childhood in Kenya, troubles with family, and rise to modeling stardom. In chapter four, simply titled “George,” she begins the story of how she met her future husband, George Harrison, while the two were filming on the set of the movie A Hard Day’s Night.
Further, she offers readers a glimpse into the development of their courtship and eventual life together as a married couple. Reportedly, their love was the inspiration for Harrison’s well known song, “Something.”
Classic rock fans will appreciate the personal photos and details, covering everything from the height of Beatlemania to the group’s demise and impromptu performance atop the famed Apple Records building.
Boyd thoroughly recounts her lifestyle; jet setting across the globe, partying with numerous rock stars, and private times with George. She addresses Harrison’s quest for spiritual enlightenment, excessive drug and alcohol abuse, and multiple affairs; including that with Ringo Starr’s wife, Maureen. In addition, she describes the loneliness which eventually led her into the arms of legendary musician Eric Clapton.
Life With Eric Clapton
The latter half of Wonderful Tonight describes Boyd’s life with Clapton, including the inspiration for his celebrated songs, "Wonderful Tonight," “Layla,” and “Bell Bottom Blues.” She chronicles their passionate and intense relationship as it progressed from love affair to marriage.
In addition, Boyd describes the breakdown of the friendship and musical relationship between Harrison and Clapton, and his trials with drug and alcohol addiction and depression. Readers are given rare insight to his introverted personality. Further, she tells of the birth of Clapton’s child with actress Lori del Santo, an affair which eventually led to the demise of their marriage.
Life Alone
Wonderful Tonight concludes with Boyd recounting her struggle to find her own identity after her marriage ended. She describes being lost, stating, “In losing Eric, I had lost my role, and if I wasn’t Mrs. Clapton anymore, who was I.” She recounts having to overcome financial troubles, George Harrison’s death, and the difficulty of reinventing her career.
Pattie Boyd’s Wonderful Tonight is a necessary addition to the library of any classic rock music fan. She eloquently and passionately tells the story of her life, offering fans a rare and insightful look at two of rock’s most notable legends.
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