The Church Studio Presents Miss O'Dell: Abbey Road to Tulsa Time

The Church Studio
  • 4.7 (13)
  • Documentary

Miss O’Dell: Abbey Road to Tulsa Time is a rock and roll podcast presented by the historic The Church Studio in Tulsa. Hosted by Chris O'Dell, a respected music industry insider who worked with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, the podcast shares real stories from inside the music business during some of its most influential years. Each episode features conversations with artists, producers, and industry professionals, along with firsthand experiences from Chris O’Dell’s career. Topics include classic rock history, recording sessions, touring life, and the lasting influence of the Tulsa Sound. Recorded at The Church Studio, the iconic studio founded by Leon Russell, the podcast highlights Tulsa’s role in American music and connects past legends with today’s creative community. Miss O’Dell is a music podcast for listeners interested in rock history, behind the scenes stories, and the people who shaped the sound of a generation.

Episodes

  1. 2h ago

    May Pang on John Lennon, The Beatles & the Real Lost Weekend

    May Pang lived through some of the most legendary years of John Lennon's life, the period history calls "The Lost Weekend." In this intimate conversation, host Chris O'Dell reconnects with her longtime friend to revisit it as only two people who were actually there can. May shares the stories behind the icons: the chaotic Harry Nilsson "P***y Cats" sessions, the infamous jam where Paul McCartney broke Ringo's snare, the legal war to dissolve The Beatles, the day John crashed the dissolution meeting, and the tender Plaza Hotel reunion with George Harrison. Plus the origin of "Goodnight Vienna," her whistle on "#9 Dream," her last phone call with John in 1980, and the one regret she still carries. Explore May's photography and exhibition tour: Watch her documentary "The Lost Weekend: A Love Story" on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Roku & Apple TV. Brought to you by The Church Studio, Tulsa's iconic recording studio and home of the Tulsa Sound. More episodes: https://missodell.com

    May Pang on John Lennon, The Beatles & the Real Lost Weekend

  2. Jul 7

    The Real Janis Joplin: Her Brother Michael Sets the Record Straight

    What's it like to grow up in the shadow of a rock and roll legend...and then spend your life protecting her legacy? This week, Chris sits down with Michael Joplin, younger brother of the incomparable Janis Joplin. Michael was still in high school when Janis died at 27, learning of her passing from a classmate before his own family could tell him. In this warm, funny, and surprisingly intimate conversation, he pulls back the curtain on the Janis the press never showed: a close-knit Port Arthur, Texas family; parents who ran a "debate society" at the dinner table and taught their kids to think for themselves; and a big sister who stood up against racial injustice in South Texas long before anyone called it activism. Michael shares the family's memories of watching Janis on The Ed Sullivan Show, the San Francisco scene through Chet Helms and the Avalon Ballroom, her explosive "coming out party" at the Monterey Pop Festival, and the famous fallout with promoter Bill Graham. He also opens up about the weight, and the honor, of being the "backbone" of Janis's estate alongside his sister Laura, and how he still asks one question before every decision: would this fit what my sister would want? It's a rare, personal portrait of one of music's most iconic voices, told by someone who knew her before the world did. 🎶 Janis: The Musical is on tour now: find dates at JanisJoplin.com. Enjoy the episode? Subscribe, share, and leave a review. Learn more and connect at missodell.com.

    The Real Janis Joplin: Her Brother Michael Sets the Record Straight

  3. Jun 30

    Gary Stromberg: PR Man to the Stones, the Arrests, and the Road to Recovery

    Chris O'Dell reunites with her longtime friend Gary Stromberg, the co-founder of Gibson and Stromberg PR and the man behind some of the biggest names in music history, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Ray Charles, Muhammad Ali, and Barbara Streisand. Gary shares the story of landing the Stones account after a surreal one-on-one with Mick Jagger at the Marion Davies estate, the night Keith Richards got arrested on tour (with Gary not far behind), and what it was really like inside the machine of 1970s rock and roll. The conversation takes a powerful turn as Gary opens up about his addiction, his recovery through AA, and how sobriety led him to rebuild his career doing PR for treatment centers including Cottonwood, where Chris once worked. Two old friends. A lifetime of stories. And a reminder that making it out the other side is worth celebrating.

    Gary Stromberg: PR Man to the Stones, the Arrests, and the Road to Recovery

  4. Jun 23

    Mal Evans: Let It Be, Lost Ashes, and the Beatles Story Nobody Knew with Guest and Beatles Historian Ken Womack

    Beatles historian and author Ken Womack joins Chris O'Dell for a deep dive into the life of Mal Evans, the gentle giant who served as The Beatles' road manager, confidant, and unofficial archivist from 1963 until the band's final days. Ken shares the full story behind his book Living the Beatles Legend, including how Mal's long-lost diaries were recovered from a New York basement 12 years after his death and why we have one woman and Yoko Ono to thank for it. Chris and Ken cover Mal's contributions to Let It Be, his work producing Badfinger, his friendship with John, Paul, George, and Ringo during the solo years, and the painful unraveling that led to his death in January 1976. They also preview an upcoming project that you will want to hear about. A conversation about history, loyalty, creativity, and the people who made it all possible but rarely got the credit.

    Mal Evans: Let It Be, Lost Ashes, and the Beatles Story Nobody Knew with Guest and Beatles Historian Ken Womack

  5. Jun 16

    Tom Scott: Playing on Pink Floyd, George Harrison's Best Friend, and How John Williams Almost Quit Music

    Tom Scott has played saxophone on records by George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, and dozens more . 15 Grammy nominations and counting. But ask him how he ended up as one of George Harrison's closest friends, and the answer starts with a UCLA summer class on Indian music and a tabla teacher named Harihar Rao. Chris O'Dell sits down with her old friend and fellow survivor of the legendary 1974 Dark Horse Tour for a wide-open conversation: the real reason that tour went sideways, what George Harrison told Bill Graham when fans wanted Beatles songs, the John Williams story Tom has never told publicly, and what Joni Mitchell and Carole King taught him about two completely different ways to be a genius. Plus what Tom is up to now including forensic arranging, jazz radio, and his own podcast hitting episode 260.

    Tom Scott: Playing on Pink Floyd, George Harrison's Best Friend, and How John Williams Almost Quit Music

  6. Jun 9

    Henry Diltz: The Accidental Archivist of Rock's Golden Era

    Henry Diltz, famous rock photographer and archivist, bought a $20 secondhand camera on a whim in Michigan. What followed was a 60-year photographic career that captured Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Laurel Canyon, and nearly every defining album cover of rock's greatest era. In this conversation with Chris O'Dell at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Henry tells the full story — from watching The Beatles on Ed Sullivan from a New England motel room as a folk singer, to living among Joni Mitchell, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young in Laurel Canyon, to getting a phone call from Michael Lang and a $500 airline ticket to some concert called Woodstock. He didn't plan any of it. That's what makes it remarkable. This episode covers: The Ed Sullivan moment that ended folk music overnightHow the Laurel Canyon scene created the singer-songwriter eraBeing the official photographer at Monterey Pop and WoodstockSix decades of archiving the music that defined a generationHis cameo in Spinal Tap IIAnd how changing the words you use can change the way you see the worldThe Miss O'Dell Show is recorded at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma , the legendary studio built by Leon Russell.

    Henry Diltz: The Accidental Archivist of Rock's Golden Era

  7. Jun 2

    The Beatles’ Hairdresser: Leslie Cavendish dishes out stories of his iconic hairstyles and looks of the 60s and 70s

    Chris O’Dell welcomes her longtime friend Leslie Cavendish, the legendary hairdresser who worked closely with The Beatles during one of the most creative periods of their career. Leslie shares unforgettable stories about cutting Paul McCartney’s hair at Cavendish Avenue, meeting John Lennon, working with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and experiencing Apple, Savile Row, and the Magical Mystery Tour era from the inside. He also reflects on The Beatles’ personalities, John’s humor, Paul’s approachability, George’s quiet spirit, and the changing style of the band during the Sgt. Pepper and Let It Be years. Along the way, Leslie shares memories of The Who, the Bee Gees, Keith Moon, Barry Gibb, and his upcoming book Beatles Locations Across the Universe. A warm, funny, and deeply personal conversation between two friends who lived through rock history together.

    The Beatles’ Hairdresser: Leslie Cavendish dishes out stories of his iconic hairstyles and looks of the 60s and 70s

  8. May 26

    Leon Russell, Beatles Sessions & The Church Studio | Bill Janovitz on Abbey Road to Tulsa Time

    Author and Buffalo Tom frontman Bill Janovitz joins Chris O'Dell to talk about his New York Times bestselling biography of Leon Russell: the master of space and time, and one of the most influential yet underappreciated figures in rock history. Chris knew Leon in his early-'70s prime; Bill spent years researching the full story. Together they get into the rock star Leon willed himself to become, his obsession with technology decades ahead of his time, the records he secretly shaped, the goodbye he wrote in song, and the wild tale of three Beatles nearly playing on his debut album, plus how The Church Studio is restoring his legacy in Tulsa. Bill Janovitz is the founding member of Buffalo Tom and the author of "Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones" and books on Exile on Main St. and The Cars. This episode is supported by The Church Studio (thechurchstudio.com), founded by Leon Russell in 1972, and Blue Couch Studio, Tulsa's full-production podcast studio. Learn more at missodell.com.

    Leon Russell, Beatles Sessions & The Church Studio | Bill Janovitz on Abbey Road to Tulsa Time

  9. May 20

    Chris O’Dell sits down with Pattie Boyd and discusses Friar Park, George Harrison, and more

    Chris O'Dell's first guest is her longtime friend Pattie Boyd: muse, model, and one of the few people who was truly inside the world of The Beatles and beyond. Over the course of this conversation, the two friends move through decades of shared memory: meeting at an Apple boutique fashion show while Yoko sat in silence, discovering Friar Park and bringing it to life room by room, three Krishna families moving in and turning the dining room into a temple, and showing up at Madison Square Garden the night of the Concert for Bangladesh not quite sure if Bob Dylan would appear.They also get into the new Beatles films (neither has been contacted), what the Krishna movement is quietly doing around the world, and Pattie's reaction to seeing Eric Clapton perform last night in Guildford: this is what it sounds like when two women who lived through music history just... talk. Miss O'Dell is recorded at The Church Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Learn more at missodell.com.

    Chris O’Dell sits down with Pattie Boyd and discusses Friar Park, George Harrison, and more

  10. Season 1 Trailer

    Trailer Episode

    Listen as Miss Odell tells stories about events we've all heard about from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones.

    Trailer Episode

Trailer

4.7
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About

Miss O’Dell: Abbey Road to Tulsa Time is a rock and roll podcast presented by the historic The Church Studio in Tulsa. Hosted by Chris O'Dell, a respected music industry insider who worked with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, the podcast shares real stories from inside the music business during some of its most influential years. Each episode features conversations with artists, producers, and industry professionals, along with firsthand experiences from Chris O’Dell’s career. Topics include classic rock history, recording sessions, touring life, and the lasting influence of the Tulsa Sound. Recorded at The Church Studio, the iconic studio founded by Leon Russell, the podcast highlights Tulsa’s role in American music and connects past legends with today’s creative community. Miss O’Dell is a music podcast for listeners interested in rock history, behind the scenes stories, and the people who shaped the sound of a generation.

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