Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton

Patricia Anne "Pattie" Boyd (sometimes known as Pattie Boyd-Harrison
or Pattie Clapton) (born 17 March 1944 in Taunton, Somerset, England),
model and photographer, is best known as the wife of two famous rock
musicians and the inspiration for several monumental rock love songs.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Marriages
* 2 Career
o 2.1 Rock Star Muse
o 2.2 Photography
* 3 Autobiography
* 4 References
* 5 External links

[edit] Marriages

After meeting on the set of A Hard Day's Night, Pattie married George
Harrison on January 21, 1966, during the heyday of his group, The
Beatles. Harrison's friend Eric Clapton, first of The Yardbirds, then
of Cream, also fell in love with her. Pattie went on to divorce
Harrison on June 9, 1977, and later marry Clapton on March 27, 1979.
She and Clapton divorced in June 1988.

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton Career
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
Pattie was a successful model during the 1960s and early 1970s. She
was known to frequent trendy clubs as well as the company of the
era-defining designers Mary Quant and Ossie Clark. She was
photographed by popular fashion photographers of the day, such as
David Bailey and Terence Donovan and appeared on covers of the
best-known British magazines, including the UK and Italian editions of
Vogue.

Boyd was a 20-year-old model in 1964 when she met the youngest Beatle
during filming for A Hard Day's Night. She was cast as a schoolgirl
fan in the film. According to her autobiography, one of the first
things he said to her was "Will you marry me?".[1] She married
Harrison in 1966 and is said to have introduced the Beatles to the
Indian mystic the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi later that year.[2]

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie ClaptonRock Star Muse
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
Pattie was the inspiration for one of Harrison's most famous Beatles
songs, "Something" (which Frank Sinatra called one of the best
Lennon/McCartney songs ever recorded, though it was written entirely
by Harrison). George told Pattie that "Something" was written for her
but after she left him, Harrison denied Pattie was his muse.
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
In the late sixties, Clapton became a close friend of Harrison,
writing and recording music together at Harrison's home. It was at
this time that Clapton became enamored of Boyd. Unable to date her,
Clapton took up with Boyd's 17 year old sister, Paula. At the same
time, the 25 year-old Clapton was also linked to another 17 year old,
Alice Ormsby-Gore, according to Time magazine's March 16, 1970
issue.[3]

When Boyd rebuffed his advances in late 1970, Clapton descended into
an addiction to heroin and self-imposed exile with Ormsby-Gore.
Meanwhile, during Clapton's tenure in Derek and the Dominos, their
only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, was fueled by
his unrequited love for Pattie.

This tortured passion for his best friend's wife produced one of his
most famous songs, "Layla," a rock song that became a pop hit in three
different decades, with two different versions. Pattie is said to also
be the inspiration to "Bell Bottom Blues" from the same album, which
Clapton reportedly wrote after she gave him a pair of blue jeans. In
her autobiography, she claims he gave her the pair of pants after
returning from a trip to Miami.

After Harrison's increasing religious explorations and relentless
infidelities (including a fling with Ringo Starr's wife, Maureen)
irrevocably alienated her, Pattie left him for Clapton in 1974.

On Sept. 7, 1976, Clapton wrote the famous love song "Wonderful
Tonight" for Pattie while waiting for her to get ready to go out to
Paul and Linda McCartney's annual Buddy Holly party. He also penned
other tunes for her: "Pretty Blue Eyes", "Golden Ring", "Never Make
You Cry" (from Behind the Sun) and "Pretty Girl" (from Money and
Cigarettes).

However, just like her marriage to Harrison, the outward image of the
perfect couple Clapton and Boyd projected masked deep pain and
struggle. His addictions led her to alcohol addiction, which he
documented with the song The Shape You're In. [4] She divorced him in
1988 after years of alcoholism on his part, as well as numerous
affairs. Pattie herself was never able to conceive children [5] .

Harrison and Clapton remained very good friends despite the struggle
with Pattie. Clapton cited his reasons for being with Pattie as human
nature, moreover pointing out that it was not done with ill-will
towards Harrison. Clapton even organized, emceed, and performed at the
Concert For George, the commemoration concert for George Harrison
following his death.
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
John Lennon and Mick Jagger were known to have had crushes on Pattie,
with the latter admitting in the 1980s that he'd tried (but failed) to
seduce her for years. She also had a brief affair with future Rolling
Stone Ronnie Wood during the fall of 1973, as her marriage to Harrison
was ending. Ronnie Wood and his then wife, Chrissie, were guests of
George and Pattie Harrison for a month at their home, Friar Park,
where George and Ronnie were recording together. After a few weeks
George invited Chrissie Wood on a holiday to Portugal and then to
Switzerland - with her husband's blessing.
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
Left behind Ronnie Wood and Pattie then traveled to the Bahamas with
other friends including Mick Jagger - and were discovered by the press
upon their return landing at London airport on November 25, 1973 -
thus intensifying rumors in the press about the Harrison marriage.
However, Boyd left Wood heartbroken, influencing yet another
musician's recordings, such as the songs "Breathe on Me" and
"Mystifies Me".
Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton
Pattie's younger sister Jenny Boyd (born Helen Mary Boyd, but
nicknamed Jenny after one of Pattie's childhood dolls) also
experienced a musician love triangle: she was the muse for some of
Donovan's pop hits, most notably "Jennifer Juniper." However she
eventually chose Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac fame, marrying
Fleetwood in 1970 and bearing him two daughters.

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton Photography

An exhibition of photographs taken by Boyd during her days with
Harrison and Clapton opened at the San Francisco Art Exchange on
Valentine's Day 2005, titled "Through the Eye of a Muse." The
exhibition also ran again in San Francisco in February 2006, and for
six weeks in June/July 2006 in London.

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton Autobiography

Wonderful Today: The Autobiography of Pattie Boyd due to be published
in England on August 23, 2007 by Hodder Headline Review and in the
U.S. on August 28, 2007 by Harmony Books, includes her own
photographs. It was written with journalist Penny Junor. The
63-year-old Boyd lives in a 17th-century cottage in West Sussex and is
said to be enjoying the prospect of her account going head-to-head
with Clapton's autobiography.[6]

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton References

Pattie Boyd-Harrison or Pattie Clapton * Leopold T. Harrison,
Clapton and their muse: Pattie Boyd's life and images put classic rock
era in focus. CNN.com, February 3, 2005. Accessed on October 6 2005.