What I’m Reading: Wonderful Tonight

Wonderful Tonight is an honest and compelling autobiography written by the woman who was both bride and muse to two of the most famous and talented rockstars in the 20th century – Pattie Boyd. Pattie Boyd was the inspiration for the Beatles song, “Something” (written by her then-husband, George Harrison of the Beatles) and then later the famous song, “Layla” written by her paramour and later husband, Eric Clapton. To many it seemed Pattie Boyd had it all – beauty, fame and the love of sought after rockstars. But as Pattie Boyd exposes in this honest accounting of her life, she suffered great setbacks and extreme failures due to the excesses of the rockstar life.

Pattie Boyd’s fame and fortune arguably happened by chance. Although she was an international model in the 1960’s attracting some attention, Pattie accidentally stole the heart of George Harrison in a chance bit acting job encounter in 1964 on the set of the movie “A Hard Day’s Night.” Pattie only had one line in this movie but she was delivering it to the Beatles. This sparked the chance meeting between Pattie and George that eventually culminated in their love affair and marriage. Pattie and the Beatle married in 1966. Within a few years of their union, Pattie found that despite their deep love for each other that George’s interest in psychedelic experiences and Eastern culture would poison their marriage. It is unsurprising that Pattie would eventually succumb to the advances of George’s friend, Eric Clapton. As her marriage to George Harrison failed (due to his love affair with meditation and other people) Eric Clapton’s rabid obsession with Pattie became more attractive to her, leading her down a dark path.

Pattie eventually embarked on a love affair with Eric Clapton. But this love affair was even more ill-fated than her failed marriage to George Harrison as Clapton was a complete drug addict with little empathy for others. Eric’s drug addictions coupled with his flagrant womanizing did not leave room for a healthy relationship. Instead it cultivated a culture of distrust and alcoholism between them. However eventually Eric did marry Pattie, sparking her hope they could have a happy future. She soon found that that was not to be as Eric went from just committing adultery to impregnating another woman. Since Pattie was never able to get pregnant herself, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Pattie finally left Eric with little but the clothes on her back.

Pattie initially found leaving Eric to be nearly unbearable as she had to start over being middle aged, childless, and alone without the fame and fortune she had once enjoyed. But soon Pattie picked up the pieces of her broken life and began to heal. Pattie got back into her photography and began dating a non-famous, kind man who treated her well. She found this to be very therapeutic and happily, learned to live life in a healthier way.

BOTTOM LINE: Unlike many celebrity memoirs which describe life events in austere, sterile ways (possibly to protect their reputations or mask their true vulnerabilities), Pattie Boyd does not attempt to mask or hide her true feelings and vulnerabilities. The reader will find this book to be both factual and sincere in its telling of life events. Although most readers will not be able to relate with Pattie’s extreme life of two rockstar marriages with famous songs dedicated to her, the reader may find it easy to relate with her humanity. Pattie’s description of her feelings, embarrassments, and losses is very compelling. And she goes out of her way not to besmirch her ex husbands, but to write about them as honestly and kindly as possible while also giving an honest accounting of what really happened. Ultimately Pattie has concluded that her marriage to George Harrison produced a lifelong friendship that ended when his life ended at the beginning of the 21st century.