Read Hard or Die

Body Count is an autobiographical account of one woman's sexual exploits during the 1960's. Unfortunately, those exploits are less than noteworthy to say the least. Although the author seems to see herself as something of a emancipated woman and sexual outlaw, her own words paint a somewhat different picture. For much of the book, she is more of a neurotic Helen Gurley Brown Sex and the Single Girl square as opposed to a hipster. The sex is hetero and vanilla, and considering that it was the time of "free love," the number of men she engages in trysts with seems quite average. Since this pre-dates the 70's Women's Lib movement, the men in her life treat her like complete shit, which she strangely seems to be fine with. Worst of all, the author considers herself something an sexual intellectual, but her writing is for the most part vacuous drivel. Simply put, she is no Anais Nin. Then again, what can you expect from a book about sex written by someone named Francie Schwartz, possibly the least sexiest name of all time.

The book's saving grace is the chapter in which she details her brief time working for Apple Records and her affair with Paul McCartney during the recording of the White Album. Her depiction of Sir Paul is a far cry from the cheery, "cute" Beatle we all know and love. Rather, he comes off as burned out and depressed. Befitting the harder edged sound of some of the White Album, his drugs of choice are the scotch and speed of his Hamburg days as opposed to the pot and LSD of the psychedelic Pepper's era. Most shocking of all, he is not afraid to get a little physical when he feels that his woman has stepped out of line.

As a side note, this book only adds to my mystification regarding Paul's tastes in the lady department. Ok, Linda can be explained as proof that love is blind, but judging by the picture on the cover, Francie Schwartz was not exactly what I would call a looker. Then you have his second wife, the one legged model. Yes, she is attractive but SHE ONLY HAS ONE FUCKING LEG! On top of which, her post-divorce behavior leads me to believe that she is something of a psycho. Adding to the confusion, I remember hearing a radio interview once where Paul said that Yoko came to him first but he sent he over to John, apparently because she wasn't up to his standards!?!?!?! The mop tops should have taken a page from the Stones' playbook: Bianca, Anita Pallenberg, Jean Shrimpton, etc. etc. How is it that when the boys were at their peak, arguably the biggest rock stars of all time, George, the ugliest Beatle, had by far the best looking wife?

Body Count was published in 1972 by Straight Arrow Books, a small press that only put out a limited number of titles, all of which have been out of print for some time. Most of the titles deal with some aspect of the counter culture, including the wonderfully titled Acid Facism and an autobiography by Hunter S. Thompson's lawyer, immortalized in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. This particular title seems to fetch a pretty penny among collectors, dealer's prices on Amazon ranging from $40 to as high as $150. I can only imagine that it is the Beatles' connection rather than the quality of the book itself that accounts for the interest.