Jim O'Donnell

From Michael Lydon, a Founding Editor of ROLLING STONE: "Jim O'Donnell has a reporter's curiosity, a rock 'n' roller's heart, and he writes like a lyrical Irish poet." About the Author Jim O'Donnell is a longtime music writer whose work is in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame library in Cleveland. He received his first professional newspaper byline for a sports story in 1969. Since that time, his features, profiles, columns and essays have focused mostly on rock 'n' roll. His work has been...See more

From Michael Lydon, a Founding Editor of ROLLING STONE: "Jim O'Donnell has a reporter's curiosity, a rock 'n' roller's heart, and he writes like a lyrical Irish poet." About the Author Jim O'Donnell is a longtime music writer whose work is in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame library in Cleveland. He received his first professional newspaper byline for a sports story in 1969. Since that time, his features, profiles, columns and essays have focused mostly on rock 'n' roll. His work has been syndicated in newspapers ranging from the San Francisco Chronicle to the Cleveland Plain Dealer to the Boston Herald. O'Donnell has written several books, including The Rock Book (Pinnacle, 1975), Born to Rock (Peacock, 1981), Wonderful Tonight (Hall of Fame, 1993) and The Day John Met Paul (Penguin, 1996; Routledge, 2006). The Day John Met Paul details the day John Lennon met Paul McCartney in Liverpool in 1957. The book was internationally acclaimed. Pete Shotton, John Lennon's best friend in their younger years, said: "Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. This is a realistic portrayal of Lennon as a teenager. O'Donnell gets it right." Bob Molyneux, who taped John Lennon playing on the day he met Paul McCartney, said: "It was absolutely incredible to have the day brought back so perfectly. I couldn't have told the story more accurately myself." The Day John Met Paul has been published in several languages, ranging from Japanese to Czech to French, and is available in an audio edition read by Rod Davis, a personal friend of John Lennon. O'Donnell has appeared frequently on CNN Radio and has done many television interviews. His biggest TV moment came when he didn't appear on the screen at all, but rather had his name show up in a Jeopardy question. The contestant answered correctly for $400. He holds a Master's Degree from St. Peter's College and studied journalism under New Journalism pioneer Richard Goldstein at New York University. He has also completed graduate courses in Creative Writing and The Teaching of Writing at Harvard University. Whether sitting front-row-center at an Eric Clapton concert in New York City, or standing front-row-center at the gates of Strawberry Field in Liverpool, O'Donnell has traveled the globe as a journalist for many years, searching out stories. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. See less