Back in the 1960s, Jenny Boyd and her sister Pattie were top models in Britain, being courted by rock stars and living a jet-set life. Serenaded by Donovan on his 1968 Hurdy Gurdy Man album with the Top 5 UK single “Jennifer Juniper” and marriage to drummer Mick Fleetwood, the middle Boyd daughter ended up following a different path in her life: academia and psychology.
Still just as lovely at 76, Boyd spent this past weekend in NYC at The Fest For Beatles Fans, and on February 13th, an update of her 2013 book, Icons Of Rock: In Their Own Words, will be officially released. Not your run-of-the-mill music book, Boyd has always been interested in creativity, especially how musicians write songs. Having access to some of the world’s most famous artists – George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Don Henley – gave Boyd a chance to pick their brains about the muse that haunts them and how they capture the transcendental images she releases. Featuring over 75 songwriters and running 432 pages, this book is truly a holy grail for those who wonder how a song is given birth.
Boyd earned her degrees over time, ending up with a Masters in Counseling Psychology and a PhD in Humanities. Before that, the mother of two daughters with Fleetwood had been a rising star in London. Not only a model, she also worked at The Beatles Apple shop and helped run a clothing store in the heart of Flower Power San Francisco. She traveled to India with her sister, The Beatles, and the infamous Maharishi.
Boyd had spent her earliest years in Kenya on her grandparents’ estate, which sister Pattie described in her 2007 autobiography Wonderful Tonight, “stood at the bottom of a long, winding gravel drive … with glorious views in every direction across the game reserve that surrounded it.” As idyllic as that may sound, it was not perfect, with barely-there parents who divorced and remarried other people. Jenny’s own memoir, Jennifer Juniper, was released in 2020.
With both of us having busy schedules, we decided upon an email interview right before Boyd left for the Fest. She wrote about updating her book, talks with Sinead O’Connor and Eric Clapton, and what she learned from their revelations on creativity.
When did you decide that you wanted to update your Musicians In Tune book and what did you want to add to it?
I decided to update Musicians In Tune at the end of 2022 and worked on it for most of last year. I had 8 of my original audiotapes from the 1988 – 1990 interviews and I wanted to include them in the new book in their entirety. These interviews, which had never been heard or seen before, were of Joni Mitchell, George Harrison, Ringo, Eric Clapton, Don Henley, Graham Nash, Ravi Shankar, and Tony Williams. The interviews from the original book are still there but under the heading of each individual artist rather than parts of their interview in different chapter headings to do with the creative process. I also wanted to interview four current musicians to show the reader the difference between the music world in the late eighties compared to the present day.
What fascinated you about the creative process, especially with musicians and their songs?
What fascinated and inspired me, was reading psychologist Abraham Maslow’s book about the transcendent moments in a Peak Experience and how much more likely it is to take play during artistic, athletic or religious activities. I had experienced these moments occasionally while writing and I wanted to know more, I wanted to know if the musicians I interviewed ever felt any of their songs came through them.
When and how did you realize that you wanted to pursue a degree in Psychology? Was that sparked by something in particular? And how long did it take for you to pursue this?
I read Carl Jung’s book Memories, Dreams and Reflections in my early teens and was fascinated by it. I was always a deep thinker, trying to make sense of the world I was brought up in, wondering if there was more to life other than the mundane. I was a spiritual seeker, which seemed to resonate with what made people tick. I’d already got my Masters in Counselling Psychology, but after a short bout of counseling, I realized I didn’t want to become a therapist. What I wanted to do was research and knew that if I went for a PhD at the college I was already attending in LA, I would have to write a dissertation.
Of all the musicians you talked to for the book, did anyone’s creative process surprise you, and how so?
I was surprised by American singer-songwriter and guitarist Stephen Bishop’s description of what gave him the drive to create. His stepfather hated rock and roll, and so Stephen would shut himself in the bedroom closet, trying to finish off a song or a melody before his angry stepfather returned home. That became his drive.
What did you find similar in all these artists regarding creativity?
Except for Stephen, they all had nurturing parents or grandparents, or in the case of George Harrison, the man down the street, who encouraged them with their creativity. Another thing that surprised me was they all had humility, and this was because of the Peak Experience they felt while composing songs or playing their instrument. At times it would feel as if the words or the music was coming through them. Certain songs they had no memory of writing, it was as if they were channels to a higher power.
I’d like to ask you about a few particular artists, starting with Sinead O’Connor whom we lost last year. You wrote in her intro that you “had the feeling she rarely felt listened to.” Can you elaborate more on your thoughts about her and how she may have confirmed that to you?
After doing my interview with Sinead, she came to my house in Malibu a couple of times with one of her friends and her small son. She wanted to borrow my daughter’s old teddy bear for her son to play with. I could tell she enjoyed being there and talking to me and my kids. I think the questions I’d asked her in our interview touched something deep inside her and allowed her to feel that someone understands her. Maybe because there was a sense of familiarity, she felt safe enough to open up.
Regarding Peter Green, you wrote that it was the first time you had seen “creativity become a disruptive force.” Knowing him personally, can you describe him from that earliest time to how you saw him change, personally and creatively? Was he such a sensitive soul?
Peter was a sensitive soul; you could just tell when you saw him play. His persona, when I first met him while both of us were in our late teens, showed him as an East End lad with mutton chop sideburns and a great sense of humor. A couple of years later when Fleetwood Mac was in full swing as a Blues band, gone were the mutton chops, jeans, and short hair, replaced by long hair, velvet trousers, and robes. It was the beginning of his dissatisfaction with playing the circuit for money, and the beginning of what was to become schizophrenia. I would see him occasionally during this time either on meds or without, but although I heard he did the occasional gig, I never got to see him play again.
I thought John McVie’s enthusiasm for creating music was very enlightening since we often see him as the quiet one, but his love for the art is unmistakable. Any comments on what you learned from him?
John was just always a very cool guy! It was a treat to interview him having known him for many years. He really opened up and revealed another side of himself.
You spoke with blues artists like BB King, Buddy Guy, and John Lee Hooker. Did you find they reached down to more of a spiritual place than modern songwriters tend to do?
The word ‘Spiritual’ has a different meaning when spoken about by one of the blues artists, it is more in the context of the religion, of their church. The other musicians described their Peak Experience as spiritual, as an all-encompassing feeling of a connection to something greater than themselves, when the moment, whether playing or writing a song, can become timeless.
Eric Clapton talked about “potentially life-taking experiences.” How did you see music saved his life?
Like any artist, these moments of feeling a connection to a higher power through their music which they all describe, feed their soul and allow them to have a deeper understanding of themselves. A lot of the musicians I interviewed, including Eric, believed they were here for a reason, a sense of destiny. He felt he’d been handed something to carry on in this generation and with that came a very strong sense of responsibility to do exactly that.
Was modeling satisfying for you?
It was for a short while, usually the photographers were young and easy to work with. I danced along catwalks to great music instead of the more traditional walk. I enjoyed working with Pattie, and it was during a time when models, photographers, and musicians often hung out together. It was fun until I needed to find out more about life.
What inspires you today?
Writing inspires me, connecting with other people, a beautiful sunset or sunrise, nature in general. Listening to music, dancing, and discussing creativity.
Who was the first real rock star you ever met and how/when did you meet them?
George Harrison in 1964. My sister introduced me to him when they both started going out with each other.
What song did you obsess over the most as a kid? And what about it do you think made it so much fun?
I was obsessed with listening to Buddy Holly when I was about eleven or twelve. It touched something deep inside me but also some of his songs made me want to dance.
What did you love – and not love – about living in Africa in your early childhood?
I loved the smell of the earth, the big skies during the day, and the twinkling stars at night. I didn’t like and was scared of the snakes.
What was something you learned about yourself while writing Jennifer Juniper that maybe you hadn’t realized before?
I have tenacity, even through the rejections from publishers, I just kept writing and never thought for a minute I would give it up. I felt as though I had found my voice and how it felt being true to myself.
And lastly, what’s up next for you?
Talking at the 50th anniversary at the BeatleFest in New York this coming weekend!! Just enjoying life, my family, my friends and being open to what presents itself next.
Portrait by Steve Bainbridge
