| Dec. 8, 1980 | | Date Created: Dec 08, 2004, 03:41 PM |
 I am always quite melancholy on this, the eighth day of the twelfth month. It marks the anniversary of the death of John Lennon. It's not the same sense of loss as thinking of my grandparents who have passed, but Lennon has had a profound impact on me from my earliest days.
I'm not sure if this is true, but it's a great story, so I'll continue to tell it. It's been suggested that "Beatles" was the first word I could utter as an infant. (That'll make a great scene in the movie... heh heh heh)
Forty years later, I'm still working through unresolved anger from being left home at the age of three while mom and my aunt took the train to Kansas City to see the Beatles live at the aging baseball stadium. They had tried to keep it secret, but somehow, in my pea-sized three-year-old brain, I had figured it out. Damn them for leaving me behind.
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 The Beatles' brilliance as a band - Lennon and McCartney doing their best to out-do each other like Ali and Frazier making each vastly better together than individually - is unquestioned, but Lennon's influence on a social and intellectual basis is nearly as profound.
It was second grade - maybe third - when the principal of the rural grade school I attended began badgering me about my hair. Dearest god - it was touching my collar and he insisted I get it cut... very soon. It became an ongoing battle between him, me and my hair. As a youngster, I knew nothing of the concept of rebellion, but I knew my hair was shorter than John Lennon's and I knew that made my flat-topped, holier-than-thou principal an asshole. OK, well, maybe not that graphic, but it was my first rock-and-roll moment (other than falling out of a moving pick-up truck at a very young age, but THAT is another blog for another day). |
 I don't have the time nor the energy at the moment to outline all of the ways Lennon influenced me, but I find as I age, I listen less to his music and read more of his writings and interviews. He was a brilliant musician, comedian, writer, artist and pacifist, but he was much more compelling for admitting and confronting his faults and his weaknesses. He struggled to rise above and beyond being 'only' a rock-and-roll star, acting out every fantasy and indulgence of a child whose father left him at a young age and who also saw his mom die after being hit by a car.
He eventually retired from music for five years to become Mr. Mom, raising his son Sean. He and his wife - the incredibly unpopular Yoko Ono - had just released a new album shortly before he was shot outside of his apartment building in New York. His unconditional love for her despite the media and public uproar was merely the manifestation of his life-long art...
Recommended Lennon Material:
--- The fact that the Beatles entire album output (13 albums - counting the superior British versions - not the chopped American versions and the now endless compilations) were recorded in the span of eight years is mind-blowing. The astronomic artistic growth is amazing - not to mention the band also made three films while Lennon did books of sketches and poetry in that timeframe as well. (Today's arguably best rock band, U2, has released only two new CDs in the past eight years.) Nearly any Beatles album is worth the purchase, but I'd lean toward these:
Rubber Soul: The middle-period Beatles that spawned years of 70s and 80s power-pop bands. Although the cliche says Lennon was the 'rocker' and McCartney was the "melody' guy, the truth is, both writers had peaks both loud and quiet. Listen for Lennon's "Norwegian Wood" on Rubber Soul. One of the greatest melodies ever.
Revolver: A great album balanced between acoustic, electric and eccentric. The tipping point between their rock era and the psychedelic era that spawned "Sgt, Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band."
The Beatles (The White Album): As the band splintered, the White Album (a double LP) became a series of almost solo efforts as the four bandmates fueded. It includes some of Lennon's most raw material and the emergence of George Harrison as a serious songwriter. If this were to have been edited into a single album of only the best material, would have been even more mind-blowing.
Beatles for Beginners: 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 double-length twin Best-of's...
John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band: Does not include "Imagine," his greatest single solo song, but is as raw and emotional as any album I own. The pain of "Mother," the insightful "Working Class Hero" and "God" all make this one a must.
Books:
In His Own Write: I've included a segment before in this blog... it includes surreal, hilarious poems, sketches and short stories.
The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon and Yoko Ono: his final, comprehensive interviews are a study in intelligence and humor.
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A complete hoax: I won't give the web address because it will only promote the lies further, but a story that appeared in today's Roanoke Times regarding a woman riding with Junior at Homestead and hanging out in his "office" at Martinsville is a complete fabrication. (Hint one: "I looked at the speedometer..." Hey baby: Cup cars don't have speedometers... heh heh)
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