John Lennon
[ 8 December 2009 ]
John Lennon was an incredible musician, writer & peace activist who is most well-known for his work with The Beatles.
Today marks 29 years since the day John Lennon was shot & killed outside his apartment in Manhattan. He had signed a copy of his latest album for his killer just a few hours beforehand. Years earlier, when asked in an interview how he thought he might die, he said, “I’ll probably be popped off by some loony.”
“We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it & leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it & nurture it.”
As a child, his aunt bought him a guitar even though she had her doubts about his claims that he would be famous one day. She said, “The guitar’s all very well, John, but you’ll never make a living out of it.”
When The Beatles were just starting out, they played a 48-night tour of Germany’s strip clubs. After they employed Brian Epstein as their manager, he told them they could be really big but that they would have to stop swearing, smoking & eating chicken on stage. He also wanted to put them in suits. Lennon initially resisted but eventually relented, saying, “I’ll wear a bloody balloon if somebody’s going to pay me”.
Their popularity grew, & Beatlemania took hold of the United Kingdom, with police officers regularly using high-pressure fire hoses to control crowds of screaming fans.
“You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!”
In August of 1964, The Beatles were introduced to marijuana by Bob Dylan in their hotel room in New York City, & a year later, Lennon & George Harrison were at dinner with their dentist when he spiked their coffees with LSD. The two experimented with it afterwards, with Ringo Starr & Paul McCartney joining them later. Lennon wrote “I Am The Walrus” while under the influence.
Lennon & McCartney were a legendary writing team. They usually wrote songs in hotel rooms after concerts or at one another’s homes. It took them about one or two hours to complete each one.
He caused controversy in the United States when he said, “Christianity will go. It will vanish & shrink… We’re more popular than Jesus now — I don’t know which will go first, rock & roll or Christianity.” The uproar was huge, with burnings of Beatles records & threats against Lennon’s life, & the band decided to stop touring.
Shortly afterward, he met Yoko Ono. He regarded her as a “magical being”, & said that he had never considered his chauvinistic attitudes towards women until he met her.
“You’re just left with yourself all the time, whatever you do anyway. You’ve got to get down to your own God in your own temple. It’s all down to you, mate.”
Today is also 40 years to the day since John Lennon & Yoko Ono launched their WAR IS OVER campaign. They had posters designed & posted across the world in major cities like New York, London, Tokyo, & Paris.
In a statement, he said, “This is part of our peace campaign. Our theme is that people have the power to stop things they don’t like, & wars must be the first thing.”
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace.”
Ways to celebrate John Lennon’s life:
Wear green (his favourite colour).
Listen to Double Fantasy, which was released only a month before he died. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year & is a goodie!
Download a WAR IS OVER poster in your language & set it as your desktop, photocopy it & staple it to lamp posts, stick a copy to the fridge, print it on a t-shirt, use it as your mantra, etc.
Queue up every single Beatles song you have & listen to them all day.
Eat a big bowl of cornflakes (his favourite food).
If you’re in New York City, go to the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park. People gather there every day on this year to sing songs & remember his life.
Hire Yellow Submarine & A Hard Day’s Night & watch them from your bed.
Play The Beatles RockBand with your best friends.
Think about how you can bring more peace & love into your life & the lives of others.
Follow Yoko Ono on Twitter.
Read memories of John, with letters, photos, postcards & more.
Look at the Imagine Peace Tower live from Reykjavik on webcam.
Spend time on (or around) a boat. Lennon’s song-writing muse came back while he sailed to Bermuda in 1980.
Watch WAR IS OVER! (below)
John Lennon didn’t invent rock & roll, nor did he embody it as toweringly as figures like Elvis Presley & Little Richard, but he did more than anyone else to shake it up, move it forward & instill it with a conscience. As the most daring & outspoken of the four Beatles, he helped shape the agenda of the Sixties – socially & politically, no less than musically. As a solo artist, he made music that alternately disturbed & soothed, provoked & sought community. As a human being, he served as an exemplar of honesty in his art & life. As Jann Wenner wrote in the foreword to a collection of writings entitled The Ballad of John & Yoko, “Of the many things that will be long remembered about John Lennon – his genius as a musician & singer, his wit & literary swiftness, his social intuition & leadership – among the most haunting was the stark, unembarrassed commitment of his life, his work & his undernourished frame to truth, to peace & to humanity.” (Source)
A BBC poll ranked Lennon as the eighth greatest Briton of all time, & Rolling Stone magazine declared him the fifth greatest singer ever.
“Yeah we all shine on, like the moon, & the stars, & the sun.”
RADICAL self-love & stardust,
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It’s so sad that all those who speak the truth perish.
I live right across the park from John Lennon’s old apartment. Every time I cross the park & reach Strawberry Field, my iPod supernaturally starts playing all my Beatles songs. Every time! It’s amazing.
I visited Strawberry Field in Liverpool today. I live not far away and it seemed appropriate. Combined with a long meditation session today has turned out to be pretty surreal.
AJ
I’ve gone on his birthday and deathday to Strawberry Fields in NYC and it’s always an amazing experience. I wish I could have gone this year, but it didn’t work out. Perhaps next year :)
I was just trying to decide which of my husband’s John Lennon shirts to wear today…R.I.P. you lovely man. :(
Aw, I really enjoyed this, John Lennon was a cool guy, but he was more importantly on it completely. His philosophy reminds me a lot of Thoughts Become Things (A fabulous little lesson I have learnt from your site, so thank you.)
I’ve always been a little curious about your music tastes, if you don’t mind me saying! I’ve just recently started listening to a lot of good hip hop/rap which you seem to have an educated taste for, and I have little idea about to tell the truth. Any pointers would be ace!
x
I’ve been really getting into The Beatles lately. I’m totally playing Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club when I leave for school.
I used to live 2 doors down from one of Lennon’s dens in Liverpool (it is a beautiful house, here in fact :P www.youtube.com/watch?v=zicLJJ… ), tourists were always outside my house as the magical mystery tour bus took them right by! I was so proud living on that terrace I used to always tell everyone what that building was :) hehe.
Unfortunately Liverpool has TOTALLY cashed in on the Beatles, it’s Beatles everywhere. They knocked down a lot of DIY/independent/alternative stores as the owner was forced to sell (it was THE hub of alt culture in the city) in lieu of a Beatles themed hotel as Liverpool was 2008 capital(ist) of culture and had loads of money invested in it. I thought that was really bad and totally against the spirit :/ Though, if anyone needs a Beatles fix, go to Liverpool for sure.
I just started listening to The Beatles and I really enjoy them. I also love Yoko on Twitter, she’s fab and super positive
John Lennon is magnificent, and definitely one of my greatest life inspirations. The Beatles are my favourite band of all time!
Have you seen the exhibit about him on the Rock’n‘Roll Hall of Fame Annex? I was there earlier this year, and it was amazing. Even though this sounds a bit loony, I could actually feel his presence in the room, as if he was watching us, you know? My little sister – she’s 12 – is a big Beatles fan too, and she cried the whole time during the exhibition, because she could feel it too. She’s an amazing little girl, my sister, but that’s not really the point.
Let’s celebrate John Lennon, he deserves it. It makes me mad to think he was killed in such a way…
Merci beaucoup for posting this, Gala! ‘Tis beautiful :).
My friends are big Beetles fans, and they would appreciate this! It’s always terrible when a peace-maker moves on. (But it’s nice to know that they are in a better place!)
I really like the lyrics to Beatles songs, but I don’t tend to like the melodies. I love Hey Jude though. And Strawberry Fields Forever.
Have you seen Across the Universe? I really like the movie and all the music! :)
He didn’t say that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, he said that to their fans, the Beatles were more important than their religion.
I get to commemorate Lennon every day… my boyfriend, Lennon, is named after him :) I love his hippie parents. And him. And his namesake. (and your website)
Hey AHEM
Maybe you should do some research before you chime in claiming you know what you’re talking about:
www.time.com/time/magazine/art…
John has also said a lot of other things. A few months ago, he told a London reporter: “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that: I’m right, and I will be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus Christ now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”
First with the “Everything is going to be all right” post and now John Lennon? Gala you are really having an especially awesome content week!
I have never been so moved by a piece of journalism in my life. Thank you.
I Love John Lennon.
Great piece, it really gives a strong imprint on who J.L. really was. (This is speaking as someone who generally dislikes the Beatles, too – except for Long, Long, Long.) Enjoyed the “this is what he would have liked if he was still alive” aspect, too – that’s what I like to focus on, not his absence from the world.
It makes me a little sad that Lennon gets all of the attention today, though, since it’s also the fifth anniversary of Dimebag Darrell’s death. (He was in Pantera.) He always seemed like a sweet dude, was reportedly awesome to his fans.
“Maybe it’s not on top of the charts, but we’re still standing strong. So we’ll be here forever. United and hard we stand.”
“When I tried to play something and screwed up, I’d hear some other note that would come into play. Then I started trying different things to find the beauty in it.”
RIP Dimebag. :(
Great!
Thank you.
Today’s also Jim Morrison’s birthday, and the anniversary of Tom Jobim’s death. Jobim was one of the greatest brazilian composers ever, and I’m good friends with one of his grandsons.
Lindsey — The kicker is that everyone dies, eventually. It’s all about what you do with the time you have here, no matter how long or short, I think! xo
Alzy — That IS amazing, I love it!
Unlaced — As soon as I saw your comment I started drafting up a piece on albums I think everyone should hear. Thank you for the idea!
Miss Sofia — Nope, I’ve never been… That is an eerie but beautiful story!
Mausumi — No, unfortunately! I’ve heard a lot about it. I have seen very few movies in general, for example, I have never seen Breakfast At Tiffany’s. I know, I am that person. Haha! Anyway maybe I will make up for it this winter!
Amanda — Aw, that’s lovely. & thank you!
E. Bleak — I have a lot of love for Dimebag! Pantera were one of my favourite bands when I was a teenager :>
Miss Sofia — Also the day Buddha reached enlightenment! Go go 8th December go!
E. Bleak – I was just going to say that today is also the 5th anniversary of Dime’s death. I wrote a tribute on my own blog and have been pumping the Pantera all day.
Trust me, in the metal community, no one matters more than Dimebag today. There are tribute gigs all over the world (I’m going to one tonight) and all over the internet people are sharing their songs and videos and memories.
John Lennon – whether you like him or not – playing such an important part in music history. And he made the world a better place by existing. So did Dimebag. That’s something worthy of admiration.
I visited the Strawberry Fields Memorial a few yrs ago. It was a wonderful experience! Lots of love was felt that day. Thank you for posting this. :)
Thank you for posting this! Its so easy to forget. Working Class Hero is the song that means the most to me. It reminds me of my family. One day when I get to New York eventually, Strawberry Fields is a certain stop for me.
I shall wear my John Lennon Chuck Taylors tonight to the Gallery opening I am going to, just for him. Once again, thank you Gala!
So, update. I wore my husband’s “LENNON LIVES” shirt to work and somebody told me that John Lennon is in hell for those Beatles > Jesus comments. My job prevented me from saying anything back, but eh, I don’t believe in hell and if I did John Lennon certainly wouldn’t be there!
Thank you for this!
“If you’re in New York City, go to the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park. People gather there every day on this year to sing songs & remember his life.”
Do you mean they gather there every year on this day? :>
Fantastic post, Lived in Liverpool for a good few years, was able to see some of the haunts. x
http://theguiltyhyena.blogspot.com
Very thoughtful tribute! There’s a new of John Lennon out that starts with the infamous “Jesus” line and follows Lennon’s evolving spiritual views. It’s called “The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography” from Quest Books. Lennon was an early pioneer in the men’s liberation, guided meditation (“imagine”), and global peace movements.
There’s an excerpt from the book at tinyurl.com/yg4bkjt that ponders, “What Would John Do?” I think it’s likely he would have been recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize by now. He certainly deserves it more than some recent recipients.
I’m going to print WAR IS OVER and SOTA ON OHI (Finnish version) t-shirts for my friends and family as christmas presents. Maybe we can finally have at least a bit of peace for christmas!
wow. just wow.
why even bother anymore?
My 10 yr old daughter’s choir teacher only lets them sing Beatles Songs. War is Over is the one carol they sing each year at the Recognition night.
She keeps bringing these perfect little pop tunes home raving about them and then is surprised that not only her parents but also grandparents know all the words!
DUUDEEEE YOU HAVEEEEE HAVE HAVEEEEEE TO WATCH ACROSS THE UNIVERSE AMAZING MUSIC, AMAZING DIRECTION...
AND WATCH THE MAKING OF…IT’S LONG BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT
JULIE TAYMOR’S AMAZING
SHE ALSO DIRECTED FRIDA (ABOUT FRIDA KAHLO) AND I HONESTLY EXPECTED IT TO BE CRAP (BEING MEXICAN OF COURSE) BUT I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT…
DO WATCH IT GALA (+ BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S TOO!!!)
XX!
I love john lennon!
I love john lennon!~
I love john lennon!~~
John Lennon was just an amazing person and definitely my favorite beatle. His creativity will always be an inspiration to every artist out there doing what they love.
Although not many people know, his creativity came from Cold Spring Harbor environment as well, the place where he spent the last years of his life.
i love him!
have doco’s and books of quotes and a fab poster of his on my wall! he is such an inspiration to me. John and Yoko were the greatest. :)
I hope and believe that in my last life i was in the 60’s, Woodstocking it!! X)
xx