John Lennon . . . 43 Years Is A Long Time

[drjohncarpenter]

Remember.





Beatles "She Said She Said" Revolver (Parlophone 7009, August 5, 1966)
Last song completed for revolutionary new LP, June 21, 1966. Days later the band was on stage in Germany.



Shimmering. Cosmic. Rocking. Perfection.



'

[r&b]

I will never forget. I was sitting in a diner having late night pie & coffee when the news came on the TV. You could have heard a pin drop.

[drjohncarpenter]

I will never forget. I was sitting in a diner having late night pie & coffee when the news came on the TV. You could have heard a pin drop.

We are at a point now where the kids today have no idea about December 8, 1980. John was planning to tour in 1981. I was planning to see him.

At the time his death was announced I went numb, closed off everything, and took the cynical route. "Life is bullshit," I said to myself. Then, for the next three days, every single radio station played Beatles and Lennon solo tracks. It was surreal.

2019's "Yesterday," directed by Danny Boyle, is kind of a salve for this nightmare event. If you haven't seen it, find it online at Hulu or Amazon Prime. Lots of wonderful moments, one in particular is jaw-dropping.

Thanks for the post.


'

[drjohncarpenter]

Critic and historian Greil Marcus wrote something wonderful about how John's band was different, decided it's worth reading here.

Greil Marcus.jpg

Ask Greil: December 5

Having missed most of the Golden Age of Top 40 (I was born in 1965), I'm fond of listening to Dave Hoeffel's weekly countdowns from the 1960s on SiriusXM to get a sense of what pop radio was like then.

I know it wasn't always golden. The most recent countdown he did was from Dec. 7, 1963. "Dominique" at No. 1. "Sugar Shack" (which you single out in your Beatles essay) at No. 6. Johnny Tillotson, Jack Jones, mediocre Neil Sedaka... alongside, admittedly, Beach Boys and Dion and Motown and even "I'm Leaving It All Up to You," which I think of fondly partly because its bored guitar solo reminds me of the hilarious one in the Bonzo Dog Band's "Canyons of Your Mind."

How did you get through it before that Beatles jolt of energy? What stations did you listen to, and what were the DJs like?

(And yeah, I know there was always something, even after the Beatles. I can't imagine hearing "The Ballad of the Green Berets" several times a day.) —TODD LEOPOLD

Those were terrible years for people who lived on the radio, as I did. There was Motown, and the occasional far left field What IS That? like Jimmy Soul’s (sure, right, whatever) “If You Wanna Be Happy,” but the morass was so killing I found myself spending most of my time away from Top 40 and over at KSFO, to a nightfly DJ obsessed with how all of American culture was turning ‘beige’ and played standards when he wasn’t talking. That’s when I learned something about Frank Sinatra, and treasure to this day his album No One Cares and the perfect expansion of “I Can’t Get Started with You.” KPFA was playing “Please Please Me” and “There’s a Place” (by the Beetles? From England? Like Acker Bilk?) in the spring of 1963 in the Bay Area, and while they were thrills they didn’t connect outside of themselves.

With the appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan there truly was a sea change, an instant explosion. The day after, if not the same night, there was a new spring in people’s step, a new energy, an urge to go out and find yourself and the world. I’m not sure if they excavated a new zeitgeist waiting to breathe or if they were their own zeitgeist the world attached itself to. As new songs and new hits tumbled out of the radio there was a sense of anticipation that ruled the day.

Martha and the Vandellas’ 1963 “Heat Wave” was probably a better record than anything the Beatles or the Rolling Stones released in the US in 1964 (they would have been the first to say so) but it seemed to exist in its own world that you were privileged to see. It didn’t seem to make its own new world that you could live in, and the Beatles did. (Motown didn’t remake the map of the country until just later, with the chart takeover of the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Miracles’ “The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage,” which was better than “I Can’t Get Started with You”). It was completely right that Robert Christgau called his great piece on the Beatles’ end “Living without the Beatles”— for what seemed like a generation, with a few years feeling like a whole, lived lifetime, people did live in a world they and the Beatles had made together. It wasn’t a dream that could be declared over. It was a world that, for a thousand reasons, all captured at the end of 1969 in “Gimmie Shelter,” had shifted on its axis. Keith Richards said he wrote the song on a stormy day, but as the song finished itself, it brought a greater storm into view.


https://greilmarcus.substack.com/p/ask-greil-december-5

[ORION]

Sadly, I was late to the party when it comes to John's music. I was always a big Beatles' fan, but just as it was with their solo stuff, I always found myself gravitating towards the "cute Beatle." Maybe I'm just a sucker for "Silly Love Songs." However, as the years have passed and my musical tastes have matured, I have come to appreciate much, much more of John's music. Looking back, while a senior in high school, I did purchase the "Double Fantasy" album and even the 8-track for the '66 Mustang I cruised around. I enjoyed it a great deal, but always skipped Yoko's music (????). I even vividly recall the shock of hearing the announcement of John's death as it was announced during an ABC broadcast of Monday Night Football. Imagine (no pun intended here) learning of John's death from Howard Cosell..?

43 years... Have mercy. In the years since, my Lennon collection has increased greatly, I no longer have that old Mustang, and I've been fortunate enough to see the cute Beatle a few times (incredible shows), and I really do like the Beatles' new single.

Thanks for opening the floodgate of memories, Doc.

[r&b]

Critic and historian Greil Marcus wrote something wonderful about how John's band was different, decided it's worth reading here.

Ask Greil: December 5

Having missed most of the Golden Age of Top 40 (I was born in 1965), I'm fond of listening to Dave Hoeffel's weekly countdowns from the 1960s on SiriusXM to get a sense of what pop radio was like then.

I know it wasn't always golden. The most recent countdown he did was from Dec. 7, 1963. "Dominique" at No. 1. "Sugar Shack" (which you single out in your Beatles essay) at No. 6. Johnny Tillotson, Jack Jones, mediocre Neil Sedaka... alongside, admittedly, Beach Boys and Dion and Motown and even "I'm Leaving It All Up to You," which I think of fondly partly because its bored guitar solo reminds me of the hilarious one in the Bonzo Dog Band's "Canyons of Your Mind."

How did you get through it before that Beatles jolt of energy? What stations did you listen to, and what were the DJs like?

(And yeah, I know there was always something, even after the Beatles. I can't imagine hearing "The Ballad of the Green Berets" several times a day.) —TODD LEOPOLD

Those were terrible years for people who lived on the radio, as I did. There was Motown, and the occasional far left field What IS That? like Jimmy Soul’s (sure, right, whatever) “If You Wanna Be Happy,” but the morass was so killing I found myself spending most of my time away from Top 40 and over at KSFO, to a nightfly DJ obsessed with how all of American culture was turning ‘beige’ and played standards when he wasn’t talking. That’s when I learned something about Frank Sinatra, and treasure to this day his album No One Cares and the perfect expansion of “I Can’t Get Started with You.” KPFA was playing “Please Please Me” and “There’s a Place” (by the Beetles? From England? Like Acker Bilk?) in the spring of 1963 in the Bay Area, and while they were thrills they didn’t connect outside of themselves.

With the appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan there truly was a sea change, an instant explosion. The day after, if not the same night, there was a new spring in people’s step, a new energy, an urge to go out and find yourself and the world. I’m not sure if they excavated a new zeitgeist waiting to breathe or if they were their own zeitgeist the world attached itself to. As new songs and new hits tumbled out of the radio there was a sense of anticipation that ruled the day.

Martha and the Vandellas’ 1963 “Heat Wave” was probably a better record than anything the Beatles or the Rolling Stones released in the US in 1964 (they would have been the first to say so) but it seemed to exist in its own world that you were privileged to see. It didn’t seem to make its own new world that you could live in, and the Beatles did. (Motown didn’t remake the map of the country until just later, with the chart takeover of the Supremes, the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Miracles’ “The Love I Saw in You Was Just a Mirage,” which was better than “I Can’t Get Started with You”). It was completely right that Robert Christgau called his great piece on the Beatles’ end “Living without the Beatles”— for what seemed like a generation, with a few years feeling like a whole, lived lifetime, people did live in a world they and the Beatles had made together. It wasn’t a dream that could be declared over. It was a world that, for a thousand reasons, all captured at the end of 1969 in “Gimmie Shelter,” had shifted on its axis. Keith Richards said he wrote the song on a stormy day, but as the song finished itself, it brought a greater storm into view.


https://greilmarcus.substack.com/p/ask-greil-december-5

Good reading. I love Dave's show, it is my favorite on Sirius and try and catch it every week. 1963 holds a special place for me. I was constantly buying 45s and listening to my transistor. 1962-65 I was record buying crazy . Dec. 1963 was not the greatest countdown but I had most of the records except for the Singing Nun, Jack Jones, and Tillotson. I actually liked Sugar Shack! It was a special time growing up, and Elvis was still hitting the top 10 (Bossa Nova Baby) altho I really started to dislike the soundtrack LPs. The music all changed within a few months which pissed off some of my older friends who still loved Doo-Wop. But the Big Bang # 2 had started and there was no stopping it now. Most of the American artists of the 50's and early 60's had little future success. But The Beach Boys, Motown, 4 Seasons , and Spector still did. And newer artists like Johnny Rivers were hitting big. Heck, even Dino , Roy, and Louis had #1 hits in 64 and Chuck was on the radio again. Elvis did nothing of note in the recording studio in 64 (Viva was recorded in 63) except It Hurts Me which as we know should have been an A side. It was a tough time, but fans will say he still hit the top 20 as some kind of solace. But the music basically sucked after 1963 . He should have been competing on the charts , on TV and on tour, but we cant change history.

[drjohncarpenter]

Good reading. I love Dave's show, it is my favorite on Sirius and try and catch it every week. 1963 holds a special place for me. I was constantly buying 45s and listening to my transistor. 1962-65 I was record buying crazy . Dec. 1963 was not the greatest countdown but I had most of the records except for the Singing Nun, Jack Jones, and Tillotson. I actually liked Sugar Shack! It was a special time growing up, and Elvis was still hitting the top 10 (Bossa Nova Baby) altho I really started to dislike the soundtrack LPs. The music all changed within a few months which pissed off some of my older friends who still loved Doo-Wop. But the Big Bang # 2 had started and there was no stopping it now. Most of the American artists of the 50's and early 60's had little future success. But The Beach Boys, Motown, 4 Seasons , and Spector still did. And newer artists like Johnny Rivers were hitting big. Heck, even Dino , Roy, and Louis had #1 hits in 64 and Chuck was on the radio again. Elvis did nothing of note in the recording studio in 64 (Viva was recorded in 63) except It Hurts Me which as we know should have been an A side. It was a tough time, but fans will say he still hit the top 20 as some kind of solace. But the music basically sucked after 1963 . He should have been competing on the charts , on TV and on tour, but we cant change history.

Wonderful post from a first-gen fan. I recently lost one and it's still hard to process right now.

To have been growing up during the period Steve Van Zandt calls "the renaissance" must've been phenomenal. Art and commerce were intersecting like never before, and would never again.

No doubt Presley could've been right in the mix, but he wasn't. Such a waste of some prime years of his life, the Hollywood slide. This is why John quietly asked Elvis when he'd cut some rock 'n' roll records, during their enjoyable meet-and-greet at the singer's Bel Air home in August 1965. He still believed in his biggest hero, and wanted to see him make magic again.

I will say that Elvis did cut a few decent numbers in 1964. Sadly but rightfully, they are only known by the hardcore fans.

Memphis, Tennessee
It Hurts Me
Little Egypt
Roustabout (Blackwell, Scott)

[r&b]

Good reading. I love Dave's show, it is my favorite on Sirius and try and catch it every week. 1963 holds a special place for me. I was constantly buying 45s and listening to my transistor. 1962-65 I was record buying crazy . Dec. 1963 was not the greatest countdown but I had most of the records except for the Singing Nun, Jack Jones, and Tillotson. I actually liked Sugar Shack! It was a special time growing up, and Elvis was still hitting the top 10 (Bossa Nova Baby) altho I really started to dislike the soundtrack LPs. The music all changed within a few months which pissed off some of my older friends who still loved Doo-Wop. But the Big Bang # 2 had started and there was no stopping it now. Most of the American artists of the 50's and early 60's had little future success. But The Beach Boys, Motown, 4 Seasons , and Spector still did. And newer artists like Johnny Rivers were hitting big. Heck, even Dino , Roy, and Louis had #1 hits in 64 and Chuck was on the radio again. Elvis did nothing of note in the recording studio in 64 (Viva was recorded in 63) except It Hurts Me which as we know should have been an A side. It was a tough time, but fans will say he still hit the top 20 as some kind of solace. But the music basically sucked after 1963 . He should have been competing on the charts , on TV and on tour, but we cant change history.

Wonderful post from a first-gen fan. I recently lost one and it's still hard to process right now.

To have been growing up during the period Steve Van Zandt calls "the renaissance" must've been phenomenal. Art and commerce were intersecting like never before, and would never again.

No doubt Presley could've been right in the mix, but he wasn't. Such a waste of some prime years of his life, the Hollywood slide. This is why John quietly asked Elvis when he'd cut some rock 'n' roll records, during their enjoyable meet-and-greet at the singer's Bel Air home in August 1965. He still believed in his biggest hero, and wanted to see him make magic again.

I will say that Elvis did cut a few decent numbers in 1964. Sadly but rightfully, they are only known by the hardcore fans.

Memphis, Tennessee
It Hurts Me
Little Egypt
Roustabout (Blackwell, Scott)

Yes and while some fans looks at this as an insult I never did, because we long time fans were yearning for the same thing and less of the garbage found on the soundtracks. It was a legit question between 2 music icons. The 4 songs you listed were indeed the best of the bunch that year.

[drjohncarpenter]

Wonderful post from a first-gen fan. I recently lost one and it's still hard to process right now.

To have been growing up during the period Steve Van Zandt calls "the renaissance" must've been phenomenal. Art and commerce were intersecting like never before, and would never again.

No doubt Presley could've been right in the mix, but he wasn't. Such a waste of some prime years of his life, the Hollywood slide. This is why John quietly asked Elvis when he'd cut some rock 'n' roll records, during their enjoyable meet-and-greet at the singer's Bel Air home in August 1965. He still believed in his biggest hero, and wanted to see him make magic again.

I will say that Elvis did cut a few decent numbers in 1964. Sadly but rightfully, they are only known by the hardcore fans.

Memphis, Tennessee
It Hurts Me
Little Egypt
Roustabout (Blackwell, Scott)

Yes and while some fans looks at this as an insult I never did, because we long time fans were yearning for the same thing and less of the garbage found on the soundtracks. It was a legit question between 2 music icons. The 4 songs you listed were indeed the best of the bunch that year.

And in the case of Roustabout (Blackwell, Scott), fans had to wait 39+ years to hear it.

[Mister Mike]

2019's "Yesterday," directed by Danny Boyle, is kind of a salve for this nightmare event. If you haven't seen it, find it online at Hulu or Amazon Prime. Lots of wonderful moments, one in particular is jaw-dropping.

This one? I know it left me with a lump in my throat. Still does today.

[drjohncarpenter]

2019's "Yesterday," directed by Danny Boyle, is kind of a salve for this nightmare event. If you haven't seen it, find it online at Hulu or Amazon Prime. Lots of wonderful moments, one in particular is jaw-dropping.

This one? I know it left me with a lump in my throat. Still does today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ONU_H0EjIg

To be honest, I hope those who have not seen "Yesterday" hold off on watching any clips. Watching the finale of an unseen film kind of ruins the impact. It's a wonderful movie.

[Jaime1234]

My wife was in the process of throwing me the third or fourth of a cold bucket of water as I was listening to the BBC World Service when the news were announced at 2am, my time. Water was scarce where I then worked and that is how one took a shower, in an otherwise empty bathroom. A civil war which lasted 24 years. I was there for the first two, the deadliest. The office had 9 internationals, excluding 50 experts, and 100 locals, and at least three were killed by rebels and sundry renegades from three out of a possible four sides. That was of interest to me, not what had taken place over 10,000 km away.

On our next trip to NYC, in January of 1981, I toyed with the idea of leaving a note at the Dakota,as one of my aunts had lived there and I knew the porter, but decided not to.

A little less than a year later, and again as I was being thrown buckets of water, also at 2am, and also by my wife, the BBC World Service led that night with an announcement of the death, also by assassination, of someone I truly cared for. And that is when I wrote a letter to HIS wife, by then re-married and whom I knew like the back of my hand, and his children, all five friends of mine since my teen years. The two females amongst them, I had even dated.

Assassination is always "near" me, as my first wife's great grandad was assassinated as well, but AFTER he left the Presidency. Unreal and quite unusual. The father of a girl I dated (and serenated ), was also assassinated. She just left this country after spending 9 months under house arrest herself.

And, to cap it all, my great grandmother is the only woman in history who, while under house arrest, was almost assassinated by the Natianal Guardsmen who was supposed to stay, calmly, at her door stopping anyone who wanted to come in or come out ( not assassinating the woman INSIDE the home she owned...LOL). She outlived the national Guardsman...