A SITUATION WITH ICY IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY:
I have often thought with the current political climate in the world, what would John Lennon have thought of what was going on NOW? For example, John was no stranger back in the 70s in dealing with his own immigration problems. He had received a cannabis possession conviction in the UK in 1968, arrested by a police officer named Norman Pilcher who was himself later convicted of planting the narcotics on many of the celebrities he had arrested.
When John & Yoko in order to avoid the nastiness of the UK press decided to move permanently to America, that was to mark the beginning of a serious immigration problem for John. When the Nixon administration perceived Lennon as a political threat to the administration’ support for the Vietnam War, they decided to use John’s narcotics conviction as a pretext to remove a potential political enemy who could be possibly influential with the youth who were now of the age to vote for the first time.
The government had John on the Presidential enemies list because of his anti-war political views with songs such as Give Peace a Chance, and it was convenient for them to start deportation proceedings against him to remove him as a potential political threat. Notice any modern-day parallels? John was being subject to wiretaps, being followed by the FBI and numerous other surveillance activities. I was able back in the 80s to secure through the Freedom of Information Act, many of the FBI files compiled about John. Many were significantly redacted. Sound familiar? They even had some pictures of John in the files that the FBI were claiming to be John when in actuality were in fact actually street musician, David Peel! Let’s hear it for information accuracy!
It must be stressed at this juncture that this post is not a discussion of legal vs. illegal immigration. Most people as a common belief, would probably be adamantly against illegal immigration. If the legal process for admission is followed, however, the United States of America became great because it welcomed immigration and those words are written on that statue on the Hudson in New York City who welcomed millions of people to this country.
After all, other than Native Americans, everyone else in America is an immigrant. Think about that one for a while!
THE CLASSIC BOB GRUEN PHOTO OF JOHN LENNON FROM 1974 SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY BOB AT THE FEST FOR BEATLES FANS IN 1986
A song that perfectly sums up how he felt about politicians in general:
Gimme Some Truth (Ultimate Mix)
Bob’s indication when the original photograph was taken:
Bob Gruen’s inscription on his famous photo:
Neil Sedaka
Well-known musician, the late Neil Sedaka was motivated to dedicate his Immigrant song to John Lennon. Listen closely to the lyrics
Neil Sedaka – “The Immigrant” (1974)
Neil Sedaka “The Immigrant (Dedicated To John Lennon)” LIVE 1980
John Lennon and Neil Sedaka talk about Neil’s song the Immigrant on a phone call. – YouTube
The Immigrant (Neil Sedaka song) – Wikipedia
A classic book written by history Professor, John Wiener about the Lennon political hassles that he faced in the 70s.
Uncovering The ‘Truth’ Behind Lennon’s FBI Files : NPR
AMAZON US:
Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI Files: Wiener, Jon: 9780520222465: Amazon.com: Books
AMAZON UK: The 1990 softcover edition the book–University of Illinois Press
Come Together: John Lennon in His Time: Amazon.co.uk: Wiener, Jon: 9780252061318: Books
University of California Press-January 21, 2000, Jon Wiener, author
When Professor Wiener notified the readers of his book that they could obtain copies of the Lennon FBI files through the FOI (Freedom of Information) Act, I did so, and was startled to receive this binder of information in the mail one day.
Soon thereafter so many people were requesting the files from the FBI, that they began charging per page to send the files out to interested parties!
A couple of samples from my mammoth set of documents:
John’s immigration problems were historical in nature as they set legal precedents that are used and referenced even today in law classes and in legal cases. John’s legal representative, the late Leon Wildes was largely responsible for this, and he detailed the case in this book from 2016.
John Lennon vs. The U.S.A.: The Inside Story of the Most Bitterly Contested and Influential Deportation Case in United States History Hardcover – August 16, 2016
by Leon Leon Wildes (Author)
American Bar Association-August 16, 2016
AMAZON US:
AMAZON UK:
We will leave the closing words to today’s post to the late George Harrison. Listen closely to George’s lyrics for this song. He speaks of such issues as non-conformity and some of his objection to authority figures and he has a direct quote about deportation in the song. I have no doubts that this was in part a subtle reference to his friend’s immigration dilemma in the United States which was to end in the year that the song was released as John received his Green Card!
George Harrison – Crackerbox Palace
Be healthy and be happy!
Buzz
LEARN MORE ABOUT JOHN LENNON HERE
John Lennon
Books about John Lennon
Timely post–yes, thinking a good deal about John’s history in this respect lately.
Once again a great shot of Lennon history!