Category: John Lennon

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Do You Know The John Lennon Factor?

The Lennon Factor
The Lennon Factor

Obscure John Lennon Book

This is one of my favorite obscure Lennon-based books. Written by Paul Young and published in 1972 by Stein and Day. Paul Young’s superb analysis of the importance of John Lennon, in particular, to the cultural revolution that occurred in the ’60s, is a fascinating and innovative approach to the subject.

Using the writing style of many luminaries such as E. E. Cummings, Young details his suppositions of how important John’s persona was to the cultural fabric of the ’60s. In my personal opinion, this book is stylistically both a novel and an interesting way to tell the story of the impact of John Lennon on the tumultuous Sixties!

What I find of particular interest in Young’s writing style in this book is that there is always a Message within the Message. Once you read this book, you will understand what I mean by that. Young challenges you with this particular writing style and some people find this means to convey the subject matter as being very frustrating. I found it to be both thrilling and exciting. Ultimately, I found myself agreeing with many of Young’s suppositions.

  1. Publisher- Stein and Day
  2. Publication date-January 1, 1972

What is your favourite John Lennon book? Let me know in the comments below.

Buzz

Other Books on John Lennon

John Lennon

Books about John Lennon

Shop now
Posted on by — 5 Comments

TRANSLATIONS NEEDED WITH THESE TWO BEATLES BOOKS!!!

Klaus Voormann's Book in German
Klaus Voormann’s Book in German

There are a couple of Beatles-related books, one written in German and the other one in French that deserve to have English language translations!

Warum spielst du Imagine nicht auf dem weißen Klavier, John? Hardcover

The first book which the title translates to “Why Don’t You Play ‘Imagine’ on the White Piano, John”, was written by longtime Beatle associate, Klaus Voormann. It has been reported that Klaus does have a desire to have the book translated but he has not yet found a translator that he has complete faith in. It truly is a shame that English-language audiences have been denied the opportunity to read Klaus’s great stories.

German Edition Published by Heyne Verlag, Munich   October 31, 2003

My brother’s name was John Lennon

John Lennon’s mom Julia had a child after John, Julia, and Jacqui. Her name was Victoria, changed to Ingrid by her adoptive parents. Julia gave the child up for adoption and John never met her. This book written only in French is Victoria/Ingrid’s story. Though certainly not containing much, if any, Beatle information, it certainly would be nice to be able to read her story. Would also love to see a book written about John Lennon’s two half-brothers, David and Robin Lennon. These were the two children fathered by John Lennon’s dad, Freddie, with his second wife, Pauline Lennon. It would be interesting to know why the two brothers have shunned absolutely any association whatsoever with their famous brother!

French edition by Ingrid Pedersen Publisher ‏ : Michel Lafon (June 9 2005)

My Brother’s Name Was John Lennon

Have you got either of these two books? Have you translated them? Would be interested to hear from you.

Buzz

Other Books on John Lennon

Posted on by — Leave a comment

A Very Rare Lennon Photo Book

This privately published edition is no longer available. Soon a mass market edition will be available on Amazon

Lennon Reality or Fantasy
Lennon Reality or Fantasy

When John Lennon had finished recording Double Fantasy, shortly thereafter he was assassinated. After several years had passed, many photo compilations of pictures taken in the last year of his life began to hit the marketplace. I had become aware that one of the photographers that had taken some of the last professional photos of John, was involved in several projects with Yoko to issue some of those photos for public consumption. David for example was responsible for the cover photo of the John Lennon “Acoustic” cd.

Reality or Fantasy
Reality or Fantasy

Starting Over by Ken Sharp

Starting Over
Starting Over
Starting over
Starting over

He was also to have several of his photos published in the “Starting Over” book by Ken Sharp and the book “John Lennon Summer of 1980”, a book of photography compiled by Yoko Ono of John and Yoko photos taken by 8 photographers, of which David was one of them.

Summer of Love
Summer of Love
Summer of Love
Summer of Love

Many years later I happened to come upon David Spindel’s website (spindelvisions.com) where I saw a photo of a hardcover book that I had never seen before and I quickly made inquiries to David to see if I could purchase a copy.

David Spindel
David Spindel Website

Even though the book is published privately and therefore more expensive, I quickly made arrangements to buy a copy from David. In doing so I quickly became a good friend of his as he is both kind, generous, and a very funny man. He provided many little signed extras for me when I purchased something from him and he is a very nice guy. In addition, I love his photos of John and Yoko and he is an extremely talented man.

David Spindell Autograph
David Spindell Autograph

I have included two emails to reach him if you would like to inquire either about his book or his photos or the many celebrities he has interacted with over the years. I have never met David but I truly consider him a good friend and I wish him well in all his endeavors. I love this book and it deserves a much wider circulation in my humble opinion and I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences with you when I contacted Mr. David Spindel!!!

dbspindel@cox.net

spindelvisions59@gmail.com

Buzz

David Spindell
David Spindell
Double Fantasy Photographs
Double Fantasy Photographs
John Lennon Postcards
John Lennon Postcards
David Spindell
David Spindel in his office
Lennon Poster
Lennon Poster
Yoko Letter
Yoko Letter
David Spindell Article
David Spindel Article

Posted on by — Leave a comment

“Run for Your Life” from Rubber Soul

Run For Your Life by The Beatles

Run for Your Life by The Beatles

John’s turn today, although he said in a Rolling Stone interview that he didn’t like the song much:

I never liked ‘Run for Your Life,’ because it was a song I just knocked off. It was inspired from …“Baby, Let’s Play House.” There was a line on it…”I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man” – so I wrote it around that but I didn’t think it was that important.

In fact, in the early ‘70s he said that it was his least favorite Beatles song, although he knew that George liked it a lot.

There is an interesting lineage for the song, however, that started with a country and western song written for Eddy Arnold in 1951, “I Want to Play House with You.”

Four years later, that song title had morphed into “Baby, Let’s Play House.”

This was a song written for Elvis Presley by a young songwriter named Arthur Gunter.  His song included the following lines:

Now listen to me baby
Try to understand
I’d rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man

The Gunter song was an unambiguous “I want you” song. Ten years later (1965) Lennon, however, remembered a couple lines from it, and made them the centerpiece for a song about a “wicked guy” who was “born with a jealous mind.”  It’s an interesting case study in how derivative music can be, and I’ve talked here before about how the Beatles listened to everything they could get their hands on, then made it their own.  

For this derivative, “knocked off” song, John sang lead, Paul and George did the harmonies, and everyone played their regular instruments with the exception that John had both electric and acoustic tracks on the song to go along with George’s energetic lead and Paul’s bass.

Flash forward over 55 years to a time when the nation has been running for its collective life, and we all are working to adapt the best we can to the new reality.

From:

When We Find Ourselves in Times of Trouble: The Beatles

(All their songs with encouraging words for challenging times)

By Tim Hatfield

[Go to www.amazon.com, search “Tim Hatfield Beatles” and download the free app to read the ebook on your device]

Posted on by — Leave a comment

I Drove John Lennon’s Psychedelic Car

John Lennon’s Psychedelic Rolls Royce

John Lennon’s Psychedelic Car – The Rolls Royce

The Rolls Royce Phantom V was one of only 517 cars of this model made. It was a 1964
Mulliner Park War Phantom V, finished in Valentines black, so that everything, apart from
the front radiator, was black. Lennon wanted the radiator to be black too, but Rolls Royce
refused! It was equipped with leather seats, wood trim, cocktail cabinet, writing table and a
portable TV. However, Lennon didn’t know how to drive them and only passed his test in 1965.

He had the car customised at the end of 1965 to be fitted with a double bed, a floating record player (so that the records wouldn’t jump) as well as a car radio-telephone.

After Lennon had used it out in Almeria, Spain, while filming How I Won The War, it needed
a new coat of paint. So, John being John, he commissioned J.P. Fallon Ltd. to create a custom paint job in the style of a gypsy caravan. The car was shipped out to America when he moved there, and regularly loaned it to his friends, like Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. The car was donated to the Smithsonian Institute in 1977 due to a problem with the IRS. It was sold in 1985 for $2,299,000.

Bill Zygmant Remembers:

“When I photographed Lennon’s psychedelic car, the chauffeur let me have a go, so I drove
Lennon’s car. It was a lovely car. I am the only photographer who managed to photograph the psychedelic caravan, car and the Apple store.”

The Apple Boutique - Photo by Bill Zygmant
The Apple Boutique – Photo by Bill Zygmant
The Psychedelic Caravan
The Psychedelic Caravan

Get Your Copy of Bill’s Fantastic Book

Bill Zygmant - Where Did You Get That Shirt? (Signed Limited Edition)

Bill Zygmant – Where Did You Get That Shirt? (Signed Limited Edition)

Get your copy of Bill Zygmant’s portfolio book of unique photographs covering his career from the late 1960s to the 1980s.

This will be a signed, numbered edition – maximum of 250 numbered editions.

It comes with one of Bill’s signed photographs, which usually sells for £50!

£75.00
Shop now
Posted on by — Leave a comment

“I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” from Abbey Road

I Want You (She's So Heavy)
I Want You (She's So Heavy" by The Beatles
I Want You (She’s So Heavy” by The Beatles

I Want You (She’s So Heavy”) by The Beatles

This song, although attributed to Lennon/McCartney, is a John Lennon song about his devotion to Yoko Ono. In part, the song is controversial for the distinct simplicity of the lyrics and in part because of its length (around 8 minutes) and, some could argue, its self-indulgent structure.

It was the first song the Beatles worked on when the Abbey Road sessions began in February of 1969, yet one of the last songs that was completed for the album in August of that year when instrumental and synthesized tracks were layered in. 

About Yoko

John Lennon’s repetitive, plaintive lyric, “I want you, I want you so bad” is the dominant content of the entire song, along with the colloquial compliment for Yoko, “She’s so heavy.” At the time Abbey Road came out, some critics took issue with the lyrics. In a Rolling Stone interview in 1970, Lennon reflected: A reviewer wrote of “She’s So Heavy”: “He seems to have lost his talent for lyrics, it’s so simple and boring.” “She’s So Heavy” was about Yoko. When it gets down to it, like she said, when you’re drowning you don’t say “I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,” you just scream. And in “She’s So Heavy” I just sang “I want you, I want you so bad, she’s so heavy, I want you,” like that.

The Final Three Minutes

The final 3 minutes of the song is an extended guitar/Hammond organ/Moog synthesized white noise cacophony that sounded as if it could have gone on for much longer. All the Beatles, and their friend Billy Preston, were totally committed to this very different-sounding work that closed out the A-side of Abbey Road. And in the final mixing process, Lennon himself ordered the abrupt ending of the riff in the middle of a phrase, as if the needle were being arbitrarily lifted off a record. 

Biden and Harris?

The day before I initially wrote and posted this, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris became the President and Vice-President Elect. It was a day when, officially, the votes of around 80 million voters said, “I want you, I want you so bad.” There is much work for them to do, beginning with a concerted assault on the coronavirus pandemic. But may their efforts to defeat the virus, now surging again throughout the nation, be both thoughtful and successful. It will matter not only to the people who voted for them, but also to the people who didn’t.

Tim Hatfield

Get Tim’s book of reflections on the songs of The Beatles