For John Lennon

[Bamboo Grove]

My favourite by JL (after The Beatles)



He'd be 70 today.

[Khundon1975]

It's Imagine for me.

Embedding has been disabled on this one, so just click to start the video and then click the watch on youtube link.

Mark Chapman who killed Lennon, has just had his latest (6th) parole request turned down.
looks like he may rot in jail.

[margaretcarnes]

I wonder what he would be doing now to sort out the world? Hopefully a little more than Geldof.

It's surprising though - listening to all the recent Lennon tribute stuff on my local radio station this week - how many younger people (by which I mean under the 40/45 ish age range) simply don't understand what it was all about, and often don't like Beatles stuff at all.
One interviewer summed it up for me on Saturday by saying that Lennon lost a lot of his female following when he married Yoko - and I do remember that being true at the time of the 'bed in' - and that sickly soft focus 'white' video really made me feel quite queasy!
That said his lyrics will live on. It's such a shame Lennon didn't.

[johnnyk]

The soul of the Beatles in my opinion. Before the war his dad and my dad both worked for the Ribble Bus Co. in scouseland.

[richard]

Without JL their would have been no Beatles

Funny what you say Mags. The Beatles don't have a young generation (35 to 50) following yet the Stones do

RIP JL

[hhfarang]

Richard, that would make sense wouldn't it? The Stones are still performing while the Beatles are a couple of generations gone now.

[johnnyk]

The Beatles are still selling tons and here in Canada a lot of the kids (my daughter's high school crowd) know who they are.

[pharvey]

John Lennon - a great talent with his life cut short by yet another gun toting lunatic.....

I'd have to go with ''Imagine'' or ''Woman'' - distinct memories of these unfortunately all tied to his shooting in 1980. I was 10 at the time and these two seemed to be played and played.

As to the Beatles not having a younger following, there's no doubt they're known, but as HHF says, the Stones are still around, performing, releasing recordings, movie soundtracks etc.... still very much mainstream and moving with the times. The Beatles on the other hand a generation or two removed - although admittedly I still enjoy several of their songs

Happy Birthday Blue

[Randy Cornhole]

I loved the beatles although I think John and Paul were greater than the some of their parts.

Paul did write some good tunes after the beatles as did John but their best was written while they were togeather.

[Arcadian]

I can sing along to most of the Beatles songs, I wonder how many of todays pop songs will still be remembered by the fans of Lady Gaga and her ilk in 45 years time.

[sandman67]

I agree with Arcadian....and its also why I dont figure Jacko as a big name. I can sing along with ost beatle songs, cant remember the names of more than 2 or 3 whacko songs.

JLs greatest in my book is Working Class Hero.... its the old socialist in me Billy Bragg said it was the inspiration behind Between The Wars...another of my favorite songs, and New Model Army cite him as a reason they did agit-rock. Imagine has become the atheist anthem now.

Truly a great, ahead of teh curve, and gunned down by a madman....like Bill Hicks said we elevate Vanilla Ice and shoot down John Lennon...if that dont show you how messed up the world is nothing does.

But in the great balance theres Yoko to consider...what a f up that was. And he was a really shitty dad.

RIP mate....and thanks for the songs

[margaretcarnes]

It was 'Jet' and 'Get Back' for me, despite being of single buying age when their early stuff was released.
Mid 60's was a strange time music wise really. Beatlemania for sure - but also in the UK people like Dylan and Hendrix had a huge following. People tended to split into camps with the folk rockers, Cliff fans or Beatle followers. None of them would ever admit to liking any other genre.
Unfortunately perhaps the Beatles didn't get the chance to mature fully before splitting - and as SM hints we all know who was to blame for that!

[STEVE G]

Only being born in the early sixties, I can just remember seeing that last appearance that they filmed on the roof of the recording studio.
Having said that, their music always sounds very familiar to me and I think that must of been from them getting played on the radio so much when I was a small child. Whenever I hear them I can still picture one of those old cloth fronted radios that my mother always had playing in the kitchen.

[Bamboo Grove]

I have a colleague who is in his early 30's. He is a big Beatles fan (also a Liverpool FC fan) and sometimes after watching football, we go to his place and listen to his Beatles' vinyls, which he has almost a full collection, all original recordings. Great fun. So they do have younger fans as well.

[BaaBaa.]

So they do have younger fans as well.

Yes, I've got a few Albums on CD that I bought 10 years or so ago, Revolver probably being my favourite and have now got a selection of tracks on my phone/mp3 player.

I suppose it was Oasis that got me into the Beatles.