(The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection) Ben Urish, Ken Bielen-The Words and Music of John Lennon-Praeger (2007) (33 page)

BOOK: (The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection) Ben Urish, Ken Bielen-The Words and Music of John Lennon-Praeger (2007)
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(Lennon); “Woman Is the Nigger of the World” (Lennon, Yoko Ono);

“God” (Lennon); “Scared” (Lennon); “#9 Dream” (Lennon); “I’m

Losing You” (
Anthology
version) (Lennon); “Isolation” (Lennon);

“Cold Turkey” (Lennon); “Intuition” (Lennon); “Gimme Some Truth”

(Lennon); “Give Peace a Chance” (Lennon, Paul McCartney); “Real

Love” (
Anthology
version) (Lennon); “Grow Old with Me” (
Anthology

version) (Lennon). Two compact discs. Capitol 094634039123, 2005.

Consists of previously released material.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon (Soundtrack).
John Lennon vocals, guitar, piano; various

assisting instrumentalists and vocalists. “Power to the People” (Lennon);

“Nobody Told Me” (Lennon); Working Class Hero” (Lennon); “I Found

Out” (Lennon); “Bed Peace” (Lennon, Yoko Ono); “Ballad of John and

Yoko” (Lennon, Paul McCartney); “Give Peace a Chance” (Lennon, Paul

McCartney); “Love” (Lennon); “Attica State” (live) (Lennon, Yoko Ono);

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (Yoko Ono, Lennon); “I Don’t Wanna Be

a Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die” (Lennon); “Imagine” (Lennon);

“How Do You Sleep?” (instrumental score) (Lennon); “New York City”

(Lennon); “John Sinclair” (live) (Lennon); “Scared” (Lennon); “God”

(Lennon); “Here We Go Again” (Lennon, Phil Spector); “Gimme Some

Truth” (Lennon); “Oh My Love” (Lennon, Yoko Ono); “Instant Karma!

(We All Shine On)” (Lennon). Compact disc. Capitol 094637491225,

2006. Consists of previously released material except for “Attica State”

(live) and “How Do You Sleep?” (instrumental).

singles

“Give Peace a Chance” (Lennon, Paul McCartney); “Remember Love” (Yoko Ono).

45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1809, 1969.

“Cold Turkey” (Lennon); “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for a Hand

in the Snow” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1813, 1969.

“Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)” (Lennon); “Who Has Seen the Wind?” (Yoko

Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1818, 1970.

134    Discography

“Mother” (Lennon); “Why” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1827, 1970.

“Power to the People” (Lennon); “Touch Me” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc.

Apple 1830, 1971. Issued with “Open Your Box” (Yoko Ono) as the B-side in

the United Kingdom. “Open Your Box” was later titled “Hirake.”

“Imagine” (Lennon); “It’s So Hard” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1840,

1971.

“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (Yoko Ono, Lennon); “Listen, the Snow Is Falling”

(Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1842, 1971.

“Woman Is the Nigger of the World” (Lennon, Yoko Ono); “Sisters, O Sisters” (Yoko

Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1848, 1972.

“Mind Games” (Lennon); “Meat City” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1868,

1973.

“Whatever Gets You through the Night” (Lennon); “Beef Jerky” (Lennon). 45-rpm

phonodisc. Apple 1874, 1974.

“#9 Dream” (Lennon); “What You Got” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1878,

1974.

“Stand by Me” (Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller); “Move over Ms. L” (Lennon).

45-rpm phonodisc. Apple 1881, 1975.

“Imagine” (Lennon); “Working Class Hero” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Apple

R-6009, 1975. Issued in United Kingdom only.

“(Just Like) Starting Over” (Lennon); “Kiss Kiss Kiss” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm

phonodisc. Geffen K 79186, 1980.

“Woman” (Lennon); “Beautiful Boys” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Geffen K

79185, 1981.

“Watching the Wheels” (Lennon); “Yes, I’m Your Angel” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm

phonodisc. Geffen K 79207, 1981.

“Love” (Lennon); “Give Me Some Truth” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Parlophone

R 6059, 1982.

“Nobody Told Me” (Lennon); “O’Sanity” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Polydor

POSP 700, 1984.

“Borrowed Time” (Lennon); “Your Hands” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc. Poly-

dor POSP 701, 1984. Released in the United Kingdom with additional B-side

track, “Never Say Goodbye” (Yoko Ono).

“Give Peace a Chance” (Lennon, Paul McCartney); “Cold Turkey” (Lennon). 45-rpm

phonodisc. EMI G 45 2, 1984.

“I’m Stepping Out” (Lennon); “Sleepless Nights” (Yoko Ono). 45-rpm phonodisc.

Polydor POSP 702, 1984. Released in the United Kingdom with additional

B-side track, “Loneliness” (Yoko Ono).

“Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him” (Yoko Ono); “It’s Alright” (Yoko Ono).

45-rpm phonodisc. Polydor POSP 172, 1984.

“Jealous Guy” (Lennon); “Going Down on Love” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc.

Parlophone R 6117, 1985. U.K. release only.

“Jealous Guy” (Lennon); “Give Peace a Chance” (Lennon, Paul McCartney). 45-rpm

phonodisc. Capitol B 442230, 1988. U.S. release only.

“Imagine” (Lennon); “Jealous Guy” (Lennon). 45-rpm phonodisc. Parlophone R

6199, 1988. U.K. release only.

“Love” (Lennon); “Stand by Me” (Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller). Compact

disc single. EMI International 2555, 1999.

Notes

IntroductIon

1. The
Billboard
best-seller chart information cited throughout this volume is

from Joel Whitburn,
Top Pop Albums, 1955–1996
(Menomonee Falls, WI: Record

Research, 1996); and Joel Whitburn,
Top Pop Singles, 1955–1996
(Menomonee Falls,

WI: Record Research, 1997).

2. John Lennon,
Testimony: The Life and Times of John Lennon in His Own Words,

Thunder Bolt Compact Disc CDTB 095.

chapter 1

1. There are a vast number of reliable sources for information on Lennon’s life.

One of the best is Ray Coleman,
Lennon
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984).

2. The full account of Lennon’s relationship with his father can be found in Pauline

Lennon,
Daddy Come Home
(New York: HarperCollins, 1990).

3. This side of Lennon’s life is best told in Julia Baird with Geoffrey Giuliano,

John Lennon, My Brother
, foreword by Paul McCartney (New York: Henry Holt,

1988).

4. For articles that approach this undeveloped area of Lennon criticism, see Alun

Nash, “John Lennon and the Influence of Lewis Carroll,”
Jabberwocky: The Journal

of the Lewis Carroll Society
7 (1978): 36–39; Michael E. Roos, “The Walrus and

the Deacon: John Lennon’s Debt to Lewis Carroll,”
Journal of Popular Culture
18

(Summer 1984): 19–29; and Iain Ellis, “From Mop-Top to Walrus: Some Funny

Sides of The Beatles,”
Popmatters.com.

5. Numerous comments from Lennon himself support this, as can be seen

throughout John Lennon and Yoko Ono,
All We Are Saying: The Last Major Inter-

view with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000).

136    Notes

6. Also much covered in Beatles lore, the insider account of this phase of Lennon’s

life and career is told in Pete Shotton and Nicholas Schaffner,
John Lennon: In My Life

(New York: Stein and Day, 1983).

7. Paul McCartney has said numerous times that this oft-repeated story is not

entirely accurate.

8. Lennon and Ono,
All We Are Saying,
173.

9. Chris Ingham,
The Rough Guide to the Beatles,
2nd Edition (New York:

Penguin, 2006), 306.

10. Ingham, 306.

11. Another much-documented story of Beatles lore.

12. Thanks to Beatle expert Jim Cummer for clarifying this and other Beatle

rumors mentioned herein.

chapter 2

1. January 9, 1975, for those keeping track.

2. This odd little recording is credited to “Musketeer Gripweed and the 3rd Troop,”

Gripweed being the name of Lennon’s character in the film. Lennon used a variety of

joking pseudonyms throughout his career, most famously Dr. Winston O’Boogie.

3. In addition to Clapton, the band included Mitch Mitchell on drums and Keith

Richards on bass.

4. Bill Harry,
The John Lennon Encyclopedia
(London: Virgin, 2000), 775.

5. In particular, Cage’s composition
4

33
’’.

6. For the whole story, see
John and Yoko Give Peace a Song,
produced and

directed by Alan Lysaght and Paul McGrath. DVD, 1 hr. 40 min. (Canadian Broad-

casting Corporation, 2005).

7. John Robertson,
The Art and Music of John Lennon
(Secaucus, NJ: Carol,

1991), 119.

8. Robertson,
Art and Music,
114.

9. John Robertson,
Lennon: 1940–1980
(London: Omnibus Press, 1995), 74.

10. The credit given on the original release of the
Live Peace in Toronto
album is

for Lennon and McCartney; on subsequent releases, Lennon receives sole credit.

11. Chris Ingham,
The Rough Guide to the Beatles,
2nd Edition (New York:

Penguin, 2006), 304–309.

12. Lennon introduces the song that way in
John Lennon Live in New York City,

produced by Gerald Meola; directed by Steve Gebhardt (1972) and Carol Dysinger

(1985). 55 min. (Capitol, 1985).

13. Robertson,
Art and Music,
119.

chapter 3

1. The article that started it al was Maureen Cleave, “How Does a Beatle Live? John

Lennon Lives Like This,”
London Evening Standard
March 4, 1966; but see also Leonard

Gross, “John Lennon: Beatle on His Own,”
Look
30 (December 13, 1966): 58–60 ff.

2.
John Lennon: The Rolling Stone Interview.
Podcast, December 3, 2005 through

January 17, 2006, I-tunes; and Jann Wenner,
Lennon Remembers: New Edition
(New

York: Verso, 2000), 94–95.

Notes    137

3. Bill Harry,
The John Lennon Encyclopedia
(London: Virgin, 2000), 564.

4.
John Lennon,
podcast; and Wenner, 21.

5. Terry Burrows,
John Lennon: A Story in Photographs
(London: Brown

Partworks, 2000), 135.

6. Jerry Hopkins,
Yoko Ono
(New York: Macmillan, 1986), 227.

7. The comment is included in several documentaries, including
John and

Yoko’s Year of Peace,
produced by Alan Lysaght, directed by Paul McGrath.

Videocassette, 52 min. (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2000); and
The

U.S. vs. John Lennon,
directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. 1 hr. 45 min.

(Lionsgate, 2006).

8. Interestingly, two of
Ram
’s musicians, Hugh McCracken and David Spinozza,

would later record with Lennon and Ono.

9. Johnny Rogan,
The Complete Guide to the Music of John Lennon
(London:

Omnibus Press, 1997), 57.

10. John Robertson.
Lennon: 1940–1980
(London: Omnibus Press, 1995), 87.

11. Rogan, 153.

12. Robertson,
Lennon,
87.

13. Lennon reads the statement of support from Congressman Dellums on
The

Dick Cavett Show: John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
DVD, 4 hr. (Shout Factory, 2005).

14. The comment occurs in Ono’s interview in the March 1969 issue of
Nova.

15. Robertson,
Lennon,
87; and John Robertson,
The Art and Music of John

Lennon
(Secaucus, NJ: Carol, 1991), 146.

chapter 4

1. For the details, see Jon Wiener,
Gimme Some Truth: The John Lennon FBI

Files
(Los Angeles: University of California, 2001); and
The U.S. vs. John Lennon,

directed by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. Film, 1 hr. 45 min. (Lionsgate,

2006).

2. The insider account for this time of Lennon’s life is May Pang and Henry

Edwards,
Loving John: The Untold Story
(New York: Warner, 1983).

3. Once again, common knowledge among Beatlemaniacs.

4. John Robertson,
The Art and Music of John Lennon
(Secaucus, NJ: Carol,

1991), 130.

5. Lennon tells the story most completely in
The Mike Douglas Show with John

Lennon and Yoko Ono.
DVD, 6 hr. 40 min. (Rhino, 1998).

6. Ringo Starr used several of the same musicians for his
Goodnight Vienna
album

sessions as well.

7. Johnny Rogan,
The Complete Guide to the Music of John Lennon
(London:

Omnibus Press, 1997), 31.

8. Rogan, 31.

9. The promotional film is included in
Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John

Lennon.
DVD, 1 hr. 40 min. (2003).

10. The story is well documented by Lennon’s biographers, and Lennon com-

mented on it several times, as early as the 1970
Rolling Stone
interview and again in

the 1975
Rolling Stone
interview. See Jann Wenner,
Lennon Remembers: New Edition

(New York: Verso, 2000), 89–90; and Pete Hamill, “Long Night’s Journey into Day:

A Conversation with John Lennon,”
Rolling Stone
June 5, 1975.

138    Notes

chapter 5

1. Such a statement was a staple comment of the last
Double Fantasy
publicity

interviews. See, for example, John Lennon,
The Lennon Tapes: John Lennon and Yoko

Ono in Conversation with Andy Peebles, 6 December 1980
(London: British Broadcast-

ing Corporation, 2001), 57–61; multiple sections of John Lennon and Yoko Ono,
All

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