9 October would have been John Lennon's 75th birthday. A complex and highly nuanced individual, John became one of the most significant composers and performers in the history of music. His birthday and his legacy is certainly worthy of recollection and celebration.
I'll be doing that with two shows in the coming week on Mushroom FM.
Every week, Beatle Beat plays music by the Beatles together and separately, including plenty of material from John's solo catalogue. So this week, Beatle Beat is doing something different. It's featuring a chronology I've assembled from multiple sources of John Lennon in his own words. We'll begin in 1963 with John and the other Beatles, chronicle the height of Beatle mania, hear from John the Beatle when he had just found Yoko, hear his bitterness and confusion immediately following the break-up of the Beatles, listen to him talking candidly about the US Government's attempt to deport him, hear his candid and heart-felt feelings after reuniting with Yoko after their separation, and finally, get a sense of the peace and optimism he was feeling on the very day of his death. Other than the introduction and the conclusion, the show flows without any narration from me, just John in his own words, with a little help from the Beatles and Yoko.
Bob Kanish is unable to present The Depths this week, so on 7 October at 9 PM Eastern, I'll be playing three hours of music by the Beatles and John Lennon. There'll be plenty of favourites, and you're very welcome to request something, especially if you can tell me why the song is significant to you. And we'll throw a few unreleased things in the mix as well.
I hope you'll join me for these two very different and special shows, as we remember the great John Lennon on Mushroom FM.
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