ROLLING STONE MAG RELEASES JOHN LENNON'S FINAL INTERVIEW
[PHOTO - In this magazine cover image of Rolling Stone, former Beatle John Lennon is shown on the cover of the Dec. 23, 2010 issue of 'Rolling Stone.' NEW YORK (AP)]
MANILA, DECEMBER 9, 2010 (BULLETIN) Three days before he was gunned down, John Lennon complained about his critics — saying they were just interested in "dead heroes" — and talked optimistically about his family and future, musing that he had "plenty of time" to accomplish some of his life goals.
Lennon's final interview was released by Rolling Stone on Wednesday, the 30th anniversary of his death, to The Associated Press; it will be on magazine stands on Friday. While brief excerpts of Jonathan Cott's interview with Lennon were released for a 1980 Rolling Stone cover story days after Lennon's death, this is the first time the entire interview has been published.
"His words are totally joyous and vibrant and hopeful and subversive and fearless," said Cott in an interview on Tuesday. "He didn't mince words."
Lennon saves some of his harshest words for critics who were perennially disappointed with Lennon's path, in both music and in his life, after leaving the Beatles.
"These critics with the illusions they've created about artists — it's like idol worship," he said. "They only like people when they're on their way up ... I cannot be on the way up again.
"What they want is dead heroes, like Sid Vicious and James Dean. I'm not interesting in being a dead (expletive) hero. .. So forget 'em, forget 'em."
He also predicted that Bruce Springsteen, then hailed as rock's bright future, would endure the same critical barbs: "And God help Bruce Springsteen when they decide he's no longer God. ... They'll turn on him, and I hope he survives it."
But Lennon also talked about trying to be a good father to his youngest son Sean, learning how to relate to a child (he admitted he wasn't good at play) and spoke of his strong bond with wife Yoko Ono: "I've selected to work with ... only two people: Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono. ... That ain't bad picking."
At 40, he was also reflective of what he had accomplished so far in life and exploring life's themes, and remained committed to his goal of peace and love on earth.
"I'm not claiming divinity. I've never claimed purity of soul. I've never claimed to have the answers to life. I only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can ... But I still believe in peace, love and understanding."
Cott interviewed Lennon at his apartment and at his record studio. The interview was originally planned for a cover story for Lennon and Ono's upcoming album "Double Fantasy," but in the rush to put out a story after Lennon was shot to death by Mark David Chapman, only snippets were used.
Cott said he never went back to the three hours worth of tapes until a few months ago when he was cleaning out his closet.
"On a strip of magnetic tape, it was sort of a miracle that first of all, the tape had not degraded after 30 years," he said. "All of this sudden, this guy's voice, totally alive ... just made me feel so inspired that I felt that I should really transcribe the whole thing."
Cott said he was struck by how much he was thinking about his life and mortality.
"There were a lot of strange consideration of where he was and what he felt like sort of in the middle of his journey," Cott said. "I think it was like a mid-life meditation, I was struck by that."
The magazine also included an essay by Ono recalling her final days with her husband.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: ABOUT BEATLE JOHN LENNON
[PHOTO - John rehearsing 'Give Peace A ChANCE' in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1969]
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles and, with Paul McCartney, formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved as a teenager in the skiffle craze; his first band, The Quarrymen, evolved into The Beatles in 1960. As the group disintegrated towards the end of the decade, Lennon embarked on a solo career that would produce the critically acclaimed albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, but re-emerged in 1980 with a new album, Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release.
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, his drawings, on film, and in interviews, and he became controversial through his political activism. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement.
As of 2010, Lennon's solo album sales in the United States exceed 14 million units, and as writer, co-writer or performer, he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the group later worked in many genres ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical and other elements in innovative ways. The nature of their enormous popularity, which first emerged as the "Beatlemania" fad, transformed as their songwriting grew in sophistication. The group came to be perceived as the embodiment of progressive ideals, seeing their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
Initially with a five-piece line-up of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe (bass) and Pete Best (drums), The Beatles built their reputation in Liverpool and Hamburg clubs over a three-year period from 1960. Sutcliffe left the group in 1961, and Best was replaced by Starr the following year. Moulded into a professional outfit by music store owner Brian Epstein after he offered to act as the group's manager, and with their musical potential enhanced by creativity of producer George Martin, The Beatles achieved mainstream success in the United Kingdom in late 1962 with their first single, "Love Me Do". Gaining international popularity over the course of the next year, they toured extensively until 1966, then retreated to the recording studio until their break-up in 1970. Each then found success in an independent musical career. Lennon was murdered outside his home in New York City in 1980, and Harrison died of cancer in 2001. McCartney and Starr
remain active.
During their studio years, The Beatles produced what critics consider some of their finest material including the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), widely regarded as a masterpiece. Four decades after their break-up, The Beatles' music continues to be popular. The Beatles have had more number one albums on the UK charts, and held down the top spot longer, than any other musical act. According to RIAA certifications, they have sold more albums in the United States than any other artist. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the all-time top-selling Hot 100 artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, with The Beatles at number one. They have been honoured with 7 Grammy Awards, and they have received 15 Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. The Beatles were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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