John Lennon was shot and killed by a nut.
Peter Gammons was asked about Lennon this morning. For those who don't know, Gammons is a Hall of Fame baseball writer, but also a rock n' roll enthusiast.
Gammons brought up an interesting thought. What would John Lennon have become if he'd lived? He was only 40 when he was murdered and he had already established himself as the most interesting Beatle. He was very anti-establishment. Would that have continued through the 80s? Would he have become an AIDS activist? Or maybe he would have just laid low.
The Beatles were the first real rock 'n roll superstars and they, along with Elvis Presley, crowned the golden birth of rock 'n roll.
Friday, December 08, 2006
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6 comments:
There is no doubt as to what he would be doing right now. He and Yoko would be lying naked in a bed protesting the war.
I love the Beatles and would have loved to have seen them perhaps get back together, if for nothing else than a greatest hits tour. Although we know that would have never happened.
It's unfortunate that those of us who were born too late to witness them at their creative best can only relive it thru cds and dvds.
Whether you like them or whether you don't, those four guys created the greatest music ever recorded. And this is from a diehard Who and Stones fan.
All activism aside, if Jimi Hendrix had lived, music would be seperated into only 2 different genres.
Jimi Hendrix and "the other stuff."
Hendrix would have had entire radio stations playing nothing but his stuff. There would be WSTO "the best Hendrix of today!" Then WKTG would "classic Hendrix from the 70's and 80's!" Then the mix stations would have "the best Hendrix from the 80's, 90's and today!"
If you see the interviews from the greats of the same era Hendrix played in, they were practically having summit committee meetings talking about how great he was. And we are talking Pete Townsend, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, etc.
Piccu is right though, Lennon would be protesting the crap out the war. And he would be fighting Bono for the title of coolest person on the planet.
The real question is what would have happened if Yoko never came in the picture?
Answer: maybe the Beatles would still be going.
I think the Beatles would have split anyway. It's pretty clear that Lennon was going a different direction anyway. With his writing and his political activism.
There's no doubt Lennon would protest the war, but think of the music he would have made.
Bratch, you may be slightly overstating the impact Hendrix would have had, but only slightly. There was none like him before or since.
I will never forget the story I heard about Eric Clapton and the first time he saw Hendrix. The story goes that during the Hendrix concert he attended, he got to a phone and called the Who's Pete Townsend and said I just saw the guy who is going to put us out of business. That says something about the talent that Hendrix had.
By the by, because this week Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top celebrates his 56th birthday, I was reminded of this tidbit that ties in with our Hendrix discussion. It is a little known fact that Hendrix went on record that Billy Gibbons was his favorite guitar player. Billy Gibbons may be the most underrated guitar player of all time.
So go out an buy some ZZ Top for Christmas.
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