John

 

Chances are you know the story.

Monday Night Football.

Patriots vs. Dolphins.

Howard Cosell.

John Lennon.

"Dead on arrival."

It was 42 years ago tonight the world lost John Winston Ono Lennon.

His music, his voice, his activism, his humor, his fatherhood, his life. All were silenced thanks to what the police called "a local screwball."

John had been really out of the public eye since 1975, following the release of his album Rock 'n' Roll. With that album fulfilling his recording contract, John retreated to be with Yoko Ono and their son Sean.

As a concert performer, John had made good on a promise to Elton John and performed with ol' Reginald Dwight at Madison Square Garden. They did "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and "I Saw Her Standing There." John described the last song as by “an old fiancé of mine named Paul. I’ve never sang it before.”

It was Elton who told Lennon that he had to perform with him if "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" went to number one. It did and Lennon made good on the promise on Nov 28, 1974. 

John appeared at A Salute to Sir Lew Grade: The Master Showman in the Grand Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel in New York in April 1975, performing “Slippin’ and Slidin,’” “Stand By Me,” and "Imagine."

Then he was off into domestic life, reappearing infrequently before he and Yoko released Double Fantasy in 1980. The lead single "(Just Like) Starting Over" was a huge hit as a new decade could say hello to John. It was recorded in August and released in October.

Then John was murdered on Dec 8.

A new John Lennon was being introduced to the world. Oh, let's be clear about John Lennon: he was anything but an angel. His public image probably needed a bit of a redo.

He was not a great dad to son Julian or to first wife Cynthia, eventually leaving her when he fell for Yoko.

He also lashed out in music at Paul McCartney after the decline of The Beatles, though Paul also tried to lash out. Still, Macca's songs were far more tepid.

Lennon was a partying nut in the 70s during his phase of "The Lost Weekend." At that time, Yoko told John's assistant, May Pang, to go to California with him. The short version is that she gave Pang the blessing to have a relationship with John and that's what they did for the next 18 months. But this was also the height of John's most debauched behavior, as he hung out with Harry Nilsson and others. 

It was also during this time that John and Paul performed one last time in the session that became known as A Toot and a Snore in '74. 

The late 70s began the turnaround. John stopped drinking and became domesticated. He focused again on music. His legal issues, including running afoul of Richard Nixon and the United States Government attempting to deport him were over. All of that had been resolved and, by 1980, it appeared John Lennon was back.

Then the shots rang out on the Upper West Side that December night. John Lennon was loaded into a squad car, driven to Roosevelt Hospital, and, as we know, was "dead on arrival."

Howard Cosell told us that.

Any hope of a Beatles reunion was officially over, save for the remaining three members connecting a few times, most notable for the Anthology series in the 1990s.

When anyone passes at a young age, we're left with "what ifs." John Lennon, of course, leaves fans like me gasping at the notion of if we'd ever see the four lads together again. I've long thought it would be at "Live Aid" but I don't know if there would have been much more beyond that.

In truth, while he might have been a "new" John Lennon in 1980, working with Messrs. McCartney, Harrison, and Starr would have likely produced some friction.

It's that brief period of the meeting of McCartney and Lennon in 1957 to their public dissolution in 1970 -- a precious decade-plus of brilliance that leaves us all wanting more.

Something about that seems right.

But nothing about Dec 8, 1980, will ever seem right. We were just beginning to see what might have been the best version of John Lennon the person.

New music was in our hands.

More would have followed.

It's still all out there. John's solo work was often uneven, beginning with the primal therapy album with the Plastic Ono Band right up until his final album. The best music, though, is purely magic, led of course by "Imagine" though "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" is my favorite song of his solo era.

Of course, we still have all of the magic he made with The Beatles and I figure that doesn't need any introduction, though "She Said She Said" is probably my favorite song of John's that could be described as "lesser-known."

In all of that music, he would open the wounds and let us in. We'd get the tenderness of "In My Life" and the angst of "Mother" and the nostalgia of "Strawberry Fields Forever." The losses of those he loved and the sometimes incorrigible behavior he exibited is all on display.

He'd somehow be 82 now, talking about the Get Back sessions of the documentary a year ago and making fun of Paul.

He'd likely have plenty to say about the politics of the world and relishing in what actually remarkable people Julian and Sean have become. 

I'd like to think that he'd also be a person of some sage advice, much as we feel "Imagine" is a hymn of sorts and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" has become not only a holiday standard but a heart-tugging ode to peace.

I'd like to think John Lennon -- a complicated character from a difficult youth -- would help us all shine on.

Instead, we're stuck with the mind games of thinking about him tonight, 42 long years after he left us.

John, we come together right now.

Over you.