Imagine A Day in the Life of Revolution No. 9

My favorite was George. 

It was probably because he was the least heralded, the afterthought, at least at the beginning.  The guys in the background have always appealed to me more than the larger-than-life stars—Entwistle, not Townsend or Daltry; Casady, not Slick or Balin; Wyman, not Jagger or Richard.  That George was the guy in the background while playing lead guitar made it all the stranger.

But this essay is about John Lennon, murdered in front of The Dakota twenty-five years ago today. 

If Paul was the sentimental heart, George the spiritual soul, and Ringo the silly sense of humor, John was the studious, worldly mind of the Beatles.  Do we have any clue of the political viewpoints of McCartney or Starr?  Did Harrison’s thoughts about the world’s sociopolitical relationships matter to anyone? 

Not so Lennon.  In his last years among us, he was an activist of the highest order.  Whether that was a result of his union with Yoko, or whether instead his burgeoning thoughts and beliefs led him into her circles, we may never know.  And, in the end, it doesn’t much matter.  The fact is that John’s politics were progressive, if not radical and socialist.

We cannot know where John’s inquisitive, inventive intellect would have led him had he not run afoul of Mark David Chapman.  Would he have entered conventional politics?  Would he, say, have joined Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition?  Might he even have considered running for office himself?  He had become an American citizen, moved permanently to New York, dealt with American political issues.  For all the recent fantasy about Bruce Springsteen running for the Senate in New Jersey, the idea of Senator John Lennon seems somehow more conceivable to me.

Yes, George was my favorite Beatle.  But, in many ways, John was my favorite ex-Beatle.

Comments

My own list would have to include: Bonham, not Plant or Page. (I suppose that other guy would be the real background hero, here, eh?)

But I have to confess John was my favorite in all categories.  I miss him, and I thought about him several times today.  I’m glad someone managed to write a post on this terrible anniversary.

Paul and Ringo have blended into the endless iconoclasm of popular culture.  Harrison’s passing was low profile, in keeping with his gentle persona.  I can’t help but think that John would still be a forceful presence had he lived.

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That other guy being John Paul Jones, as I recall.

For the record, it wasn’t that way for me with the Dead.  I like Lesh, but felt no special affinity for Weir, Pigpen (or any of their thousand other keyboardmen), or the drummers.  Jerry was The Man. 

Oh, the Airplane’s Kaukonen was another in-the-background lead guitarist.

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George was my lust-object when I was in my early teens, but you’re right, John was the one whose interest seemed to be closest to mine.

I can’t go along with the “I love the background guys” thing, though.  Of course, I love Page and Plant and Jones.  (There are few drummers who really grab me, to be honest.  I think my favorite was the unsung hero of Procol Harum, Barrie Wilson.)

My tastes can be quirky and out of the mainstream a lot of the time, but there’s a good reason Jimmy Page has always been regarded as a genius.  Mind you, John Paul Jones deserves a lot more credit than he ever got, but he would have been just as good if he’d gotten that credit.

But, you know, in many ways, the Beatles are vastly underrated as musicians.  I know how weird that sounds, but it’s true - they may have been more than the sum of their parts, but the sum of their parts was itself pretty fucking enormous.

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