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| Photo by Fred Seaman |
A MAGIC MOMENT WITH JOHN LENNON
Johnny Jetson is a rock and roll songwriter, guitarist, and singer raised in the suburbs of New York City
He was a young boy when he found a discarded beat-up guitar in a trash bin and from that day began a lifetime love affair with the instrument
Now, four decades later, he has proven to be one of the most influential and committed rock and roll songwriters around, performing with his groups Jetson, Queer For Girls, Space Age Play boys and Speed City Vipers
Johnny is now a valued family member of The Beatles Universe, and this is his stunning and touching story of the day a twelve-year-old boy met his hero John Lennon
Robbie Thornton
The Beatles Universe Features Page
"I was John Lennon’s paperboy when he lived in Cold Spring Harbor at the Cannon Hill Estate. This was in 1980 and I was 12 years old. The first time I met him was at the gate of the property. He was dressed in all white,(like a painter) had long hair and a beard. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was delivering the Penny Saver.
'The Penny Saver'? He asked as he reached through the gate to take the paper from me, 'we could all do well to save our pennies' he added. He took hold of the paper but I didn’t let go and for a moment we both just looked at each other. Then he smiled and as I let go of the paper I asked “are you John Lennon”? He said, “yes I am, do you know of me”?
I told him yes, that I had started listening to the Beatles when my Aunt went away to college and gave me her record player and all her Beatles 45rpm records. I was only 3 years old but my favorite thing to do was work the record machine. He seemed to really enjoy hearing a young boy talk about his music. It was really a great feeling as a kid to be able to tell him how special those songs were to me.
I was a bit overcome with emotion and blurted out “can I have a hug”? He laughed as he opened the gate and said “of course you can”. And he gave me a hug and a pat on the back and shook my bushy hair and said “ok young man get back to work”.
Over the next months, I saw John a few other times and we would wave to each other and say hi. The last time I saw him he was leaving in a long Cadillac. It stopped outside the gates to his house and the rear window went down. John called to me and I walked over to the car. “I want to thank you for always making sure my Penny Saver made it to me safely and for putting it in it’s proper box to keep it dry”. Then he reached out and shook my hand... and smiled."
'I found this photo of the house... this was taken from a little bit inside of the gate but is just about the view I had of the property when I delivered his paper' - Johnny Jetson
