Macca and the Rocketman

The High Society

This article was called "The High Society:  exclusive L.A. report"  and was written by Lisa (no last name given) for The Mess newsletter for the January 1975 issue.    L.A. was a hot spot for the former Beatles in the mid-1970s.  No wonder they needed a reporter to report back!

October 15, 1974:  Ringo (he liked being called Rich) records "Goodnight Vienna" with the help of Klaus Voorman, Jim Keltner, Jesse Davis and 1/2 hour later Elton John.   Klaus was nice to us and Elton wasn't too bad either.  He was driven in his $40,000 gold limousine Lincoln Continental chauffeured and all -- silver English tea tray with T.V. and record layer in the back seat.  I gave Rich a glass mug I made this spring and it was funny to hear him say in his Liverpudlian accent, "Oh wow, far out!"  He looked good wearing a Guatemalan shirt, shades (of course), his hair slick back, not quite like from the movie, "That'll be the Day."  Mal Evans kept giving me occasional D.O.M. looks every time he came out to the car.  Pretty friendly that night.   

3 hours later:  Elton John left. Keith Moon walked down the street.  He was wearing a black velvet suit adorned with rhinestones, a very spacey person.  Everyone was leaving.  Rich came out with two young chicks.  He gave me a strange look though -- couldn't figure it out.  We spoke to Rich's bodyguard, Hilary.  He was telling us about garbage.  Everyone went off to have dinner at the Rainbow on the Strip.  Goodnight Rich.


October 25, 1974:  A visit with George.  he apparently was rehearsing for the concert tour.  About 3:30a.m. I was in the parking lot behind the studios sitting down and I heard a voice.  Sure enough, it was George, drinking down a fifth of booze talking to his sweetie, Kathy.  I tried not to crack up.  So I started walking around to the front when he stopped in the driveway by these girls and we came over to give him a gift.  My friend asked him if she could take a picture of him. He didn't mind.  I was surprised to hear that.  Unfortunately, the flash on her camera didn't go off.



The other nights we were there, Jim Keltner, Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan, Shankar, Preston, a couple more odds and ends came by at the studio.  They had a beautiful dark horse out front facing George's Mercedes.  Another night we waited until 3:30 a.m. and I handed him a glass vase I made.  Then he was given a Harrison badge by my friend.  We found out later, he was wearing it at the concert in L.A. 

The next night it was the last evening at the studio, all the vans were packing up to go to Vancouver.  We waited until 5:30, he didn't stop that time.  It was the same night we went to the premiere of "That'll be the Day." 

Rich looked good.  He was wearing a little gold earring.  His hair was slick city.  We left early to follow him, but couldn't catch up with him though.  He's still living here in Beverly Hills somewhere.  At one point, all four of them were in L.A. last month.  this guy called for McCartney's room and Linda answered.  According to him, she was drunk off her ass.  She kept asking him if he had friends who knew who Linda McCartney was.  Funny.  I wish I could have been there to tape her voice.  It's nice to hear them drink occasionally.

November 12, 1974:  Harrison concert.  Sly Stone was sitting behind me.  Dylan was walking back and forth to the side stage.  Shankar was fantastic!  George looked really good.  The second concert was better.  They wore hats and costumes and whatever.  Unfortunately, George's voice was croaking.  He was sick up in San Francisco.  He gave the Cow Palace audience a bad time.  "If you don't like the Indian music, you can leave," etc.

Traveling Wilbury auditions

A night out at the clubs

Elton John talks Lennon

I found this interesting interview in the book Ticket to Ride by Denny Somach



Scott Muni:   Elton, what prompted you to record, "Lucy?"

Elton John:   I said to John, "I'd love to record one of your songs.  Which one would you like me to do?"  And he said, "No one's ever done 'Lucy in the Sky with Dimonds'; no one's ever recorded that ever,"  I mean, the Beatles always had cover versions on all their songs but nobody ever did "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."  so we did that one, along with "One Day at a Time,"  which is on the B Side, also one of John's.

SM:  The last appearance John Lennon officially made onstage was with you on Thanksgiving night, 1974, at Madison Square Garden.  I've seen a lot of rock n roll in my life, but I'm hard pressed to remember anything quite like that.

EJ:  It was an occasion where grown men, even Scottish road managers who'd seen it all, cried.  I've never seen anybody get an ovation like that.  No one will ever beat that for me, ever.

I mean, when he walked on stage, it shook him.   and I think it shook the world when he died, just how much reverence people paid towards John Lennon.  Because John Lennon really represented the rebellious side of the Beatles.  He was the one who slept in the bag with Yoko, or whatever.

And I think it shook a lot of people that when he died that much reverence was shown towards him.  And I'm so glad it was.  hopefully, he'll have been dancing when he saw it.  He deserved it.

He was physically sick when he came onstage with us that night.  You see, I'd made "Whatever Gets you Through the Night," and I sang on another track on Walls and Bridges, and we made sort of, well, not a hard bargain that if it got to number one, he'd come onstage.  And he kept his bargain. 

He came up to Boston to see us, just to check the show out .  When he saw all the equipment he said, "My God, is this what it's all about?"  I came by wearing a chocolate-box cover and nothing else.  It was his time with May Pang and he was very happy.

Just to give you an example, he would take my band to the airport and make sure my mother was OK.  I've never met anybody more thoughtful.  I know you read in some books that John would be cruel and had a very cynical sense of humor, and I've seen that side of him too.  I was with him at a particularly crazy time for him and for me.   But underneath it all, I never saw anything else but kindness.  He is sacred to me.

He is the only person in this business who is absolutely, one hundred percent sacred to me.  And even if I'm doing bad things to myself, or if I'm being totally miserable or morose, or being unreasonable to people, I sometimes think, "Oh my God, John, if there is really a big pearly gate, you're going to be standing outside of it and giving me the biggest lecture."

That's  because he's the only person in this business that I've ever looked up to, the only person.  I've met my equals. I've met people who are great like Mike Jagger and Pete Townshend, who I admire tremendously, but they are not in the same league, I'm sorry.

SM:  You were very close to John Lennon.  And when the tragedy happened, you and Bernie, with words and music, came out with a brilliant tribute called "Empty Garden."

EJ:  Yeah.  When John died, I couldn't believe it.  I was close to John for a year; let's put it on record.  And I hung out with him and I loved him.   I've never met anybody who impressed me so much as that man.

When he died, we were in Australia and we heard it on the plane.  I'm not a religious person particularly, but we did go to the cathedral to have ten minutes of silence to coincide with Yoko's request.  And it was the least I could do for him.

So later, I wrote an instrumental called "The Man who Never Died."  It's never been released; it's still in the can.  That song made me upset when I wrote it.  That was my tribute to John.

And then Bernie came up with the lyric to "Empty Garden," which I thought said it all.  It was very hard to say in a lyric and a lot easier in an instrumental.

SM:  Aren't you Sean's godfather?

EJ:  Yes, I am.  I don't see enough of him as I probably should.

SM:  Well, I can tell you that I did see him recently, and he's a very handsome young man.  Talented too.  He's very active and he's into everything.  He's all questions.

EJ:  Oh, I'm sure he has the brain of someone of 21 probably at this age.  There are certain reasons why I'm not as close to him as I should be.  I just feel that Sean has been a little exploited at some times.  But that's not for me to say.  I'm not part of the family.  I was just lucky enough to know John Lennon for a year and, God, that was one of the happiest years of my life.  And "Empty Garden" is the least I could do.

The Bitch is Back

What was the last song John Lennon ever performed live in front of a paying audience?   He encore of "The Bitch is Back"  at the 1974 Elton John concert.

Dr. Winston O'Boogie in the house

Pen Apple -- Apple Pen

John and Lennon

Every Day's a Holly Day

The first Buddy Holly party was quite a celebrity fest!    I spy the members of Wings, Eric Clapton and Pattie Boyd, Elton John,  and others that I am sure I am missing.   What a night!

More with Elliot Mintz

I have really enjoyed reading all of the comments today about the Elliot Mintz with John Lennon photo.    I think we all agree that Elliot is a man that has had an interesting life and has met a lot of famous people.    I think we all also agree that he is a man that enjoys being tan.    I never quite understood his friendship with John Lennon and always felt like it was forced due to the face that Yoko was friends with him.   

Here is another photo from Elliot's facebook page, and it is one that doesn't appear to have been worked on.   Another great one for the "uh oh" files---looks at the cast of characters in one photo!   Ringo Starr and Nancy Andrews, Harry Nilsson, David Cassidy and Elton John!  

Best of the Beatles?

Very strange photo----why is Elton John holding a "Best of the Beatles" album?    Did he even know what this was?   Huh?

So how do you think the concert went?

John and Elton appear to be in a serious discussion at the party held  after the two of them performed together.   That is May Pang holding the glass. 

Christine and the Beatles in 1987

Tonight I have more from the ongoing series from the Tokyo Beatles Fan Club magazine of Christine Gattiker's time when she saw or met one or more of the Beatles.   This time the year is 1987 and Christine goes to the Prince Trust Concert, talks to Paul outside MPL and is in the audience when Paul is on the Wogan program.   Christine has been one lucky Beatle fan over the years!  This is part 8 and it was found in the 1996 issue 15 of the Tokyo Beatles fan Club magazine. 

Christine asked that her stories and photos be removed 7/5/13
This is heartbreaking.

Whatever gets you through the night.....

How many of you watched the Lennon in NYC documentary on PBS last night? I saw it and thought it was great! I totally bawled my eyes out from the "house husband" years until his death, but still really enjoyed the show. I saw some photos and footage that was new to me along with a few new stories. Good stuff!

Like any good Lennon fan, I can't watch something and not find some issues with it. LOL. I guess the biggest thing I had problems with is the whole "Lost Weekend" myth. Now I know that May Pang herself said that she was not happy with how that time in John's life was shown on this program. I always thought that Yoko set John up with May but did not know that they were leaving for L.A. until after the fact. Maybe I am incorrect on thinking that. Once again, the photos and the story of the "Kotex" incident made it look like it happened the same night as the "Smother's Brother's" incident. Not a huge deal, but it is just historically inaccurate. And lastly the myth that John and Yoko got back together the night of John's performance at the Elton John concert. Not just this documentary, but many of them, make it sound like John saw Yoko after this concert and the two of them went back to the Dakota that night and started to conceive Sean. Now I do not doubt that seeing each other that night might not have started something in both of their minds and hearts about getting back together. But they did not physically get back together for another few months.

OK....off my high horse about that junk. Really it was a top-notch documentary. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it!