It Ain't Fair John Sinclair....

 

Yoko and John meet John Sinclair and his wife 

John Sinclair's release from prison in December 1971 

John Sinclair passed away on April 2, 2024 from congestive heart failure at the age of 82.  John Sinclair may have left this world, but fans of John Lennon will never forget him because he is forever immortalized in the song written about his situation.   Even though the "got to got to got to" part gets annoying, you have to admit that it is a catchy song.   

Of course, John Lennon wrote the song after learning about Sinclair's prison sentence.  He received 10 years in prison for giving an undercover police officer 2 joints (hence the line "they gave him 10 for 2). Which, even for 1969 (when he was sentenced), seems extreme.   I am sure with John's issues with immigration due to his marijuana bust, he had empathy for John Sinclair.   And so he wrote the John Sinclair song and performed it during the Rally in Ann Arbor, Michican.    I often wondered what Sinclair's thoughts were during the concert.  Well -- come to find out, a radio station was broadcasting it live and he was in his cell listening to it on a transistor radio.   Here is what else Sinclair had to say:

It was  scary, he said, since he used his weekly call to his wife, Leni, to call in to the concert and have his words broadcast throughout the arena.

“I was terrified, because I thought as soon as the guards found out, they’d carry me off to the hole,” he said, breaking into a hearty laugh. “But I was lucky, because they were listening to the basketball game instead.”

“Then I figured all weekend I figured when the warden came in and heard the report of the phone call, my goose would be would be cooked."

Still, Sinclair recalled, it was worth the risk.

“I felt like I had the chance to speak with people who were supporting me from the penitentiary was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

From what I can tell, the two Johns only met in person once (see photograph above).   John remained an activist throughout his life and he managed the band MC5.   

John Sinclair will be missed by many people, but he will never be forgotten.  

Rest in Peace Johnny

 

Johnny Gentle autograph from Sara's collection 

John Askew, better known to Beatle fans as Johnny Gentle passed away on February 29, 2024.  He was 87 years old.  

I admit to not knowing a lot about Johnny Gentle or the week-long tour the Beatles spent in Scotland in 1960.  I do recall reading about it in Tune In.  I just learned that the book about the tour (which I have the cover page autographed for but don't have the full book) is available as an ebook.  I just purchsed it, so expect a review at some point this year.  

The Johnny Gentle tour is such an important part of early Beatles history.  I express my sympathies to Johnny's family and friends.  

The Beatles with Chita

 

When I heard that Chita Rivera passed away this week at 91, I thought of these strange photographs of her with The Beatles and Paul McCartney.    There was a story going around years and years ago that the one of Paul letting her take a drag on her cigarette was a photo of Paul giving a pregnant woman smoke.  But as more pictures surfaced from this day, it became apparent that Chita was NOT pregnant after all.   Now, how silly it was that I had conversations with people about that.  

Anyhow -- Chita was a wonderful Broadway performer and I am sure she made an impression of the Beatles when she performed with them in Blackpool in 1964. 

Remembering Harry

 

This was said to be Harry's favorite photo of him and Ringo. 

Today, 30 years ago, the world lost the fantastic singer and songwriter Harry Nilsson.   Harry was a fascinating man, and if you have never seen the documentary about him, it is well worth watching.  Harry was one of the few people who could honestly call himself a friend of each of the individual Beatles, even after the break up of the group.    He was especially close to John, and I think Ringo would have considered Harry to be his best friend (currently, I think Ringo's best friend is Joe Walsh, but I know Ringo still feels really highly of Harry because he won't talk about him since he gets super emotional).   

For the longest time, I have been looking for the story I heard about what happened at Harry's funeral.  I finally located it and wanted to share it.   George said the funniest thing during the funeral.  If you haven't heard the story, here it is:

“The funeral was beautiful,” journalist Dawn Eden wrote of the occasion. “Mark Hudson and Jimmy Webb were among the speakers. Others in attendance, besides Harry’s wife of over 20 years (Una) and his seven children (the youngest of which, Oscar, is only two), were George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, the songwriter Paul Williams, Henry Gibson, Micky Dolenz, Van Dyke Parks, and Jim Keltner. I was impressed to see such famous people acting completely human. They were obviously there because they really loved Harry Nilsson.”

During the ceremony, former Beatle George Harrison caused a momentary stir after blurting out, “Fuck you,” which was crucially followed by worthy reasoning and a comedic, sentimental sing-along.

Record producer Mark Hudson recalled Harrison’s initially startling exclamation. “There was the time at Harry Nilsson’s funeral,” Hudson said. “Every songwriter was there – Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams, Van Dyke Parks, George, the list of people was scary, and it was the day [of] the last big L.A. earthquake. So, we are all sad and sullen and standing around the grave and George goes, ‘Fuck You.’ And we are all shocked, and we thought he was having some kind of angst. And then he says, ‘That was always my favourite song: You’re Breaking My Heart, Tearing it Apart, Well Fuck you,’ so then we all joined in and sang it.”

Remembering Leon Wildes

Sad to learn of the death of John Lennon's immigration lawyer, Leon Wildes.  Leon was a great friend to John and Yoko and really is the person who helped John every step of the way until he obtained his green card.   When I met him in 2017, I thanked him for all he did to help John.   Thinking of Leon's son and the rest of his family during this hard time.   Here's to you Leon!  
 

No Words

 

Such sad news today that Denny Laine has passed away.   Denny had been sick and in the hospital, but I had no idea that his condition was as bad as it apparently was.   

Denny will always be remembered as the only person outside of Paul and Linda who was in Wings from beginning to end.   He co-wrote some great songs with Paul and it was Denny's harmonizing with Linda that made the Wings sound stand out.   

I have No Words to say.   Much love to his family, friends, and fans during this time of grief.  

Remembering Jack Oliver

 Former President of Apple Records (1969-1971), Jack Oliver passed away this weekend.    I met Jack in 2015 at the Chicago Fest for Beatle fans and he was a very nice man.   I recall him talking about how he survived the "wrath of Klein" and was not fired.   Must love and sympathy to his family and friends. 

Farewell to the Dream Weaver

 

It is so sad to have to post about another death of someone close to the Beatles.  I just heard about the death of Gary Wright.  Gary was good friends with George and was part of Ringo's All Starr Band for several years.   Gary always was asked by John Lennon to play on the Imagine album but had to turn him down (!!) because of his touring commitments.   Gary appeared at a few Beatle conventions over the years and talked about his time with the lads, especially with George.  

Of course, his big hit song was "Dream Weaver" (which I first heard in the Wayne's World movie and automatically adored).  Prior to performing it with the All Starr's he would tell this story:

George invited me to go to India with him, and as a means of introducing me to the philosophy of India, he gave me some literature, one of which was a book of poems. I was browsing through it one night, and I came across this line that said ‘when at night, my mind weaves dreams’, and I opened up my songwriting journal and I wrote down the words ‘dream weaver’ “.

Condolances to the family, friends and fans of Jimmy Buffett

 

I was so sad to hear about the death of Jimmy Buffett over the weekend.  Not because I am a big fan of his, because while I like his music as much as the next person, I wouldn't consider myself to be a fan.  But because I know many people that are serious Parrotheads and love going to Jimmy Buffett concerts and meeting their fellow fans as much as I do with The Beatles.   So my heart breaks for those fans because I know how difficult it is when you are part of a fandom and the person that is the reason why you are part of that community of people dies.   It feels the same as if someone in your own family dies and it hurts.   I want to encourage all of Jimmy's fans to help each other during this time and not to stop getting together and celebrating his music now that he is gone.  

I always knew that Paul McCartney and Jimmy Buffett were friendly with one another, but I had no clue that they were close friends.   Paul actual went to visit Jimmy this past week when he heard that his friend was in hospice and sang for him.   Paul wrote a beautiful tribute to his pal.   If you haven't read it, Google it and read it because it is such a nice tribute to a fellow musician and friend.  

One of the best interviewers

 

Sadly Michael Parkinson has passed away.   He was known as one of the best interviewers to many people, and they tuned in to see his television show every time it was on to see who he would talk to next.   From what I can tell, he had all of the Beatles except for George on his program (Ringo on two times).  Plus he was on one solo album cover.  I really wish his John and Yoko interview from 1971 would be cleaned up and re-released.  What we have available now is terrible, which is a shame because it is really good. 

So long Michael Parkinson -- 

RIP Carl Davis

 Paul worked with Carl Davis on the classical piece, Liverpool Ontario (1991) as seen in this photo Paul shared on social media in tribute to him.   

Tony Bennett

 

Condolences go out tonight to the family and friends of Mr. Tony Bennett.    The famous singer lived 96  years on this earth and during that time, his music touched many, many people.  Paul McCartney was one of the people Tony considered to be a friend.    They performed together on many occasions.   

Rest in Peace Lily Evans

Mal, Lily and Gary 

This  (edited)picture of Lily with Paul and John at the Y.S. premiere was printed in Beatle Book monthly

The Beatle Book has its watermark on this, but this is the entire version of the photo.

 

Sad news to report this weekend.   Lily Evans, the beautiful wife of Mal Evans, passed away this weekend.  I believe she was 87.    You never hear very much about Lily.  But when you think about it, she went through the same things a Beatles' wife went through (only without the money).   Mal was gone with all of the tours and super late nights at the recording studio.  She had to sacrifice so much for Mal to work for The Beatles.    I always think of the time when Mal was pulled off the plane in Manila, and thinking he was going to die, he said, "Tell Lil I love her."  

She lived a quiet but happy life with her children and grandchildren.   She continued to love the music of her and her husband's favorite singer, Elvis Presley, until the end of her life.  

My condolences to the Evans family.  Losing a loved one is never easy.  I hope your photographs and memories bring you some peace.  

Linda's Memorial service

 

June 8, 1998 -  Linda's memorial service was a very difficult time for Beatle family.  These pictures aren't easy to look at because you can just see such sadness on Paul's (and the kids') faces.  But it warms my heart that George and Ringo (along with their wives) came to the memorial to not just honor Linda but to be there for Paul.   Most of the time, members of the Beatles don't attend high-profile memorial services because they want the focus to be on the person that passed away and not a media-circus because they are there.   I am glad that George and Ringo were there to support Paul.   I know the media was there (obvious -- we have these photos), but I don't remember it being a frenzie.