Palm Springs

Photos by Fred Seaman 

 April 8, 1979 

Come sail away with the Lennons

 February 16, 1980 

An important day in Beatles history

 January 19, 1994 -  Paul coming to induct John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 was a moment when history was made.   Not only did Paul give a very emotional speech in the form of a letter to John, but of course, this was the night when Paul and Yoko hugged and mended their relationship, and Yoko handed over the tapes for "Free as a Bird,"  "Real Love," "Now and Then," and "Grow Old with Me."    At least that is the cannon for the story -- I think this was in the works before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but still, at the time, I remember seeing the photos of Paul and Yoko hugging and couldn't believe that day had come! 

Young Sean

 What year do you think this was taken?  My guess is 1979 or 1980.  

The Lennon family travels in style

Summer 1978
 

Julian's birthday meal

 April 8, 2023

Julian's 60th birthday.  

The Beatles induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

January 20, 1988

It has been 35 years since The Beatles were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.   It was a HUGE deal in 1988 and even a bigger deal that Paul was a no show.   I found this article written by a fan that was there in an old issue of GoodDay Sunshine.   There was no author given to the article. 

Beatles News and other interesting News

GoodDay Sunshine Winter 1988

 

George and Ringo were joined by Yoko, Julian, and Sean to accept induction on behalf of the Beatles at the third annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies on January 20^th at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.  Paul should have been there, but he wasn’t.  He should have given a proper, intelligent explanation for his no-show, but he didn’t.  Truthfully speaking, it was his loss. 

  In addition to receiving the coveted award, all the presenters and presenters ended the Hall of Fame festivities (with George right up front) by jamming on some classic standards.  “Twist & Shout” kicked off a mind-boggling all-start session in which the capacity black-tie crowd of 700 (at $1,000 a plate) also heard renditions of “All Along the Watchtower,” “Stop! In the name of Love,”  “Who Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On,”  “Born on the Bayou,”  “Like a Rolling Stone,” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”  The ultimate highlights, however, had to be when Julian contributed vocals to “Stand By Me” with Ben E. King (and some of the Beach Boys) and when “I Saw Here Standing There” saw Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Mick Jagger and George Harrison trade off vocals and “oohs.”   George not only sang, he played guitar, as did Neil Young, Jeff Lynne, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Edmunds, Jeff Beck, Steve Van Zandt, John Fogarty, Bob Dylan, Les Paul, and member of Paul Schaffer Late Night Band, Oh yes, Elton John played piano and Ringo drummed.

  It was Mick who presented the induction, crediting The Beatles with giving the Rolling Stones their first hit and stating, “We (The Stones) thought we were totally unique animals.  Then we heard there was a group from (he sneered) Liverpool!  They had long hair, scruffy clothes, but they had a record contract – I was almost sick!”  Harrison swiped a line from Pepper in his acception:  “It’s wonderful to be here.  It’s certainly a thrill.”  But he was also very serious, “We all loved John so much, and we all love Paul very much.”  Yoko added, “I wish John was here.  He would have been here, you know.  He would have come.”  She was alluding to Paul’s absence.  Julian, sporting a hairstyle more becoming on the lead singer of the band Simply Red, remarked, “I’m grateful to my dad for giving me a lot of inspiration.”  Sean, growing up quickly, confessed, “I’m a little young to know about all this stuff, but I love The Beatles.  I’m proud to be up here for doing nothing.”  Not to be outdone in the humor department, Ringo chimed in, “We’re all doing nothing…give us the prize and let’s go home!”  The five held hands and were all smiles.

  Let us pray that the complete award ceremonies will be made available as a video.  Our guess, though, is that the only place anyone will get to see replays of these Rock & Roll Hall of Fame annual presentations is at the actual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when it finally opens sometime in the future in Cleveland, Ohio.

   For the record, Paul refused to join the others on grounds of “business differences.”  The precise message, delivered from a McCartney publicist:  “I was keen to go and pick up my award, but after 20 years, The Beatles still have some business differences which I had hoped would have been settled by now.  Unfortunately, they haven’t been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion.”  It sure doesn’t sound like the Paul of old, who would always think of public relations first.  Former Beatle publicist Derek Taylor said, “It’s a grim statement.”  Beach Boy vocalist Mike Love called Paul’s absence “…a bummer because we’re talking about harmony” when he accepted his award from Elton John.  

Others inducted were the Drifters, who were presented by Bill Joel; the Supremes, who were presented by Little Richard; and Bob Dylan, who was presented by Springsteen.  Motown founder Berry Gordy was inducted as a non-performing professional, while Les Paul, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie were honored as “early influences.”  Other notable no-shows were Diana Ross and Keith Richards, who was supposed to join Jagger in presenting The Beatles.  Little Richard was asked backstage how it felt to be an artist The Beatles took on tour in the sixties.  He was quick to correct, “Oh, you got that backward.  I took them on tour!  They stayed at my home…I knew ‘em  before you did!”  So there. 

Thinking of David Crosby

 

It is sad that so many of The Beatles contemporaries are no longer with us, and today we lost another one -- David Crosby.   My first thought when it comes to David Crosby and The Beatles is the 1966 press conference.  You see him peeking out behind a curtain and a journalist asked about the "long-haired gentleman," and David quickly hides behind the curtain and John says something like "oh that's just our friend Dave." 

He was a great musician and sang some of my favorite songs.  He will be missed.    

Baking Bread

 

Peace Tower

 

October 9, 2007 

Teeter Totter

 

Family trip to the Zoo

 July 1977

Sightseeing in Hong Kong

 

June 1977 -  John and Sean enjoy seeing the sights in Hong Kong.   I think some people may have recognized him.  

"I like the clowns and the little dogs"

 

March 29, 1977 -

John, Yoko and Sean (and Mick Jagger?!?!) go to the circus at Madison Square Garden.    The news clip from this is super cute.  I've always wondered about Mick Jagger sitting behind them.   Did he go to the circus with the Lennons?   Did he just happen to also be at the circus and see John and Yoko and went over to them?   It just seems a little strange that out of all of the people to be at a circus in New York City happens to be a guy that John and Yoko did a television concert performance with in London called  "Rock n Roll Circus."