Honoring death anniversaries has always seemed creepy to me – whether it’s Elvis Week in Memphis each August or movements to make 9/11 a national holiday. Isn’t life what we should be celebrating? Remembering the departed is very important, but don’t we want to remember them in their happiest times?
Upon examining Elvis Presley’s life, he was clearly at his peak in the mid-50s. Even around the late ‘60s he was riding high as a result of his celebrated comeback special. Near the end of his life in the late ‘70s he was, by all accounts, at an all-time low. Emotionally and physically drained, his death came as a result of his own carelessness.
This contrasts dramatically with John Lennon’s death just three years later. While Lennon certainly maneuvered through his low points – listen to his solo debut album for proof – in 1980 he found inner peace and happiness for the first time in his life at age 40. The sad irony surrounding Lennon’s death is that he was at the peak of his life – emotionally, physically, and, in some regards, even artistically.
Of course Lennon’s death on December 8, 1980, was not of his own doing. He was taken from this earth by, in George Harrison’s words, “someone – the Devil’s best friend, someone who offended all.”
While the 30th anniversary of his death may not seem like the greatest time to honor John Lennon’s life it actually is – for one very simple reason: 30 years ago this December John Lennon’s life had just begun anew. Two great new books and one reissued album offer great insight into Lennon’s rebirth in 1980.
Starting Over: The Making of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy and December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died both offer great insights into the domestic bliss and artistic resurgence Lennon was experiencing in 1980. Combined with the newly remasterd Double Fantasy, which includes a stripped down mix, Lennon fans are given a closer-than-ever glimpse into the happiest year of his life.
Starting Over by Ken Sharp gives the music fan the ultimate “fly on the wall” experience inside the recording studio. Containing new interviews by every session musician involved in the recording of Double Fantasy as well as snippets from interviews given by Lennon in 1980, the overwhelming message is what a joy it was to be around John Lennon at this point in his life. While some fans may question where songs like “Woman,” “(Just Like) Starting Over,” and “Beautiful Boy” rank in the echelon of Lennon songs, there’s no denying the genuine love and contentment expressed therein.
After five years out of the public eye, John said he felt like it was finally time to let everybody know what he had been up to. “When I took the break I never had any time limit in mind,” he told an interviewer. “I wanted to be with Sean the first five years, which are the years that everyone says are the most important in a child’s life. When he was coming up on five, Yoko and I thought maybe it was time to record again.”
The resulting album, Double Fantasy, would feature new songs by both John and Yoko. Beatle fans often scoff at Yoko’s contributions to the album. While her voice can certainly take some getting used to and her songwriting skills are nowhere near the level of her husband’s, Lennon explained the decision to make his comeback album with Yoko:
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Lyrically the songs do seem like question-and-answer statements from John and Yoko, but from a production standpoint they differ quite radically. John’s songs are given a classic New York pop feel, and Yoko’s songs feel much more contemporary, i.e. early ‘80s New Wave. This does seem to interrupt the flow of the album. This isn’t to completely discredit Yoko’s material. In hindsight her songs fit right alongside those of the B-52s and Siouxsie and the Banshees – groups she clearly influenced.
Debate surrounding the sequencing the album centered on whether or not to put all of John’s songs on one side and all of Yoko’s on the other – a decision that would have made more sense given how radically different each of them sound. Yoko insisted, however, that her songs appear side-by-side with John’s.
Regardless of sequencing, there’s no denying the power of John’s new songs. Returning to the music that first inspired him, John opens the album with his self-described “Elvis Orbison” tune “(Just Like) Starting Over.” The droll, medieval bell that opened his Plastic Ono Band album has been replaced with a series of lighter chimes – a clear indication of his new mindset 10 years later. The steady-strolling piano part combined with the vocal refrain “It’s like we both are falling in love again – it’ll be just like starting over” can’t help but make you feel happy for Lennon’s new found happiness – a far cry from declaring life was primarily about pain in 1970.
“(Just Like) Starting Over” isn’t the only time Lennon references ‘50s rock – Buddy Holly hiccups appear on “Dear Yoko” near the end of the album.
Yoko’s “Kiss Kiss Kiss” follows “(Just Like) Starting Over,” turning towards a more erotic love near the end.
“Cleanup Time,” John explained, came from a discussion he had with producer Jack Douglas. “We were talkin’ about cleanin’ up and getting’ out of drug and alcohol and those kind of things – not me personally but people in general. He said, ‘Well, it’s cleanup time, right?’” The song could have served as an anthem for baby boomers coming out the drug-fueled ‘60s and ‘70s.
Not long after the best John/Yoko suite follows: “I’m Losing You” followed by “I’m Moving On.” By far John’s darkest song on the album, “I’m Losing You” illustrates his fear of losing somebody close to him yet again. Having lost his mother as a teenager, one of his best friends some years later, and his manger and friend Brian Epstein during the peak of the Beatles’ popularity, John said he had a pattern of losing those close to him. Following his 14-month separation from Yoko, John didn’t want the same thing to happen again. Yoko wrote “I’m Moving On” during the separation to reaffirm her ability to survive on her own. While the Cheap Trick-backed version of “I’m Losing You” that appeared on the John Lennon Anthology in 1998 rocked harder, the session musicians assembled for Double Fantasy assimilate the power-pop band’s sound quite well.
As for the session musicians assembled, John said he wanted to play with an almost entirely new cast of players. The mix of musicians included everybody from David Bowie guitarist extraordinaire Earl Slick to Peter Gabriel bassist Tony Levin. On working with Lennon, Slick said, “I was like a kid in a candy store.” Levin said he knew his style would mold well with Lennon. “Paul McCartney’s bass playing had a big influence on my playing,” he said. “When I approached John’s music I couldn’t help approach it in a somewhat Paul-like way, which wasn’t that different than approaching in my own way, melodically with a big, fat bass sound.”
Lennon himself was finally able to embrace the Beatles’ legacy 10 years after declaring to Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner the band was “nothing.” He even enjoyed telling session musicians stories about his time with the Fab Four. Drummer Andy Newmark said, “He never spoke about the Beatles in a negative way. Ever. He only said positive, affectionate things about them. It seems by this point, in 1980, he was able to look back on their work and realize how great a band they were … it’s the happy ending that we all want to hear about that amazing four-piece band.”
The very Beatlesque “Woman” seems to reaffirm his embrace of his past legacy. Of the song, Lennon explained, “This is the grown-up version of [the Beatles’] ‘Girl.’” Slick heard the influence himself, saying, “That’s a very ‘Here, There, and Everywhere’ kind of song. It’s great. As soon as I heard it, the first thing I thought was ‘Beatles.’”
One of the most touching songs on the album is a lullaby for son Sean, “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy).” Over a dream-like steel drum background, John sings, “Before you go to sleep say a little prayer. Every day in every way it’s getting better and better.” That’s a far cry from when he declared, “God is a concept by which we measure our pain,” a decade earlier. The song also contains the perennial line “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
The positivity John was experiencing at this point of his life makes his assassination by a deranged fan all the more tragic. Of December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died by Keith Elliot Greenberg, the less said about Lennon’s killer the better. Jealousy, insecurity, and the need to forever be linked to the artist seem have been his primary motivations. What is fascinating about Greenberg’s book is how dedicated John was to art right up until the moment he was gunned down at 10:50pm. During the day Lennon gave a lengthy radio interview, took part in a photo session with Annie Leibovitz, and worked tirelessly on the new Yoko dance track “Walking On Thin Ice.”
Of “Thin Ice,” John told Yoko, “I think you just cut your first number one, Yoko.” Turns out John’s prediction turned out to be true – 23 years later. In 2003 a remix of the song by the Pet Shop Boys became a number one smash on Billboard’s Dance Music/Club Play singles chart.
The session with Leibovitz produced the iconic image of a completely nude John embracing the fully clothed Yoko while curled around her in a fetal position. Lennon always viewed Ono as a maternal figure, even calling her “Mother.”
As for the interview, irony is much too light a word to describe what John Lennon was communicating to California radio personality Dave Sholin. Among other glimpses into his newfound zest for life, Lennon told Sholin, “…while there’s life, there’s still hope,” and the simply tragic, “I consider that my work won’t be finished until I’m dead and buried and I hope that’s a long time.”
Though his life ended tragically later that evening, his spirit endures.
