Willie Simpson

Category: John Lennon

  • John Lennon Singing Lead on Get Back

    The Beatles are one of those bands so famous, that to the untrained ear of the average person, its hard to tell which Beatle is singing what.  Of course, such distinctions are “Beatles 101” to hardcore fans, but part of the confusion lies in the seamless harmonic blend Lennon and McCartney produced in many of…

  • Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Gotta Serve Somebody vs. Serve Yourself

    John Lennon was really offended by Bob Dylan’s latest single, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Dylan recorded the song for his 1979 album Slow Train Coming.  The album and the song was part of Bob’s short lived conversion to Christianity.  In his diary, John wrote, “The backing was mediocre by Jerry Wexler, the singing was really pathetic,…

  • The Everly Brothers and John Lennon, All I Have to Do Is Dream, Cathy's Clown

    Dreams are mysterious and crazy things.  Sometimes you’ll have a dream and have no idea of what to make of it.  Songs simply about dreams, even sort of romantic cliched ones, are sometimes enough just to trigger those feelings of the novel, the unexplained, and the otherworldly.  Such is the case with the 1958 Felice…

  • John Lennon Was Wrong About Bob Dylan's New Morning LP

    Here is an exchange between John Lennon and Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine on Bob Dylan’s 1970 release New Morning, ” WENNER: What do you think of Dylan’s album? LENNON: I thought it wasn’t much. Because I expect more–maybe I expect too much from people – but I expect more. I haven’t been…

  • John Lennon, Instant Karma

    Part 71 of my youtube countdown begins in a flash with John Lennon’s 1970 release “Instant Karma.”  “Instant Karma” is one of the fastest released songs in rock history.  John wrote it in the morning, recorded it in the afternoon, and released it ten days later.  The urgency of its release convinced karmic minded George…

  • Ozzy Osbourne, How?

    Part 69 of my youtube countdown is a funny one.  I have Ozzy Osbourne wandering around New York City with a bouquet of flowers singing John Lennon’s “How?” from Imagine. Eventually he discovers Strawberry Fields at Central Park and lays it down for John.  It’s both touching and funny as bewildered tourists and New Yorkers…

  • John Lennon, Jealous Guy

    For part 49 of my youtube countdown, I found an awesome clip of John talking about love and relationships before launching into “Jealous Guy,” his song from 1971’s Imagine.  “Jealous Guy,” was originally written when the Beatles were in India as “Child of Nature.”  The original lyrics were about self discovery, but the new words…

  • John Lennon, Dear Yoko (home performance)

    Part 29 of my youtube countdown continues yesterday’s theme of solo Beatle acoustic performances.  In this one, we have John Lennon playing Dear Yoko at his Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island home.  The common response to seeing the video is two fold.  For starters, a lot of people have trouble believing its really John behind…

  • The Dirty Mac, Yer Blues

    Part 27 of my youtube countdown rolls on with another act from the infamous Rock and Roll Circus.  This time, we have Dirty Mac.  Who is Dirty Mac?  Well, its John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards (on bass, awesome), and Mitch Mitchell (on drums direct from the Jimi Hendrix Experience.)  A super group if there…

  • Paul McCartney Cries Listening to John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy"

    In part 20 of my youtube favorites countdown, we delve a bit into the sadder side of Beatle history with a clip of Paul McCartney reflecting on the life of his then recently deceased pal John Lennon.  Now, when most people think of Paul’s reaction to John’s death, they either think of this clip where…