In the spirit of Mother's Day, I thought it would be interesting to talk about the mother of one of the most famous musicians ever...John Lennon. His mother, Julia Stanley Lennon, wasn't able to care for John due to complicated circumstances beyond her control and for that John spent his entire life suffering. He transferred that emotional energy into his music and the music was a haven for his psyche.
On my radio show tomorrow, columnist Shelley Germeaux is going to chat with me about the influences that Julia had on John's life. I think this mother-child relationship has to be one of the most documented in the world of music. Shelley's research & knowledge is extensive; don't miss a chance to learn more about this tragic story. You can read her latest articles at:
http://www.examiner.com/article/john-lennon-myths-debunked-examining-the-truth-about-his-mother-julia
http://www.examiner.com/article/ingrid-pedersen-lennon-the-true-story-of-john-lennon-s-lost-sister-victoria
Shelley is a columnist for the National John Lennon Examiner and also the Seattle Rock Music Examiner. Her research of John Lennon’s life and music has taken her to
Liverpool, London and New York. She has been the John
Lennon Examiner since 2010, and many of her articles have been published in
publications, such as Seattle Sound Magazine, Not So Modern Drummer,
Daytrippin' and Beatlefan Magazines. Don't miss the radio show LIVE - tomorrow at 1:00 pm CST:
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But I say it just to reach you, Julia…"
So
began John Lennon’s eternal Mother’s Day missive to his mother, Julia Stanley
Lennon, the girl with “seashell eyes” whose untamed heart was both his doing
and his undoing. Extremely long story short (indeed, the bulk of my first book Shoulda Been There, so aptly named): Julia married John’s father, Fred, on a bet,
on a whim. And when World War II broke out, separating them –compounded by the
fact that Julia discovered that she was pregnant – (something the bohemian
Julia had barely allowed herself to anticipate) the erstwhile marriage began to
collapse.
Once
her baby was born (on 9 October 1940) and christened John Winston Lennon, Julia
immediately wrote to Fred, asking for a divorce. Unfortunately, though Julia
had married Fred on a lark, Fred had married Julia for life, and divorce was
not (in his mind) a possibility.
Never
one to be thwarted by the will of others, Julia began dating, and she fell in
love with John Dykins, a swashbuckling man with a thin mustache and a trilby
dipped over one eye. After some months of serious courtship, the two moved in
together.
Only
one thing marred their happy new relationship: a precocious, problematic
toddler, John. So…through John’s choice (very complicated story…you Shoulda Been There, and can be!), John
began spending more and more time with his aunt and uncle, Mimi and George
Smith.
After
a heartbreaking, TRAGIC scene between his parents (post World War II) in which
Fred tries to take John away to New Zealand to live with him as “Father and son”
but is denied, John comes to live permanently not with his mother, but with his
Aunt Mimi and Uncle Ge’rge.
And
THAT is the beginning of that quote you read above, that heart-breaking pledge,
that whimper from a little boy alone in a strange bedroom, singing himself to
sleep.
For
the rest of John Lennon’s life, he would try to make his mother notice him. He
would try to be good enough, popular enough, smart enough, rich enough,
powerful enough, and “clamored for” enough to make her see that he should NEVER
have been relinquished. John sets out to sing his love for her at the
microphones of the world.
Go
back and listen to his songs (“Hide Your Love Away,” “Nowhere Man,” “I’m A
Loser,” “Help,” and all the rest) and you’ll hear the “child inside the man”
(as the great poet Wordsworth phrased it) crying out to his mother. You’ll hear
it in the cover songs he selected to sing, (notably, “Baby, It’s You” and
“Anna”). You will see it in his actions, designed to always draw attention to
himself.
I
wish on this Mother’s Day I could give John his mother. I wish I could give all
children the Mother they deserve and need. I wish that on this Mother’s Day
every mother would be the kind of mother they should be. But they are not.
So,
I suppose I must ask two final questions:
Are
you? Am
I?
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This Saturday, May 11, Lanea will be at the lovely Studio 4905 in Henderson, KY ~ from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm. A GREAT day is in store for you - awesome prizes, drinks, food, art, jewelry...and cookbooks....
Studio 4905 ~ 4905 Timberland Dr. ~ Henderson, KY ~
270-869-4469
My friend Rhonda will
answer any questions you have about their awesome summer activities connected
to "weird science."
Traveling from Norway to play The Beatles' music is an enormous undertaking, but Kjetil Linnes makes it look like an easy task. Kjetil will take time out of his busy performance schedule at Abbey Road on the River in Louisville, KY, to chat with me about The Beatles, Norwegian Beatles and his solo music production. 
