Carl Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Just posted this interview with Julian Lennon: http://www.songfacts.com/blog/interviews/julian_lennon/ Greg loves the "Who are your favorite songwriters" question, but the answers tend to be the same: The Beatles and Bob Dylan. For Julian, I thought it would be a perfect question, and it produced an interesting answer: I would have to say Paul Buchanan is one of my all time favorites, from The Blue Nile. I love Steely Dan, of course, always have. Love the Led Zep boys. Beatles, of course, no question about that. I mean, the list goes on. There's too much great stuff out there. Yes, even Julian Lennon cites The Beatles as a songwriting influence. He did so as an observer, however, not an insider. Greg did a great job with this - he covered the songs and songwriting whereas I would have been tempted to mush it up by revisiting the absent father angle, which I find fascinating. John Lennon is a genius, of course, but his priority was The Beatles, not his first son. You can make a pretty good case that this was the right play, that the world needed his music more than Julian needed a dad. This story plays out for ordinary men all the time: is your priority fatherhood or your passion? Wisened, older dads typically put more energy into their children, and that's what John Lennon did when he had Sean in 1975. This version of Lennon made family his priority and integrated it into his work, using Sean as inspiration for the song "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)." But he never went back to pick up the pieces with his first son. Julian turned out just fine, in part because his middle-class upbringing kept him grounded, an essential trait for a songwriter. He got the genetic gifts, including the voice and the creative strand, and being a Lennon wasn't always a bad thing (fun fact: he dated Brooke Shields). Still, you don't really recover from a dad you can't count on. There's a weird sense of abandonment when your father is out there doing stuff for other people while you are out of sight and mind. Julian had the most acute case of this syndrome, since his father was lavishing his love in the most conspicuous way, and legions loved him back. John Lennon made some sacrifices for his art, and one of those was Julian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Maybe if he had lived more he might have had the chance to become friends with Julian... Still couldn't read the interview, just came from work and the kid is helping me with dinner, but thanks for it in advance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Very good interview. Nothing about his father or feelings, we know already... he speaks about himself. Cool... Thank you, Greg and Carl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted February 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Thanks Edna. Was hoping Julian would show up on the 50th Anniversary Ed Sullivan special that aired tonight, but I didn't see him. Dhani Harrison performed and Sean and Yoko were of course there along with Paul and Ringo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted February 12, 2014 Report Share Posted February 12, 2014 I guess the only Beatle's child who has a fame for himself must be Jason (or Zak?) Starkey, drummer for... Who? Led Zepp? Or maybe Stella McCartney... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKETOUHY Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Makes me wonder why these famous people marry and bring children into the world? Most people like John because of their work can't be like most parents because of their work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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