John Lennon was more than a Beatle. Hard to believe because being a Beatle was rarified air. But Lennon not only fronted the band, he was the driving force. Granted, as a songwriting team, he and Paul McCartney were perhaps the greatest of all time, but it was John that pushed Paul. It was John that envisioned their success and kept reaching for the stars. He stood up to the media and the psychotic Fab Four fans, sometimes becoming a lighting rod. He fused the enormous skills of all of the guys, creating a laboratory that welded the individual talents into a towering creative presence never before shared across every continent on Earth. I was reminded of the impact John Lennon had on music when I realized March 20th was the anniversary of his marriage to Yoko Ono. The primary force that destroyed the Beatles band, and ended the most successful musical alliance in history. John had an unbelievable instinct for art, but once he abandoned his singularity, and creative sovereignty, his work devolved. Beyond the Beatles, John was a multimedia artist. He had a knack for capturing snapshots of social and personal anxieties. He not only wrote music and songs, he drew amazing sketches, assembled layered collages and sculptures. His sharp eye and humorous attitudes created imagery that had a huge impact on the Beatle movies and how they integrated music, art and film. John was a welder. But isn't that what icons do? You could make the argument that John Lennon was a pioneer of MTV. He also understood media events, sound bites, happenings, street art, pop up art and so much more. The man was way ahead of his time. So much so that he had a difficult time handling all of it. Like many artists he was a tortured soul. He knew it too, so he spent most of his life searching for answers. He tried music, which thankfully he never really gave up. But he also tried psychotherapy, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Transcendental Meditation. Lennon never really had any formal musical training, he just willed himself to play the guitar, then later the piano. Most of the time he played with his instruments more than actually playing them. He fused the melodies he heard in his head with the sounds he wrestled from his instruments, then blended the contributions of his bandmates by applying intense heat and pressure. As a fan I followed him down a lot of rabbit holes. Sometimes I wondered what the hell was he thinking? Other times I was just stunned at how inspirational his ability was to get pure emotion out of his simple poems and melodies. His anthem to humanity, Imagine, is a perfect example of "turning a phrase". When you first hear it you have to ask yourself, why didn't anyone imagine that song before? John Lennon walked among the great artists of all time. He was no less magical than de Vinci, Picasso, Warhol, and Dali. I loved his music, his lyrics, his drawings and his photography. I watched all of his films and always wondered just what would he do next? But I didn't really 'appreciate' the enormity of his talent until he was gone. I am not alone in believing The Beatles changed the world, and I knew Lennon was a genius. All of the guys were, in their own right, masters at their craft. But the welder, the man who fused them all together, was much more than just a great musician. On December 8th 1980, the world lost one of its most influential artistic welders. |
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