Truthfully, no one motivates me more than me, but I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that I am my own inspiration. Eating and having a roof over my head inspires me to work. My sister inspires me to write. Others inspire me to do many other things. But through it all there was one person that inspired me to love the one thing that truly is part of me and part of what passes as my soul. Music. The person who inspires me, my inspiration, was and to some extent still is John Lennon.
It was JL that inspired me first with the Beatles and then as a solo artist to fall in love with music and desire to learn to play the guitar. I still play 40 years later. I admired the fact that he was always true to himself. He didn't try to please the masses. He did, but was never his intention. He did what he did for himself. He had been quoted many times saying so in the papers and on TV . He always thought of himself as just a musician, a guy with a job where he gets to do what he loves. Play music.
He was amazed when the Beatles became as huge as they did. Often wondering why they were such big deals to the public. Early on in his career, he made a statement that the media and haters twisted out of context. He was misunderstood by his remark that the Beatles were bigger then Jesus. Hell, I'll make the same statement now as I don't believe that any supreme being exists. However, as young men often do, they don't express their meanings clearly. I believe he wasn't trying to snub religion or God, etc. I believe his point was that people were putting too much emphasis on a bunch of musicians and not on more important things like spiritual needs. What I like most about John was that he never really took himself too seriously. I try to emulate his attitude and philosophy.
I think the mega-fame that the Beatles received was beyond John's comprehension and desire. Which is why he had so many issues. (I won't go into them here. I'm not writing a biography. Really.) He once said he felt like the Nowhere Man he wrote about and that his song Help was really his cry for help. I can't say that I can compare my upbringing or life to his, but I have felt that way at many points in my life. I was a nowhere man looking for help.
He had admitted years later that he had demons. Growing up he lacked a stable family life. His father left early on as he grew up. Due to a unreliable, flighty mother, he moved in with this Aunt Mimi, who was every bit the mother his own was not and gave him the stability he needed. Unfortunately, his mother died when John was young which had a very negative effect on him. He always feared abandonment. Through it all, he didn't take the easy way out or fall to pieces. I live my life that way. No matter how often someone has fed me a shit sandwich, I try to power through it and ask for someone to pass the ketchup.
Early on, his mother, Julia, gave him the one gift she could and taught him to play and love music. Music saved him. Years later, once he worked through his demons, he was able to step away from the limelight and be the husband and father he so much wanted but hadn't known how to obtain before. In the end when he decided to perform again, he was able to have the balance between creativity and home life that many Rock and Roll superstars never achieve. Graveyards are filled with those stories. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janus Joplin, to name a few, could not master their demons to live beyond their 27th birthdays. John died at the age of 40 three weeks before Christmas 1980 from an assassin who will remain in prison for the rest of his worthless life. Farking fucktard!!!
I can't say I'm living John's life (or would), but I think I have kept his attitude alive. I try to be true to myself first above pleasing my masters. Keep the things that are sacred to me - close to me, because fame is a misleading mistress, and tomorrow never knows. (JL penned Beatles' song. Look it up.) John may be gone but his music will live on forever until mankind no longer exists.
I found this while searching for photos. Below is an age progression of what Lennon might look like today.
It was JL that inspired me first with the Beatles and then as a solo artist to fall in love with music and desire to learn to play the guitar. I still play 40 years later. I admired the fact that he was always true to himself. He didn't try to please the masses. He did, but was never his intention. He did what he did for himself. He had been quoted many times saying so in the papers and on TV . He always thought of himself as just a musician, a guy with a job where he gets to do what he loves. Play music.
He was amazed when the Beatles became as huge as they did. Often wondering why they were such big deals to the public. Early on in his career, he made a statement that the media and haters twisted out of context. He was misunderstood by his remark that the Beatles were bigger then Jesus. Hell, I'll make the same statement now as I don't believe that any supreme being exists. However, as young men often do, they don't express their meanings clearly. I believe he wasn't trying to snub religion or God, etc. I believe his point was that people were putting too much emphasis on a bunch of musicians and not on more important things like spiritual needs. What I like most about John was that he never really took himself too seriously. I try to emulate his attitude and philosophy.
I think the mega-fame that the Beatles received was beyond John's comprehension and desire. Which is why he had so many issues. (I won't go into them here. I'm not writing a biography. Really.) He once said he felt like the Nowhere Man he wrote about and that his song Help was really his cry for help. I can't say that I can compare my upbringing or life to his, but I have felt that way at many points in my life. I was a nowhere man looking for help.
He had admitted years later that he had demons. Growing up he lacked a stable family life. His father left early on as he grew up. Due to a unreliable, flighty mother, he moved in with this Aunt Mimi, who was every bit the mother his own was not and gave him the stability he needed. Unfortunately, his mother died when John was young which had a very negative effect on him. He always feared abandonment. Through it all, he didn't take the easy way out or fall to pieces. I live my life that way. No matter how often someone has fed me a shit sandwich, I try to power through it and ask for someone to pass the ketchup.
Early on, his mother, Julia, gave him the one gift she could and taught him to play and love music. Music saved him. Years later, once he worked through his demons, he was able to step away from the limelight and be the husband and father he so much wanted but hadn't known how to obtain before. In the end when he decided to perform again, he was able to have the balance between creativity and home life that many Rock and Roll superstars never achieve. Graveyards are filled with those stories. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janus Joplin, to name a few, could not master their demons to live beyond their 27th birthdays. John died at the age of 40 three weeks before Christmas 1980 from an assassin who will remain in prison for the rest of his worthless life. Farking fucktard!!!
I can't say I'm living John's life (or would), but I think I have kept his attitude alive. I try to be true to myself first above pleasing my masters. Keep the things that are sacred to me - close to me, because fame is a misleading mistress, and tomorrow never knows. (JL penned Beatles' song. Look it up.) John may be gone but his music will live on forever until mankind no longer exists.
I found this while searching for photos. Below is an age progression of what Lennon might look like today.
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