John Lennon and Paul
McCartney met in July, 1957 and began writing songs together. They soon
became one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships
in rock and roll history. They performed their songs as part of their new
band The Beatles and released their first double-sided original single,
"Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" on October 1962 which reached # 17 on
the British charts. And the rest is music history.
Four years later, Lennon met conceptual
artist Yoko Ono, at one of her exhibits who was several years older than
him. They began a highly publicized relationship in May 1968 and the Yoko
Onanization of Lennon eventually led to the breakup of the band. During
Lennon's last two years in The Beatles, he and Ono began public protests
against the Vietnam War. After The Beatles recorded their final album,
Abbey Road, Lennon left the band in September 1969 and soon
began a successful solo career. Ono suggested they move permanently
to New York, which they did in August, 1971. They first lived in the
St. Regis Hotel, and then moved a loft in Bank Street, Greenwich Village,
After a robbery in their loft, they relocated to the more secure Dakota
Apartments on West 72nd Street.
In 1972, the Nixon Administration tried to have Lennon deported from
the US as Richard Nixon's paranoia convinced the president that
Lennon's support for George McGovern could lose him the next election. The
Immigration and Naturalization Service began deportation proceedings
against Lennon, arguing that his 1968 misdemeanor conviction for cannabis
possession in London had made him ineligible for admission to the U.S.
Lennon spent the next four years in deportation hearings which was finally
overturned in 1975.
On the night of December 8, 1980, at around 10:49 PM, Mark
David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times in the entrance of the
Dakota. Hours before his murder, Lennon told RKO Radio that
he felt he could go out anywhere in New York City and feel safe. However,
several years earlier while he was still a Beatle, Lennon was asked how he
might die. Lennon replied: “I'll probably be popped off by some loony."
To celebrate John's birthday, we suggest making a batch of Beatles
and watching the young John and his mates in HELP (1965).
Beatles cookies are a close cousin to the classic chocolate chip
cookie. However, they are made with sour cream and flavored with cinnamon
and are lighter and puff up more during baking. |