John Lennon couldn\u2019t get a word right. From childhood, he inadvertently mastered the art of being misunderstood. As early as Mosspits Kindergarten, John was expelled for belligerence, and by the time he made his way to Quarrybank Grammar (his high school), John was \u2013 as he flippantly phrased it \u2013 \u201csus-pen-dooed.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Sure, there were plenty of times, I\u2019m certain, when John was impudent, in his own right. He could dish out satirical taunts with the best of them. However, I firmly believe that quite often his reputation preceded him and that the bad press John received wasn\u2019t always really deserved.<\/p>\n
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Take, for example, the famous quote attributed to our Mr. Lennon:<\/p>\n
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\u201cRingo isn\u2019t the best drummer in Liverpool. He isn\u2019t even the best drummer in The Beatles.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ve heard this insult attributed to John on radio shows, in speeches, and during panel discussions filled with scholars. But the truth of the matter is, John never said this<\/em>! And Beatles Guru Mark Lewisohn agrees. A few years ago, in fact, Lewisohn set out to prove that this awful quote was never<\/em> uttered by John, and he carefully traced the comment to comedian Jasper Carrot in 1983.[i]<\/a> As Lewisohn astutely pointed out, this was never the sort of thing John Lennon would have said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What, then, did the real John Lennon have to say about Ringo\u2019s drumming? Well, in The Anthology<\/em>,[ii]<\/a> he states quite clearly, \u201cRingo\u2019s a damn good drummer. He was always a good drummer.<\/strong> He\u2019s not technically good, but I think Ringo\u2019s drumming is underrated the same way Paul\u2019s bass playing is underrated\u2026I think Ringo and Paul stand up anywhere with any <\/em>of the rock musicians!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sadly, so few people repeat that<\/em> quote.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m sure John wasn\u2019t surprised that he was given, erm, \u201ccredit\u201d for petulant phrases. On the 1964 tour, this sort of thing happened rather regularly. Take this interview that occurred in Cincinnati where (according to many biographers!) John sniped at a reporter who suggested that The Beatles should be able to handle the fans without police support. Time and again, you\u2019ll read that John sneered at the man and spat, \u201cWell, maybe you<\/em> could. You\u2019re fatter than us!\u201d But here is what really occurred, transcribed from the Cincinnati press conference.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reporter 4:<\/strong> You four ought to be able to handle the crowds without all the police presence. Why don\u2019t you just walk right through?<\/p>\n George:<\/strong> (Incensed) Well, y\u2019 can\u2019t go leapin\u2019 into a crowd of 30,000, can you?<\/p>\n Paul:<\/strong> (Smoking and trying to over-talk George, who is clearly agitated) You can\u2019t go up the middle, y\u2019know.<\/p>\n George:<\/strong> They\u2019d pull you apart y\u2019 see! So, for everybody\u2019s sake\u2026<\/p>\n Reporter 4:<\/strong> You ought to be able to handle it\u2026<\/p>\n George:<\/strong> (Browned off) Well, maybe you<\/em> could because you\u2019re fatter \u2019n us!<\/p>\n John says not a word and looks away.[iii]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Similarly, just a few minutes later \u2013 according to the \u201cexperts\u201d \u2013 John fired another angry retort at the press. But here is the actual exchange\u2026and it\u2019s not John<\/em> who\u2019s annoyed by a reporter\u2019s inane question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reporter 5:<\/strong> What excuse do you have for your collar-length hair?<\/p>\n John:<\/strong> (Shrugging) It just grows out of our heads\u2026<\/p>\n Paul:<\/strong> (Still irritated by the last question) We don\u2019t need<\/em> an excuse. You<\/em> need an excuse![iv]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The room, of course, broke into waves of laughter, but John sighed, knowing that by morning, the interview\u2019s sharp retorts would be credited to him. Any sarcastic comment immediately became his territory. When he rang Mimi back in Liverpool, and she fussed about his \u201covert rudeness\u201d to the press, John would try to tell her it had been George\u2019s observation this time or Paul\u2019s remark. But no one would believe him, not even his own aunt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, it\u2019s no surprise that by the summer of 1966, the American press and DJs across the country over-reacted to a very complicated and in-depth observation that John made to Maureen Cleave in a lengthy interview.[v]<\/a> That comment \u2013 condensed by Datebook<\/em> magazine into an arrogant sound-bite \u2013 became \u201cthe last straw for Lennon.\u201d A victim of erroneous and out-of-context citing, John was attacked ferociously and forced to apologize over and over and over and over for something he didn\u2019t actually say as it was reported. Pieces of his conversation had been left out of his comment. The full truth had been omitted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The problem is that once a public figure develops a reputation for being \u201ca bad boy\u201d (or girl), the image is difficult to shrug off. And once the press turns on you, they rarely reverse the trend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let me hasten to say that the journalists who traveled with<\/em> The Beatles during \u201cthe long and winding\u201d 1964 North American Tour, to a man (or woman), loved John. Larry Kane said that John was The Beatle with whom he developed the closest relationship. And, so did Ivor Davis.[vi]<\/a> And. most assuredly, Art Schreiber. Helen Shapiro will gladly tell you that on her 1963 tour, John did more to help her and bolster her spirits than any of the other Beatles. He was her friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which only goes to show that getting to know someone rather than accusing them from a distance is the best policy. An old Native American adage says this: \u201cNever judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins.\u201d Translated, we find: \u201cNever judge anyone until you have lived in his or her world for at least two months.\u201d That\u2019s a sound rule of thumb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If only we could learn something important from the way John was treated by those who had no idea that he \u201cwas not what he appeared[ed] to be,\u201d if only we could glean a truth from it\u2026wouldn\u2019t the world be a better place?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [i]<\/a> \u201cWho\u2019s Sleeping in Groucho Marx\u2019s Bed?\u201d The London Times, 8 March 2013: https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/whos-been-sleeping-in-groucho-marxs-bed-90qdw77pcjg<\/a><\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> The Anthology<\/em>, p. 81. Direct quote from John Lennon.<\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> You can see this question being posed and answered here. http:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/videos\/entertainment\/music\/2014\/08\/27\/14706123\/<\/a> Several sources including Miles, The Beatles Diary, Vol. 1<\/em>, 162 and Badman, 119 blame John for this irritated line of patter. You can clearly see that John does not<\/em><\/strong> deliver the line. He says nothing. George is the one speaking.<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> Bracey, David. \u201cWhat\u2019s Future for Beatles?\u201d Cincinnait Enquirer, 28 August 1964, found at: http:\/\/www.meetthebeatlesforreal.com\/search?q=Cincinnati+1964<\/a> A brief transcript of this interview can be found in Badman\u2019s The Beatles: Off the Record, <\/em>119. However, Badman credits John with the retort, \u201cWell, it grows out of my head and John with \u201cWe don\u2019t need an excuse. You need an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> Cleave, Maureen, \u201cHow Does a Beatle Live?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> Davis, Ivor, The Beatles and Me on Tour<\/em>, p. 83. Davis states, \u201cI got to know and appreciate John the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series:\u00a0www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations —\u00a0@910PubRel<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter and\u00a0910 Public Relations<\/a>\u00a0on Facebook.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John Lennon couldn\u2019t get a word right. From childhood, he inadvertently mastered the art of being misunderstood. As early as Mosspits Kindergarten, John was expelled for belligerence, and by the time he made his way to Quarrybank Grammar (his high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[8,117,30],"class_list":["post-7198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baby-boomer-beatles-blog","tag-john-lennon","tag-the-beatles","tag-the-fest-for-beatles-fans"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7199,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7198\/revisions\/7199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.thefest.com\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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