John Lennon - Rock 'n' Roll
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written By: Moti Kupfer
Release date - 17.02.1975
This isn’t youthful energy driving his vocal performances here, nor any kind of technological innovation. It’s simply a love of rock and roll, combined with the desire not to get sued...
At the end of 1973, John Lennon’s life was surrounded by a huge question mark. The brilliant musician and songwriter was in crisis in his relationship with his wife, Yoko Ono. Ono, who was the stronger and more dominant, not to say controlling, of the two, felt she was losing John. So she did as the saying goes: “If you love somebody, set them free.”
Ono did not just let him go. She connected Lennon with their personal assistant and confidante, May Pang. She hoped that by allowing her husband a brief affair with a woman of her choosing, she would eventually get him back into her arms.
Yoko did not expect Lennon and Pang to leave for Los Angeles, nor could she foresee how a single weekend would turn into a period of about a year and a half.
Lennon had every reason to escape to Los Angeles. In 1969, he composed “Come Together” for the album “Abbey Road” by “The Beatles”. The song was inspired by the melody of “You Can’t Catch Me” by Chuck Berry, who had been one of the greatest influences on “The Beatles”.
John once said that when he listen a caliber like Chuck Berry he just fall apart and have no other interest in life. As for Lennon: “If rock and roll is dead, I don't want to be around.”
Publisher Morris Levy filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Lennon, and the court hearing in New York was scheduled to begin in December 1973. So Lennon fled to Los Angeles, effectively killing two birds with one stone from his perspective.
Eventually, Lennon was forced to reach a settlement with the publishing company, agreeing to record three of their songs. This would mark the beginning of Lennon’s chaotic journey across Los Angeles on the way to recording his album “Rock ’n’ Roll”, released on February 17, 1975.
Lennon, who was living a life of excess and heavy drinking in Los Angeles, made a critical mistake when he decided to go with Phil Spector, fondly remembered from the days of “The Beatles” and his legendary “Wall of Sound.” But sometimes more is simply too much.
As the project progressed, Spector kept adding more musicians and backing vocalists. The sessions spiraled out of control when he fired a gun in the studio, poured whiskey over the mixing console, and ultimately staged a car accident, disappearing with the tapes and effectively shelving the project he had been recording with Lennon.
The film “Sliding Doors” is built around the eternal question we all ask ourselves: what would have happened if we had chosen differently?
Lennon, much like in that film, was given another chance to re-record the 1950s covers album he had longed to make. This time he adopted a “less is more” approach. He wanted the musicians to stay as close as possible to the original arrangements of the songs, with the exception of “Do You Wanna Dance?”. The mixing and editing continued until mid-November.
To ensure progress was being made, Lennon gave Levy a demo tape of the recordings so far. Levy took the material and created his own unauthorized version of the album titled “Roots: John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits.”
In response, Lennon and Capitol quickly released the official version of “Rock ’n’ Roll” to neutralize sales of Levy’s album.
Lennon initially planned to use some of his childhood drawings for the album cover. Ultimately, however, he chose a photograph taken by Jürgen Vollmer, an old friend of “The Beatles” from their Hamburg days. Vollmer had photographed the band during their early years in the German port city.
In March 1975, Lennon filmed promotional clips for “Slippin’ and Slidin’” and “Stand By Me” for the BBC television program “The Old Grey Whistle Test.” They were recorded at “Record Plant East” in New York. On April 18, 1975, Lennon performed “Slippin’ and Slidin’,” along with “Stand By Me” and “Imagine,” for the television special “Salute to Lew Grade.” It would become his final public performance.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music