Music & makeovers! I swoon for chippy paint, a gorgeous patina and a fabulous song!!! I love great music (read: Bruce Springsteen & Otis Redding), white lilacs, walking in freshly fallen snow, the Golden Girls, road trips and the fall!!!
A sweet vintage Christmas card image found online. (Original source unknown.)
When John Lennon recorded today’s holiday song in the fall on 1971, I do not know if he had any idea that over 50 years later it would still be a staple of the Christmas season. With its underlying theme about a wish for an end to a war, the track was not so much a song of the season but rather a wish for peace beyond the holidays. And Lennon was still struggling with fame-his own & that of The Beatles. Despite how much their compositions led to a change in music & culture during their years together, Lennon still saw himself simply as “John” as expressed in the song, “God”, from his first solo record released 55 years ago on December 11, 1970.
Ten years later, the last three lines of that song became a devastating reality when Lennon was killed 45 years ago today on December 8, 1980. His loss is still immeasurable, palpable and utterly heartbreaking.
Thank you for everything, John. You are missed. Every. Single. Day.
Yoko Ono (L) and John Lennon (R) along with some of the children from The Harlem Community Choir in a 1971 photo (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band-Lennon’s first solo record-was released 55 years ago in December 1970. (Image found online. (Original source unknown.)
John Lennon & Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir: “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (1971, written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono).
John Lennon: “Love” (1970, written by John Lennon).
John Lennon: “God” (1970, written by John Lennon).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
This week will mark the 85th birth anniversary of the man who was first introduced to the world as “The Smart Beatle”. John Winston Ono Lennon was born in Liverpool, England on October 9, 1940. His parents did not have a stable marriage (his father was a seamen who was away a lot) so eventually Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi Smith after her sister & John’s mother, Julia, gave her custody when her son was nearly four. Two years before her death in 1958 from being struck by a car, she bought her son his first guitar in 1956, the same year he formed The Quarryman group.
At their second performance, Lennon met Paul McCartney & invited him to join the band. By 1960, George Harrison was invited by McCartney to join the group that by this time was renamed The Beatles. Two years later, the addition of Ringo Starr completed the lineup that would change the world.
This December will mark the 60th anniversary of The Beatles seminal album, Rubber Soul. And that comes in a year where we already celebrated the 60th anniversary of 1965’s Help! movie & album and the historic Shea Stadium show along with the 55th anniversary of 1970’s Let It Be. Still, Lennon has his own significant landmarks this year as well.
Fifty-five years ago in December 1970, he released his first solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
His songs explored the death of his mother, his disillusionment with life, fame, heroes & everything else that is supposed to make people happy. Lennon was writing the tracks as he approached his 30th birthday, after his time as a Beatle for nearly a decade came to an end and made him more rich & famous than most people would ever be, and he just wanted to be John. He wanted to live a much smaller existence with the woman he loved.
Five years later Lennon had a life altering year. It started 50 years ago in February 1975 with the release of Rock ‘n’ Roll, the album he made in tribute to his musical heroes.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
It includes covers of songs by Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino and Buddy Holly, amongst others. That album was followed by a greatest hit compilation, Shaved Fish, released in October 1975. That month Lennon turned 35 and on his birthday, he became a father for the second time with the birth of his son, Sean. That led Lennon to put his musical career on hold so he could focus on fatherhood. He spent the next five years as a self-described “house husband” (a/k/a a stay at home dad).
By 1980, he returned to his musical career. A summer of writing & recording resulted in Double Fantasy which was released on November 17, 1980.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
On December 27, 1980, it became the third #1 album of his career (after Imagine in 1971 and Walls And Bridges in 1974), staying in the top spot for eight consecutive weeks. Double Fantasy’s first single, “(Just Like) Starting Over”, reached the top spot in the U.S. on the same day where it stayed for five consecutive weeks. The second single, “Woman”, peaked at #2 in March 1981 while the third single, “Watching The Wheels”, reached the #10 spot two months later.
Double Fantasy was the last album released in Lennon’s lifetime. He died 45 years ago on December 8, 1980. My heart is still broken.
Sending “limitless undying love” today & every day “across the universe” to the man who changed music & life for so many of us.
John Lennon circa 1980.(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Beatles: “In My Life” (written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. From the 1965 album, Rubber Soul).
The Dirty Mac: “Yer Blues” (As performed at “The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus” concert, December 1968. Written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney. From the 1968 album, The Beatles).
The Beatles: “Dig A Pony” (written by John Lennon. From the 1970 album, Let It Be).
John Lennon: “God” (written by John Lennon. From the 1970 album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band).
John Lennon: “Just Because” (written by Lloyd Price. From the 1975 album, Rock ‘n’ Roll).
John Lennon: “I’m Losing You” (written by John Lennon. From the 1980 album, Double Fantasy).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
It was 60 years ago today that The Beatles’ second film, Help, was released in the U.S. on August 11, 1965. Categorized as a comedy adventure where the group is running from a cult trying to get their hands on a piece of jewelry stuck on Ringo’s finger, it also provided fans with an accompanying album which debuted a week earlier.
A second film for the group was no surprise as it followed their landmark career altering arrival in America in February 1964 which prompted the release of their first film, A Hard Day’s Night, on August 12, 1964.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
As successful as a new movie & album were for the band, there was an even bigger milestone on the horizon for The Fab Four that year. This Friday marks the 60th anniversary of their historic concert at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. At that time it was home to baseball’s NY Mets & football’s NY Jets, but on Sunday, August 15, 1965 the Beatles used it to become the first band to ever play a stadium concert. The music was inaudible over the screams of the majority of young girls in the audience of 55,600 attendees, but the band played their 12 song set anyway as follows:
“Twist & Shout”
“She’s A Woman”
“I Feel Fine”
“Dizzy Miss Lizzy”
“Ticket To Ride”
“Everybody’s Trying To Be My Baby”
“Can’t Buy Me Love”
“Baby’s In Black”
“Act Naturally”
“A Hard Day’s Night”
“Help”
“I’m Down”
The BBC made a 50 minute movie of the concert which was first broadcast in 1966, the same year The Beatles returned to Shea for another show which took place on August 23, 1966 as part of their final tour. The stadium was demolished in 2009 with Bill Joel holding the last concerts there a year earlier. Dubbed “The Last Play At Shea”, he welcomed several special guests to bid farewell to the place where The Beatles made history, including Sir Paul McCartney. He & Joel closed the final show with a performance of “Let It Be”.
It was also McCartney that played the first three inaugural concerts in July 2009 at the new stadium, Citi Field, which is located a few blocks from where Shea once stood. He included a song from the 1965 concert playlist, “I’m Down” and it can be heard on the live album set, Good Evening New York City, which McCartney released in November 2009.
In April of that year, Citi Field became the new home for the NY Mets. According to ESPN, the team will pay tribute to the historic Shea concert anniversary before their scheduled home game against the Seattle Mariners this Friday night.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Last week we said goodbye to American hero James Arthur Lovell Jr. The astronaut, test pilot, naval aviator and mechanical engineer died on August 7, 2025 in Lake Forest, Illinois at age 97. In 1968, he & two other men-Frank Borman (March 14, 1928 – November 7, 2023) and William Anders (October 17, 1933 – June 7, 2024)-became the first three astronauts to orbit the moon during the Apollo 8 mission. Then in 1970, Lovell commanded Apollo 13 and brought it back to Earth safely after an oxygen tank exploded in the service module 48 hours into the flight. Ron Howard’s film based on that mission was released 30 years ago on June 30, 1995 starring Tom Hanks as Lovell.
He was born March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1952. A decade later, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA which issued this statement after his passing:
“We are saddened by the passing of Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13 and a four-time spaceflight veteran,” the space agency said. “Lovell’s life and work inspired millions. His courage under pressure helped forge our path to the Moon and beyond—a journey that continues today.”
Lovell and his wife, Marilyn Gerlach, were married 71 years before her death two years ago on August 27, 2023. The couple had four children.
James Arthur Lovell Jr.: March 25, 1928 – August 7, 2025.
Jim Lovell in 1969 (top) and circa 2015 (bottom). (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
The Beatles: “Help” (1965, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
We said farewell to another musical icon last week. John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne died on July 22, 2025 at age 76. Born December 3, 1948 in the Marston Green village of the UK, he is best known as the original lead singer of Black Sabbath, the band credited with the invention of the heavy metal genre where he became known as “The Prince Of Darkness”.
They played their farewell show together 17 days earlier on July 5 in Birmingham, England & all the proceeds-reported to be 190 million dollars, the highest grossing charity concert of all time according to Billboard-were donated equally to three charities: Acorn Children’s Hospice, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Cure Parkinson’s, the disease Osbourne struggled with for over 20 years. Despite that, his last performance was all him-no lip synching, no back tracks, just talent.
Heavy metal was not a genre that spoke to me, but Sabbath’s “Paranoid”-released 55 years ago in the UK in September 1970 (and January 1971 in the U.S.)- was a staple on FM radio. I always found the guitar riffs & Osbourne’s vocals intensely captivating. He was fired from the band in 1979 for substance abuse issues. A year later he released his first solo album, Blizzard Of Ozz, led by the first single, “Crazy Train”. Twelve more solo studio albums followed over the next four decades along with his music festival, Ozzfest-an event he started in 1996 along with his wife & manager, Sharon-which was held nearly every year until 2018.
I became a fan of “The Osbournes” MTV reality show which ran from March 2002 to March 2005. The first season was the standout one for me & while I could have done without his wife in our faces for the next 20 years (or his daughter, Kelly), watching Ozzy doing regular life things like getting mad at the remote, taking out the garbage & cuddling with his dogs was both priceless and hilarious.
Ozzy was heavily affected by The Beatles and compared their arrival on the music scene like “going to bed in a black & white world and waking up in color”. In 2010 in honor of what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, Ozzy paid tribute to him with a cover of the song, “How”. The accompanying video follows Osbourne walking through NYC and ends at the Central Park “Imagine” mosaic where he places a bouquet of flowers for the former Beatle. Respect.
John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne: December 3, 1948 – July 22, 2025.
Top: Black Sabbath in 1970 (L-R): Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne.Middle:Ozzy Osbourne in the 1970’s. Bottom: The Prince Of Darkness on his throne at his last show with Black Sabbath on July 5, 2025 at at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham, England.(Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
Osbourne reunited with Black Sabbath 40 years ago to perform at the U.S. location of the Live Aid concerts. They were held on July 13, 1985 on two different continents: The show in America took place at the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania while the European show was held at Wembley Stadium in London, England. If you had MTV, you had a front row seat to this extraordinary musical event. The concerts were held to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia which was organized by musicians Bob Geldof and James “Midge” Ure. First they put together the UK charity single by Band Aid, “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, released in December 1984. Then a group of American artists formed USA For Africa and recorded, “We Are The World”, which was released in March 1985. Both songs closed out their respective concerts which reportedly raised over 100 million dollars collectively.
Some of the artists who performed at Live Aid in 1985 included David Bowie (top picture), Led Zeppelin (L-R: Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, middle picture) and Eric Clapton (bottom picture). (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
There were a number of standout moments at both locations, but even four decades later, Queen’s 21 minute set is still hailed as one of the greatest live performances of all time. Other exceptional Wembley moments include David Bowie, U2, The Who (despite experiencing technical issues) and Elton John, who performed “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” as a duet with George Michael for the first time. The pair collaborated on that song at the same venue during Michael’s March 1991 show and that version was released as a single. It became a #1 hit in both the UK & the U.S. (in December 1991 & February 1992, respectively).
For the American show, Phil Collins (who played at both concerts, using the Concord to fly from England to the U.S. venue) played drums for Eric Clapton & for the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin. Neil Young sang with Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ashford & Simpson performed with Teddy Pendergrass for his first performance after being paralyzed in a car crash in Philadelphia in 1982), Hall & Oates sang with former Temptations David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks and Mick Jagger performed with Tina Turner. Motown and soul were represented, respectively, by The Four Tops and Patti LaBelle. YouTube has a Live Aid channel of videos from both shows.
Queen at Live Aid in 1985 (L-R): John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Black Sabbath: “Changes” (1972, written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward).
Ozzy Osbourne: “How” (2010, written by John Lennon).
Queen: ” We Are The Champions” (Live performance at the Live Aid Concert in London, Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985. Originally released in 1977. Written by Freddie Mercury).
Paul McCartney: “Let It Be” (Live performance at the Live Aid Concert in London, Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1985. Joined by David Bowie, Alison Moyet, Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof. Originally released in 1970. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).
The Four Tops: “It’s The Same Old Song” (Live performance at the Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 1985. Originally released in 1965. Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland).
Black Sabbath: “Paranoid” (Live performance at the Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 1985. Originally released in 1970. Written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward).
Patti LaBelle: “Over The Rainbow” (Live performance at the Live Aid Concert in Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 1985. Originally released in 1966. Written by Harold Arlen and Edgar Yipsel “Yip” Harburg).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Today we celebrate birthday #85 for Sir Richard Starkey, better known by his professional name, Ringo Starr. He was born on July 7, 1940 in the place he & his three bandmates put on the map-Liverpool, England.
He joined The Beatles in 1962 & proved to be the missing piece that elevated the group from a quartet to a super band. During their eight years together, they released a string of revolutionary albums that altered the course of music history & pop culture in a decade that moved faster than any other before or since. Starr was known as “The Funny One” to the public and the peacemaker in the band. Today he continues to spread the message of peace & love, especially every year on his birthday when he asks the public to pause at noon in their time zone to think exclusively about those two things.
Top: The Beatles circa 1965 (L-R): John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Bottom: The band four years later in 1969 (L-R): Lennon, Harrison, McCartney and Starr. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
After The Beatles broke up in 1970, Starr continued making music and collaborating with other artists including all three of his old bandmates along with Billy Preston, Steve Cropper, Merry Clayton, Brian Wilson and many others.
In 1989 the former Beatle formed Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, a revolving group of musicians who previously included such esteemed members as Clarence Clemons, Nils Lofgren, Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Todd Rundgren, to name a few. The current band just announced several U.S. concert dates for this fall.
Starr also tried his hand at acting and while that might not have been the most successful chapter of his career (not counting his wonderful turn as The Conductor in the “Thomas & Friends” children’s series), that foray did lead to his second marriage to actress & model Barbara Bach in 1981. They met on the set of the movie released the same year, “Caveman”.
Prior to that he was married to Maureen (nee Cox) Starkey from 1965-1975. Together they had three children: sons Zak (b 1965) and Jason (b 1967) and daughter Lee Parkin Starkey (b 1970). Starr is also stepfather to Bach’s two children, Francesca Gregorini (b 1968) and Gianni Gregorini (b 1972).
Happy birthday, Ringo! Peace & love to you always. Thank you for everything.
Top: Starr in 1964. Second: The musician circa 1969. Third: In concert in Wantagh, NY in 2012 (photo by me). Bottom: A recent picture of Starr from his website. (Images found online. Original sources unknown except where noted.)
The Beatles: “I Wanna Be Your Man” (1964 (U.S. release), written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Beatles had the top selling song in the country 55 years ago. The title track from their final studio release, Let It Be, reached #1 on April 11, 1970 for two consecutive weeks.
The album-which debuted a month later on May 8, 1970-also reached the top spot in the U.S. for a month later that year (June 13 – July 10), knocking Paul McCartney’s self titled solo debut from the #1 spot after its three week hold in that position. The release of his own record on April 17, 1970 came one week after he officially announced he was leaving The Beatles, marking the end of what was arguably considered to be the greatest musical group the world had ever seen. Luckily the year ended with the release of another post Beatles solo record: George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. The first single, “My Sweet Lord” reached the #1 spot on December 26, 1970.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Beatles never officially finished Let It Be, however. The final mixing was done by American music producer Phil Spector who took what was known as the “Get Back” tapes and turned it into the band’s last collaborative effort. It produced another top selling song, “The Long & Winding Road”, which hit #1 on June 13, 1970 for two consecutive weeks. Incidentally, an earlier rendition of “Get Back”-credited as The Beatles with Billy Preston (the keyboard extraordinaire who played on the song with them) was released as a single a year earlier and reached the top spot in May 1969 for five consecutive weeks.
A film under the same title as the album, directed by Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, was released on May 13, 1970. Most of it features The Beatles in the studio rehearsing the Let It Be songs at the beginning of 1969 and ends with the rooftop concert the band performed on January 30, 1969.
The Beatles performing on the roof of the Apple building in January 1969 (L-R): Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison. . (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Many years later, that film became my first real introduction to the band. It was running on a loop on cable during the summer before I started junior high and I watched it every chance I got. I bought the album, read every book I could get my hands on about the group and started my life long obsession with their music.
Despite their official breakup in 1970, there would be a number of Beatles releases after that including Let It Be… Naked, released in 2003. It stripped the Wall Of Sound effects Phil Spector had added so the new album just featured the music we heard all throughout the movie. And 55 years later, both are still testaments to the magic of The Beatles.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Beatles: “Two Of Us” (1970, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney).
The Beatles: “I Me Mine” (1970, written by George Harrison).
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Several now classic and legendary songs hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts 50 years ago. This week I am focusing on three of my favorite #1 songs of 1975 – Part 1.
The year started with Elton John in the top spot for two weeks with his cover of a 1967 Beatles song. One of the song’s co-writers-John Lennon, billed on the cover track as “Dr. Winston O’Boogie”-played guitar and contributed backing vocals to it. The two artists collaborated on Lennon’s song, “Whatever Gets You Through The Night” in 1974. It became a #1 hit on November 16 that year, a feat John predicted would happen. That forced Lennon to settle a bet by appearing on stage at John’s concert at NYC’s Madison Square on Thanksgiving night on November 28, 1974 where the two performed that song & a cover of The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There”.
John ended the year with two other #1 songs: “Philadelphia Freedom” hit the top spot for two weeks in April & “Island Girl” was #1 for three weeks in November 1975. He also provided backing vocals on Neil Sedaka’s song, “Bad Blood”, which was #1 for three weeks in October that year. That same month, John became godfather to Lennon’s second son, Sean. 1975 was one of several outstanding years for Elton John.
Elton John (L) and John Lennon (R) on stage at NYC’s Madison Square Garden on November 28, 1974.(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The next song to hit #1 in 1975 was by Barry Manilow. The first top selling record of his career reached that position for one week on January 18. Two more #1 records would follow for him over the years along with 11 Top Ten hits to add to his previous success as a jingle writer, a theme song writer & a pianist for The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler. I love a couple of other songs by him-“Weekend In New England” and “Trying To Get The Feeling”, specifically-but Manilow’s #1 track from 1975 had me from the line, “You kissed me and stopped me from shaking”.
Barry Manilow’s second album was released in October 1974. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
On February 15, 1975 Linda Ronstadt took over the #1 spot for one week with a track from her fifth album, Heart Like A Wheel. That proved to be her breakthrough record, as it reached #1 on the Billboard Albums chart the same day her cover of the 1963 song by Dee Dee Warwick (sister to Dionne) gave Ronstadt the biggest selling song of her career. Ten Top 10 hits would follow in the next several decades as she successfully explored a number of different genres of music, but 1975 was the year Ronstadt broke through as one of the industry’s greatest talents.
Today’s Linda Ronstadt’s song is from her fifth album, released in November 1974.(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week’s edition of Music Monday.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
This month marks 61 years since The Beatles arrived in America-on February 7, 1964-and changed music, Sunday nights & pop culture forever with their first appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show”-on February 9, 1964.
Here is the post I wrote about this epic event on the 55th anniversary in February 2019:
February 9, 1964. One night. One show. One band. And the rest, as they say, was history.
Ed Sullivan with The Fab Four on February 9, 1964. (Photo courtesy of CBS. Image found online. Original source unknown.)
The Beatles on February 9, 1964. (Photo courtesy of CBS. Image found online. Original source unknown.)
There isn’t anything to add to this moment in history. It was perfect. And it changed music and subsequently the world forever. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan, for introducing us to John, Paul, George & Ringo. For all they gave us, for all those they inspired and all those that came after them. This was the moment that started it all.
The performance of this song does not get as much recognition as the other songs they sang that night, but it was during this number that each of the Beatles were identified by their first name.
A sweet vintage Christmas card image from Pinterest.(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Christmas came early for us Elton John fans. Last month his new documentary, “Never Too Late” was released and a few days ago it started streaming on on Disney+. It not only went behind the scenes of his final U.S. concert at Dodger Stadium in California in 2022, but it took a look back at his magnificent more-than-five-decade career and the happiness he has found as a husband and father which prompted his retirement from the road. Needless to say, it is an incredible look at an astounding life & significant collaborations, especially his work with John Lennon in the 1970’s.
If you recall, EJ’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour was interrupted by the pandemic. And what did he do while he could not go out on the road? He collaborated with several other artists to bring us the album aptly titled, The Lockdown Sessions. A bonus track was a holiday song he co-wrote with Ed Sheeran that was released in December 2021. Who said nothing good came from a universal pandemic?
Top: Elton John’s 1973 Christmas record. Middle: EJ (L) and Ed Sheeran (R) in a clip from the video for their 2021 holiday song. Bottom: EJ’s 2021 album. (Images found online. Original sources unknown.)
Elton John: “Step Into Christmas” (1973, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin).
Ed Sheeran and Elton John: “Merry Christmas” (2021, written by Ed Sheeran and Elton John).
A sweet vintage Christmas card image from Pinterest.(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Today is a unique day in music. It is the birth anniversary for Jim Morrison-born in 1943-and the day we lost John Lennon in 1980. He & The Beatles helped start The British Invasion in the mid 1960’s while Morrison & The Doors basically ended it with the release of their debut album in January 1967. Two immense iconic & legendary performers who were so much alike yet so different in their approaches to music, life and love.
Jim Morrison circa 1969. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
One of ways Lennon offered not only those things but hope as well was through his holiday message delivered through song in 1971. The world was changing through politics, culture and war and in need of something that could put everyone on the same page. And 53 years later, with the world sadly in the same dark place, Lennon’s voice still offers some light. Thank you, John. You are missed. Every. Single. Day.
John Lennon circa 1969. (Image found online. Original source unknown.)
Several other artists have covered today’s song including Sarah McLachlan who included her version on her 2006 holiday album, Wintersong. In the spirit of Lennon’s original, she also included a child’s choir on backing vocals courtesy of the Children’s and Youth Choirs of the Music Outreach Program at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music in Vancouver, British Columbia.
(Image found online. Original source unknown.)
John Lennon & Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band with The Harlem Community Choir: “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” (1971, written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono).
Lilacs & Rust 