-Caveat Lector-
Well June shows here ignorance agan; here is item on Lennon and when one
considers his big mouth cost him money, he back tracked......
Who cared? So Lennon bit the dust and no great loss. Lennon stated
the disciples were "thick and ordinary"......the Beatles were as common
as an old shoe and never lost their Limey accents - Lennon, unto the day
he died in the streets gunned down by an admirerer.
Always liked the song Hey Jude.....
Saba
ABBEY ROAD TO ZAPPLE RECORDS
A BEATLES ENCYCLOPEDIA by Judson Knight
Sitar
George Harrison first discovered the sitar on the set of Help!, where it
was being used as an exotic prop. On the Beatles' final tour, Harrison,
McCartney, and Lennon purchased sitars from a music store in India, and
though the other two never developed much interest in the
instrument�which is considerably harder to master than the
guitar�Harrison stayed with it.
Eventually he popularized the sitar in the Western world, and became the
world's most famous sitar player. (After all, he was the one who made
his friend, sitar master Ravi Shankar, famous in the West.)
Yet Harrison actually played the instrument on only five Beatles songs:
"Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," "Girl," "Tomorrow Never Knows,"
"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," and "Across the Universe." Three other
Harrison compositions feature only Indian musicians playing the sitar
and other traditional instruments such as the tabla: "Love You To,"
"Within You Without You," and "The Inner Light."
The "We're More Popular Than Jesus" Scandal
John Lennon, throughout his career, had a habit of speaking his mind
with almost no consideration of consequences. Such was the case on March
4, 1966, when he told journalist Maureen Cleave of the London Evening
Standard that
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about
that, I'm right and will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus
Christ now. I don't know which will go first, rock 'n' roll or
Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and
ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
It was one of many things he said in a lengthy interview, and the
British public�who were used to his offhand remarks�didn't pay much
attention to the statement.
Not so in America. In July of that year, Lennon's words reached the U.S.
fan magazine Datebook, and suddenly a furor erupted. The focal point of
the outrage lay in the rural South and Midwest, where churches, radio
stations, and various conservative groups sponsored the destruction of
anything having to do with the Beatles. People gathered to burn, shred,
or grind to bits records, magazines, and photographs of the group.
The world soon began to react. Spain and the Vatican denounced Lennon,
but the press in Hong Kong�a predominantly Buddhist city�questioned
what all the fuss was about. South Africa banned Beatles music from its
airwaves. Years later, after the group broke up, the apartheid regime
allowed the music of McCartney, Starkey, and Harrison on the radio, but
John Lennon's songs remained under ban.
"I Was Not Saying We Are Greater"
By the time Lennon had an opportunity to clarify his statement, stock in
Northern Songs, the Beatles' publishing company, had dropped from $1.64
to $1.26 a share.
In Chicago on August 11, 1966, Lennon held perhaps the most difficult
press conference of his career. Appearing quite shaken by the outrage he
had inadvertently caused, he told reporters
I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would
have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God,
anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was not saying
we are greater or better.
People generally accepted his apology, although the Ku Klux Klan tried
unsuccessfully to keep the group from playing a show in Memphis.
A few months later, in October 1966, the Archbishop of Boston agreed
that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ, modern times being
what they were.
It is interesting to observe that one reason why nobody cared about
Lennon's comment in Britain was that they assumed it was just one man's
opinion. In America, on the other hand, much of the furor had its
wellspring in the fact that the Beatles enjoyed a status larger than
mere mortals, and their opinions were not just opinions. Hence the very
reaction to his comment helped to prove John's point.
Back to Table of Contents Page
Site designed and hosted by ConnecTec Communications
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
