To me the Beatles will always be John Lennon. I know they each had their personalities and each personality contributed to the whole that was the Beatles, but to me it was always John’s band. And to me John is also the one who really was a Beatle until the end.
My mom introduced me to the Beatles, at a very early age, the early albums Introducing the Beatles, Meet the Beatles, Something New, Beatles IV. I remember not being able to tell them apart. And then slowly I started to be able and the first one that I could easily recognize was John Lennon. It was the 70s and I was a kid and I loved the Beatles. I wanted all their albums. So my mom started buying one album for every birthday and some Christmases too. Until I had all the main Capitol releases, on nice vinyl, and a few from my mom in well cared for first printings in the thick 60s vinyl. My mom taught me how to use a turntable and how to care for records. And we would sit around talking about Beatles lyrics. The first Beatles song I memorized was I am the Warlus. I learned all the lyrics by heart even though I had no idea what most of it meant. I remember talking lyrics with my mom in the apartment which although small had a great front balcony with breeze from the beach less than a block away always blowing and the waves always in the background. It’s hard not to be relaxed in that environment. I remember discussing pigs in a sty and lucy in the sky and semolina pilchard. And in pre-google days, we could only conjecture.
She had a Mustang Mach II yellow mustard with racing stripes up the hood and a cassette player, which in those days was like having a blue-ray disk player. I don’t know how she afforded that car, it looked so bad ass. So we made mixed tapes, of Beatle songs we liked. And we would drive around and crank the stereo.
At one point she took me to see Beatlemania. I think I was 11 or 12. I had all the records by then, and had started to veer into other music, mostly disco 45s that I could afford to buy for a dollar at the store. I still have that nice collection of disco 45s with some real gems, Unlike large chunks of the albums I’ve collected over the years, the disco 45s are easy to take with you, with LPs I had to lose some every time I’ve moved and I’ve moved a lot.
Beatlemania was awesome. For me it was pretty much a Beatles concert, certainly the only one I could access. They played songs from all the records and I think ended with Hey Jude, by which time my mom and me where on the seats jumping up and down and singing.
In high school she moved to Brussels and I stayed in Puerto Rico, I was stubborn and just starting to get the hand of being a teenager, and you know girls. So I stayed, but would go spend the summers in Europe, where I discovered that in Europe the Beatles records were all different, well somewhat. Different album titles, covers, different songs, more songs actually in each album side, and some different mixes. So I started again. When in Europe I started buying all the Parlaphone versions. I also started discovering New Wave and bands like Madness, the Police, The Clash, the Sex Pistols, all bands which were already popular in Europe, but wouldn’t be heard of in Puerto Rico for another year or two. And right by where my mom lived in Brussels there was a library where one could check out albums and then take them home and record them to cassette. I remember recording Sandinista and London Calling among others. Then with my brand new walkman I went through Europe listening to those cassettes, and the Beatles cassettes.
By this point I had all the albums so one year my mom bought what would be the final Beatles record she would give me and the last one added to my collection, since then the collection has been in reductive path. The album she gave me was a Beatles picture disk with the songs from the original demo for Capitol with Pete Best on drums. Pure awesome. Even though its all covers, some of them cheesey Vegas-like numbers like Besame Mucho, you can totally hear the rock in it. I love that record.
So October 9 was John Lennon’s birthday. At many times in my life people have asked me who’s my favorite Beatle. A stupid idea, but whatever, I usally answer quickly and move on. And often I have not chosen John. But all in all, he’s the one I think had the greatest impact artistically. John Lennon’ s and Kurt Cobain’s are the celebrity deaths which marker my life.
Right before Lennon was shot, my mom had brought me Double Fantasy from New York, and I immediately loved it. What a great record, even with the Yoko Ono songs, some of which are actually quite good. And then he got shot. It was very sad.
My mom posted this video on facebook saying thanks to John.
And I say, gracias Mami.
And here’s the Beatles in top form playing their first non-love song.
