A NIGHT IN THE LIFE...

I can’t let it go. I still carry a torch for the Beatles. And, I am not alone…taking just one night for example:

Walking around the square a few weeks ago, a man by the subway station was playing early Beatle tunes on his guitar, like Little Child, and Baby, It’s You. Walking into Johnny A’s gig across the way, he was playing The Night Before, almost as good as the Beatles themselves. When I asked the young man I met on the subway, “What’s on your iPod,” he said, “The Beatles, of course.” And, when Paul McCartney took the stage at Fenway last summer, at the first note of Baby, You Can Drive My Car, I almost fainted. I have a chronic case of Beatle-mania. “The Beatles” are alive and well, and, like the rest of the world, I am still in love with them.

When my dear friend Lori invited me to her cousin’s photography show to view pictures he had taken of the late John Lennon, I couldn’t wait. I cancelled other plans, and headed to Panopticon Gallery in Boston, (one of the oldest fine art photography galleries in the United States). Imagine walking into a room of never-before-seen photographs of John Lennon. I couldn’t get enough. Roger, the photographer, had teamed up with Ken Sharp, who has a book just out, called Starting Over, The making of John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy. What a great idea to showcase the book along with the pictures. You can also see some of these photographs in the book, and behind us on the walls here.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Roger and Ken, and it was terrific. Ken, a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter, and music author, who has met all the Beatles, except Lennon, told me, “They were each amazing in their own way.” And Roger said, “John had my back.” He was referring to John Lennon making sure no un-invited photographers got in Roger’s way. Roger had been hand picked (including by astrological compatibility) by Yoko herself, back in 1980, to photograph the couple as they secretly began work on Double Fantasy. When you look at the pictures, you can see a relaxed, yet hard working John Lennon. I also see a rather sexy Yoko always by his side.

As a life long Beatle Fan, I was mesmerized. I bought the book, and can’t wait to read it. I want to know everything Beatle. I even have pins, pocketbooks, tee-shirts, and have just been invited to play the Beatle Rock Band music game. But, right now, since it’s my favorite time of year, I am going to go listen to Ringo Star’s, Christmas CD, I Wanna Be Santa Claus. This compilation is high-spirited holiday fun. I particularly enjoy Ringo’s version of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah… or as John Lennon would say, Happy Christmas…

http://www.panopticongallery.com/