We All Shine On

John Lennon's life and music still inspire

Tribute show set for Thursday at River Street Jazz Cafe

By ALAN K. STOUT
MUSIC ON THE MENU
December 7, 2005

“I still believe in love, peace ... I still believe in positive thinking. While there's life, there's hope. I always considered my work one piece, and I consider that my work won't be finished until I'm dead and buried, and I hope that's a long, long time." - John Lennon, 1980

It's bitterly ironic that a man who dedicated much of his life to peace was taken by a horrible act of violence, but that’s exactly what happened on Dec. 8, 1980, when John Lennon, considered by some to be the heart and soul of The Beatles, was murdered in New York City.

It happened, also ironically, in the town that Lennon loved the most. It was where the transplanted Englishman lived his final years, and it is where he died on that unseasonably warm December night. He was shot dead in front of his own home and in front of his own wife.

Tragically, after a five-year hiatus, the former Beatle had just recently returned to music and was greatly looking forward to new beginnings. He had just learned, on the day he was murdered, that his new album, "Double Fantasy," had been certified gold. His single at the time, "Starting Over,” a terrific pop song, exemplified exactly how he felt about everything that was happening in his life. It was to be the first of many new songs that we would hear from John Lennon in the ensuing years.

But that all ended on the corner of Central Park West and 72nd Street on that awful night, when a man that described himself as a fan - a man who Lennon had actually signed an autograph for just a few hours earlier - ended his life and robbed us of one of the most beloved musicians and songwriters of our time.

It did not, however, silence his music.

John Lennon shines on, and so do his musical disciples. And on Thursday, an all-star collection of area musicians will gather at The River Street Jazz Cafe for “We All Shine On: A Tribute To John Lennon.” The show, which will also be broadcast live on 102.3-FM, The Mountain, is being presented not so much to note the 25th anniversary of the night John Lennon left us, but rather to celebrate his life and the music that he left us.

And it is an incredible collection of music. 

The music on John Lennon shines on

Though I was only 13 years old when John Lennon was killed and only three years old when The Beatles disbanded, that's never stopped me from giving an instant answer when anyone asks me who I believe is the best rock group of all-time.

Clearly, it's The Beatles.

By the time I was in college in the late '80s, I was already a huge Beatles and Lennon fan, and, in 1988, when I went to see the marvelous Lennon documentary "Imagine" in the theater, I was stunned by one particular video clip of him being interviewed in the early '70s, and his response to a question about the possibility of a Beatles reunion.

“If it happens, I'll enjoy it,” he said. "I go on instinct. If the idea hit me tomorrow, I might call them and say ‘Let's do something.' If it happens, it will happen. My memories are now all fond and the wounds are healed. If we do it, we do it. If we record, we record. I don't know - as long as we make music.”

Considering how bitter the Beatles' breakup had been, and having seen the tension documented in the "Let It Be" film, this comment shocked me, saddened me and angered me. If it had not been for that deranged, crazy fan on that awful December night - who I won't even dignify by printing his name in this paper - I think many of us that never got the chance to do so may have actually seen The Beatles. Maybe at Live Aid? Maybe with Amnesty International? Maybe at a big, corporate-sponsored $200 dollar-a-ticket reunion tour. Whatever the case, I truly believe it would have happened. I've seen Paul McCartney in concert a few times, and it is an amazing experience, and I also love John Lennon’s solo material, but to have seen The Fab Four together on stage? I can't even imagine how unbelievable that would be.

Still, the real and greatest loss from Lennon's death goes so much deeper than just erasing the possibility of having a great band play together once again. Yes, Lennon was a flawed man, like all of us, but a woman that he loved very deeply lost her husband. Two sons lost a father, and a generation lost one of its heroes.

The world lost a champion of peace.

Strawberry Fields, NYC

I spent some time in New York City last weekend, and I thought about all of these things, as well as how much The Beatles music and John Lennon's music has meant to me. I walked by the Dakota apartments, where he lived and died, and I visited Strawberry Fields, the small area in Central Park that honors his memory. And though I again felt the sadness and again felt the anger, I was at least comforted by the fact that the 25th anniversary of his passing is not going unnoticed. It was the front page headline on several New York newspapers on Sunday, there were flowers placed at Strawberry Fields, where a vigil is planned for Thursday night, and several New York radio stations are planning 24-hour musical tributes. I was also comforted by the fact that locally, plans have been in the works for three months to present Thursday’s "We All Shine On: A Tribute To John Lennon."

Jim Rising of The Mountain recently told me that the day John Lennon was killed was the worst day of his career in radio, and that he broke down and wept. Millions of others have similar stories, and for Thursday’s tribute, local musicians will share their stories and sing Lennon’s songs. Every artist on the bill has chosen three Lennon compositions to perform - either from The Beatles or from his solo catalog - and every artist on the bill has said they are happy and honored to be a part of the show. They were also glad to tell us how John Lennon's music has affected their lives and how his influence has, in some ways, helped their own music shine on.

Eddie Appnel, formerly of Mere Mortals, who will perform with Pat Flynn.

"My earliest recollection of the Beatles is when I was around 10 years old. My mother had given me a copy of 'Meet The Beatles’ and I haven't been the same since. I picked up a dusty old Stella guitar out of the closet and set out to learn the riff to ‘It Won't Be Long.’ There was definitely something infectious about their energy, melodies and harmonies that I still haven't gotten tired of exploring. That was over 30 years ago. Once I found out about all of the rest of their songs, it was like finding gold. The entire world got to watch them grow up lyrically, musically and personally. I never even realized until much later that all of it happened within a span of about six years. I decided that if I couldn't actually be a Beatle, then I would give it my best shot to try to write and sing songs that would affect people the same way I had been affected. I'm still trying."

Appnel also has a vivid recollection of Dec. 8, 1980

"I remember watching 'Monday Night Football’ with my father. I had fallen asleep during the game when my dad woke me up. He was shaking my leg, saying, ‘Lennon's dead - someone shot him.' I know he was just as shocked ... it sounded so cold and final to me. I didn't go back to sleep that night. I have a lithograph of Lennon in a sleeveless New York City t-shirt hanging on the wall above my digital recording machine. It's all the inspiration I've ever needed.”

The Times Leader, December 9, 1980

John "Fud" Zavacki, formerly of Mighty Fine Wine, who will perform with Mark Sutorka

"The Beatles music has influenced how I listen to music. I tend to listen to different parts of everything I hear each new time I hear it. Maybe the bass-line for the first run, then the backing vocals the next. I notice when things are not formulaic ... small changes in each new verse or chorus, or the addition of a new layer of sound for each verse or chorus. Most of this was due to John Lennon's love of the bizarre and his fearless experimentation. It's one of the amazing things that the Beatles have taught every generation of songwriters since they hit our shores.

"The night John Lennon was murdered, I have a very vivid memory. I was in the apartment my mom and I lived at in Carbondale. I was 12, and my Beatles fixation was in full swing, and my mom - in addition to having turned me on to the Beatles - also let me play her LPs limitlessly. So, I'm on the floor with the headphones blaring, listening to ‘Let It Be,’ and my mom taps me on the shoulder. I pull off the cans, and she points at the TV, and says ‘I think you should see this.’

A young John Lennon

"My mom let me take the whole next week off from school. She knew exactly how I felt. She felt the same way. It was the first time in my life that I realized how powerful music could be to the world. I watched everyone gather at the Dakota, and it just blew me away. That's when I decided that I was really going to knuckle under and learn to play the right way. I wanted to be able to make people feel. I have John Lennon and the Beatles to thank for everything I've ever experienced being a musician.”

 Mike Krakosky of Plus 3, who will perform with Mike   Evans

 "I'd have to credit my mom for turning me on to John   Lennon. I think the first time I was every exposed to his   music was when 'Double Fantasy' came out. My mom was a huge Beatles/Lennon fan and played that record all the time, and I remember always listening and singing  along and really, really liking it. I think I was 5 years old.  I remember her always telling me that someday, he was going to be regarded as a genius, and she was totally right.  Moms always are. Some of my favorite songs on there -  ‘Woman,’ ‘Starting Over’- they really turned me on to Lennon and are still to this day some of favorite songs of all-time.

"My next exposure after that was the ‘Blue’ and 'Red' albums of the Beatles. Absolutely amazing songs. When I write songs now, I always find myself trying to use Lennon as an influence. Keep it simple, but make it universal. That's a very tough thing to do. And he did it with ease, in everything he wrote."

k8, who will perform with Pat Flynn

"The Beatles were innovators - a group way ahead of their time. At a time when bands still depended on professional songwriters for their songs and studio bands for recording, The Beatles combined all of those to become the first real rock band in the sense that we know rock bands today.

"I was too young to know what was going on the night John Lennon died, but I was 12 or 13 when I first officially discovered The Beatles. I found some old sheet music of my father's in my grandmother's piano bench. It was The Beatles, and I spent countless hours learning to play some of those songs. I didn't realize it then, but in retrospect, I can see that exposure to their song structuring, catchy choruses and harmonies directly influenced my own songwriting. And though I thought I found John Lennon through The Beatles, I also really discovered him while working on this tribute project.”

Don Shappelle, who will perform solo

"For me, like so manly of my generation, it all began on that night in February 1964 when the Beatles performed on the 'Ed Sullivan Show.’ I was 8 years old and glued to the black and white TV set. I knew right then that my life's course was set in motion. I was going to be a guitar player. To this day I remember that magical feeling that the Beatles’ music put into my soul. Almost 42 years later, it remains. John's songs ... they seemed to say what I was feeling at times in my life. They told of heartache, of love, of pain and of joy and hope. His songs made me first want to write my own songs and tell of my own feelings through music. John Lennon made me realize that I could express myself with words and a guitar. I have been trying ever since."

John and Yoko outside The Dakota 

Shappelle says the events of Dec. 8, 1980 still put a sting in his heart.

"I was in New York City, having moved there after living in Paris for a time. I had just turned 25 that October, the same month John Lennon turned 40. That evening ... I left my apartment to go for a walk and clear my head. I headed uptown toward Central Park, within blocks of the Dakota. Eventually I went home, and when I walked in the door, I knew something bad had happened from the look on my girlfriend's face. She stared right at me and said ‘John Lennon has been murdered.’ I sat down in shock. All I remember is the sounds of the city outside. I sat all night in that New York darkness. A quarter century, and half my lifetime later, that tragic day still strikes a cold dagger into my soul."

Terry Cummings, formerly of Strawberry Jam, now with Mother Nature's Sons, who will perform with John Shemo and John Ferrato

"I actually remember tugging on my mom’s dress and sayinig ‘Beatles’ to her. It was one my first words and earliest memories. I wanted to be Ringo, and started playing drums and taking lessons at a very early age. The Beatles are responsible for me becoming a musician. My father, Phil Cummings, was a radio newsman, and he would bring home Beatles records from the radio station stamped ‘promotional copy only, not for sale.’ I remember the irony of seeing that stamped on the 'Beatles for Sale’ album. I had fresh copies before they were even in the stores, and I would play them until they were ruined. To this day, John Lennon remains my favorite artist. I remember coming home from my part time night job in high school and seeing Tom Snyder on the 'Tomorrow Show' announcing his death. It was some thing I wish I'd never heard."

George Wesley, who will perform solo

"John Lennon and The Beatles represented the ability to take every kind of music and present it in a form that was embraced by nearly every one. John wasn't afraid to say what he wanted at any cost. Fame meant an opportunity to promote things like peace and love. That definitely influenced my own campaign to promote peace, love and unity.

"When he was killed, I actually found out the morning after, and I was horrified. I'd been working in a music store and everyone was talking about his new music and his new lifestyle. I found him to be even more inspirational when he talked about his love for reggae, and how it would be big ... so to find out a 'fan’ killed him ... I just had to do something ... so I cut my long hair to signify the dream was over. And I haven't cut it since, and I will never let that dream of peace, love and unity die. We are all part of the struggle, but we are the solution. Imagine!"

Bret Alexander of The Badlees, who will perform solo

"There is no question that I wouldn't be a musician or songwriter if I hadn't found John Lennon. My first two records were Beatles albums. In my house, John Lennon and Johnny Cash were like saints. I listened to their records with my grandmother during the day and my friends at night. Whenever I record or write, I always reference something that John Lennon did. Always. It's not a conscious thing. His music is like a second language to me. Whenever I am looking to express myself, there is English, John Lennon, The Beatles, and Johnny Cash. I swear to God ... I had a dream that he had died the night before he was killed. I remember being at my aunt's house the next day looking at the TV. She was crying, and I was trying to decide whether I was awake, or still dreaming.”

Smith, formerly of Bent Blue, who will perform solo

"John Lennon's music has always meant ‘freedom’ to me. Pure artistry. He and The Beatles broke down all musical barriers and became their own genre. How do you categorize John Lennon's music? You don't. He's just John Lennon. He was a master at making simplicity profound, and also making complexity seem simple by his incredible sense of melody. His melodies made me stand up and realize the importance of being alive. In 2005, it's almost impossible to accomplish what he achieved, due to the cookie-cutter formula of the music industry, so you have to look back and praise him for his vision and brilliance. It's impossible for any songwriter to not be influenced to some extent. His lyrics and his music will reverberate throughout time."

WHAT: We All Shine On: A Tribute To John Lennon
WHERE: River Street Jazz Cafe, 667 N. River St, Plains Township
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 8. at 9 p.m.
WHO'S PLAYING: Bret Alexander of The Badlees, Mike Krakosky and Mike Evans of Plus 3, Smith of Bent Blue, Eddie Appnel with Pat Flynn of Bent Blue and Mere Mortals, Don Shappelle, k8, John "Fud" Zavacki of Mighty Fine Wine with Mark Sutkora, George Wesley and Terry Cummings of Strawberry Jam with John Shemo and John Ferrato. Plus a performance by Rubber Soul.
RADIO BROADCAST: The show will be carried live on 102.3-FM, The Mountain, from 9-11 p.m.
BENEFICIARY: John Lennon Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to aspiring young songwriters.
INFO: 822-2992

(The entire live radio broadcast of "We All Shine On: A Tribute to John Lennon," which aired on December 8, 2005, can be found on YouTube.)