Norman Jay 50th Birthday

Posted onDecember 26, 2011 - 5:32 am by Admin | 0 Comments

As countless media commentators, bloggers and music fans have duly noted, October 9 this year marks what would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday.

Born in Liverpool, England during a lull in the German Luftwaffe’s bombardment of the city, the musician, writer and political activist who would go on to become one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century came into this world amidst the rubble of the Second World War .

His life would be as legendary as his death. In his early 20s, John – along with fellow Beatles Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr – would score his first number one record in England. America – and the so-called British Invasion – came next.

The rise and fall of the Beatles

What followed was nothing short of world domination. In less than ten years, the Beatles went from provincial rock and roll combo to global cultural force majeure.

“I declare that the Beatles are mutants,” said the late Timothy Leary in Philip Norman's definitive book on the band, Shout. “Prototypes of evolutionary agents sent by God, endowed with a mysterious power to create a new human species, a young race of laughing freemen.”

Almost 50 years after they wrote much of their music, there’s enough perspective on the Beatles legacy to see that Leary’s acid-laced logic may have had some merit. The world had never seen – and will likely never see again – a group of musicians who exercised such a profound influence over the sensibilities of an entire generation.

With the Beatles break-up in 1970 and Lennon’s subsequent self-imposed exile into the world of domesticity, his influence waned. But in 1980, he re-entered the public sphere with a vigorous mandate and a new collection of songs. His album-length recording Double Fantasy announced his return to music with a mature works like ‘Watching the Wheels’ and ‘Woman’.


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