"I Could've Been A Contender" 11/21/06

[Pete70s]

Glad to see that even though turnout here has been low lately, people are still enjoying this feature!

So this week we are covering one of the first "second generation" superstars of the rock n' roll era:



Julian Lennon

How do you live up to being the son of one of the greatest rock icons of all time? Julian Lennon had some of the biggest shoes ever to fill, and unfortunately, it caused his downfall. But he was a very talented singer/songwriter/musician in his own right, and should not be overlooked.

John Charles Julian Lennon was born April 8, 1963, to John and Cynthia Lennon. Throughout his life, Julian barely knew his famous father, who had left his mother and him when he was 5. John Lennon had once said that the difference between Julian and Sean was that "Sean was born out of love, while Julian was born out of a whiskey bottle on a Saturday Night" (if you ask me, a pretty horrible thing to say about your son!). Their relationship was rocky at best, but some progress was made during John's later years, with Julian playing drums on a track from "Walls & Bridges".

John Lennon's murder in 1980 was the end of any hope for a relationship between father and son. The world was still greiving the loss when Julian released his first album "Valotte" in 1984. Featuring a vocal style very similar to John's, the album shot up the chart to #17 and spawned two top-10 hit singles. Sadly, he couldn't escape the "sophomore jinx" as his second album, "The Secret Value of Daydreaming" stalled at #32 and his 1989 album "Mr. Jordan" couldn't get past #87.

I guess he just couldn't live up to expectations, and even though he made some great music, he still wasn't John in the publics eyes. Which is too bad, because I'm sure if John had lived, he would have been proud and supportive of his son's music, and it MAY have been what finally would forge a relationship between the two. (Well, maybe not, if YOKO had her way... )

The sad truth is that when Julian Lennon stood on the stage in 1988, at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, it would be the closest he'd come to Hall status. But he definitely qualifies for "contender" status!

[H2IZCOOL]

I think I had heard that John quip about the whiskey bottle a while ago. That's enough to lower John a couple orders of magnitude IMO. Maybe he and Cynthia weren't getting along, but that was hardlky Julian's fault.

You look at the pic of Julian, and it's a young John. No doubt who his daddy was. And Too Late For Goodbyes sounds SO much like John that's it's scary.

It's not quite like baseball, where Barry Bonds has surpassed Bobby, and Ken Griffey, Jr. has far outdone Senior. No one was going to surpass John's legacy as a musician and writer.

[Dawn]

I've always thought Valotte was excellent, on a par with some of John's best solo work.

[KittyKat - RIP Luciano]

You're profiling one of my faves today. It's heartbreaking to think how slighted he was by his dad for so long.
And yes, in John's last 2 years they had made some strides to mend fences, but that was all ended with John's murder. Yoko Ono has been pretty horrible to Julian, and there was a pretty heated battle between the two of them over money that John had left Julian in his will.
Last I heard, Ono had refused to release certain funds and Sean ended up giving some of his estate portion to Julian instead.

ANYWAY, I've always loved Julian's voice and his music. "Valotte" is such a stand-out debut. And I also enjoy the "Mr. Jordan" album.

[Ken]

I still remember when I first heard Valotte for the first time. I was with a buddy of mine - we could not believe how much Julian sounded like John - we were amazed. I think he his a very gifted singer and musician. I think John would be very, very proud of him.

I have quite a few of Julian's albums - Valotte, The Secret Value of Daydreaming, Help Yourself and Photograph Smile. It's a shame Yoko has treated Julian so badly, you would think because John is his father, she would have way more respect for him.Very sad.