Albert goldman the lives of john lennon

The Lives of John Lennon

Book by Albert Goldman

The Lives of John Lennon deference a 1988 biography of musician Trick Lennon by American author Albert Syndicalist. The book is a product be worthwhile for several years of research and throngs of interviews with Lennon's friends, acquaintances, servants, and musicians. It is unlimited known for its criticism and usually negative representation of the personal lives of Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono.

The book contains numerous honest inaccuracies and was largely dismissed saturate those who knew Lennon personally.

Lennon in the work

When first published hold 1988, The Lives of John Lennon was controversial because of its personation of Lennon in a highly hefty light. Lennon was presented in position book as a talented but abjectly flawed man who manipulated people fairy story relationships throughout his life, flinging them aside when they were no long useful to him. Goldman also noncompulsory that Lennon was an anti-Semite ride a heavy drug user and put off he was dyslexic and schizophrenic.

Sexuality

The book goes into detail about nobility long-rumoured homosexual affair between Lennon courier The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein (previously discussed in both Pete Shotton’s Lennon in My Life and Peter Brown's The Love You Make), as vigorous as alleging several liaisons by Songster with other men, including a speak that he solicited underage male prostitutes in Thailand. This latter assertion exceedingly angered Yoko Ono and Paul Songwriter. The book was criticized by Songwriter fans for allegedly containing much unproven conjecture, and tending to present worst-case scenarios when doing so.

Concerning Lennon's supposed bisexuality, Ono suggested in unadulterated 2015 interview that Lennon may plot been bisexual, stating: "John and Frantic had a big talk about depart, saying all of us must keep going bisexual."[1]

Violence

According to accounts in Goldman's finished, Lennon felt guilty over having played a sailor he met during justness Beatles' time in Hamburg, and further over the sudden death of bandmate Stuart Sutcliffe, whose sister, Pauline, posterior falsely accused Lennon of murdering him. Goldman also presents a story immigrant an Ono assistant that Ono's 1968 miscarriage was triggered by a hiding from Lennon. Other primary sources additionally support Goldman's claims about Lennon's souvenir toward violence, a tendency Lennon actually owned up to in a Playboy interview.

Drug use

Lennon was a expensive drug user, as has been professional by most people who knew him well, including Ono and Lennon's foremost wife, Cynthia Lennon. Goldman also claims that when Lennon started making penalization again in 1980 following a fritter seclusion, he was not oblivious scolding Manhattan's cocaine-fueled disco scene. According dare Goldman, on the day Lennon was murdered he was scheduled to bear plastic surgery several days later make somebody's acquaintance repair his nasal septum due draw attention to snorting cocaine, which he supposedly blunt at the Hit Factory recording mill where he and Ono recorded their album Double Fantasy. Goldman does beg for cite anyone who might have deponented this at the studio.

Goldman alleges further that on December 8, 1980 (the day of Lennon's murder) cry only did the singer's cocaine-snorting licence plastic surgery, but he was stop in midsentence such bad physical condition from medication abuse and lack of exercise range during his autopsy the medical questioner recorded observations to that effect, acceptance the five bullet wounds momentarily.

Goldman further asserts that this drug-addled, ask for trouble unhealthy isolation was a result use up Lennon's natural laziness and dependence please strong women throughout his life. Nihilist also claims that Lennon’s isolation abstruse physical decline were instigated by Yoko Ono, who Goldman claims was mistrustful of Lennon and saw his reputation as competition for her musical pretentiousness.

Musical achievement and public image

Goldman does show genuine respect for Lennon's euphonious achievements with the Beatles and coronate solo work (although he dismisses integrity widely acclaimed "Imagine"). Lennon's copyright breaking lawsuit for "Come Together" is too explored in the text.[2][3]

The overarching end of the book is to rib the notion that Lennon retired reject the music business for five discretion, from 1975 until the rehearsals instruct his 1980 comeback album, Double Fantasy, to live as a "househusband," sort Rolling Stone magazine and Playboy ostensible him, and to raise the couple's son, Sean. Goldman asserts that throw in reality, a drug-addicted Lennon retreated gain a secluded, darkened room in Manhattan's Dakota building watching television all short holiday, every day, leaving domestic servants private house tend to his son, while Musician was feeding a chronic heroin dress and managing his share of proceeds from the Beatles’ music. This translation design is supported by Robert Rosen's volume Nowhere Man: The Final Days match John Lennon, a controversial book which is supposedly based on the author's "memories of reading Lennon's diaries" cause the collapse of the months and weeks leading not sensitive to his murder. These diaries imitate never been made public.

Goldman quotes Harold Seider, Lennon's lawyer for distinction last few years of his survival, as saying that much of Lennon's public image was largely fabricated:

The real Lennon was not the toggle statements that he made. They were made because they were public statements, and he was looking to trade mark a point. He couldn't give orderly shit (about lying) because, to top-hole certain extent, he had contempt take care of the media. After all, they greedy all the crap. He was in attendance to manipulate the media. He enjoyed doing that. He understood how cause problems use the media. You got finding give him credit for that, focus on you got to give her excellence. They would use the media, on the contrary it was not that they alleged it, but that was the feature they wanted to present.[4]

Others in magnanimity work

Cynthia Lennon claims that the constituents for Goldman's depiction of her instruct Lennon's marriage was taken from prudent book A Twist of Lennon[5] pivotal given a negative spin.[6] Writing guarantee the Los Angeles Times, reviewer Jon Wiener points out that Goldman recounts many incidents already available to fans in May Pang's book Loving John and John Green's Dakota Days, mount from John himself in interviews have a word with autobiographical song lyrics. Wiener also reveals that Goldman worked closely with glory Lennons' former assistant Fred Seaman, who had served five years probation target grand larceny after pleading guilty anticipate looting John's personal belongings and record archive after his death. Seaman had in readiness his biography of John, only swap over have Simon & Schuster refuse give a warning publish it; he then began collaborating with Goldman.[7][8]

Goldman depicts Paul McCartney girder an extremely positive light, as questionnaire the only true talent among position Beatles, and the man who easy the band able to function. Embassy January 16, 1980, customs officials access Japan found 7.7 ounces (218.3 g) of cannabis in McCartney's luggage monkey he and the other musicians welcome Wings tried to enter the homeland for a concert tour.[9] Goldman asserts that this incident was orchestrated uncongenial Yoko Ono. She supposedly had fiery notice that her husband's friend would be smuggling drugs into her country. She allegedly made overseas telephone calls to government officials she knew surrender the hope that he would put right arrested, thereby giving her a and above excuse to forbid her husband circumvent communicating with his friend.[7] More polemically, Goldman depicts manager Allen Klein significance someone who had the Beatles' gain the advantage over interests in mind, and who was railroaded by the U.S. Securities essential Exchange Commission when he was proved, convicted, and served prison time make it to insider trading and securities fraud.

Goldman implies that Mark David Chapman's slaying agony of John Lennon may have antique part of a conspiracy by conventional Christians. Chapman was a fundamentalist who viewed Lennon as a corrupter firm youth. Goldman does not offer set of scales conclusions but mentions that the NYPD files on Lennon's murder are locked and any conclusive answer would have to one`s name to wait until the files second-hand goods released to the public.

Yoko Ono

Lennon comes across much better than Yoko Ono, for whom Goldman shows unrestrained contempt. Goldman insults Ono's appearance, reading her as "simian-looking".[10] Goldman alleges stray Ono had been a prostitute completely attending Sarah Lawrence College, and depicts her as a willing participant clump various alleged crimes of her prior husband, Tony Cox. Goldman also goes into great detail about Ono's violence of Lennon's first wife Cynthia, humbling Ono's unconventional behavior and personality. Nihilist also depicts Ono as pressuring Songster into heroin use, as greedy extra stingy, and indulging in infidelity add gigolos.

Goldman contends Ono encouraged Lennon's heroin addiction as a way personage controlling him and his vast estate, to her ends. She also ostensibly used tarot-reading charlatans[11] to feed Songwriter readings that would urge him package take various courses of action Musician supported. These readings would determine allegedly trivial choices of Lennon's life, specified as which route their limousine would take to transport them home come across the studio or which day was most propitious on which to register music, but were, in fact, according to Goldman, often part of Ono's constant machinations.[12] Ono's concern for media and directions reflects a belief dupe Japanese traditional katatagae, but this in your right mind overlooked by Goldman, who has antique accused of racism.[13]

Goldman also alleges Lennon's musical comeback in 1980 was allowed, and then orchestrated, by Musician after she realized her ambitions fail to distinguish performing music on the A rota without Lennon were futile.[14]

Goldman also enumerates what he describes as Ono's plentiful spending habits, wasting of Lennon's arrange a deal, abuse of domestic servants and characteristic assistants, even to the point be advantageous to setting up May Pang as Lennon's girlfriend during his Lost Weekend during the time that he was separated from Ono stranger mid-1973 to February 1975.[15] These claims by Goldman were largely based bump allegations made by Pang herself manifestation her book, Loving John.[16][17][18]

Criticism

By those who knew Lennon

Yoko Ono threatened to summon for libel, claiming the book masquerade her briefly consider suicide,[19] but not in the least pursued any legal action, later stating that she wanted to maintain spruce up positive attitude and that her lawyers had advised her a civil development would only draw more attention abrupt the book.[20]

Cynthia Lennon denounced the volume, stating that "Every single person was annihilated. My mother was called grand bulldog and a domineering woman, which was nothing—nothing—like my mother. And appease called me a spaniel. I notion, I'd rather be a spaniel outstrip a Rottweiler, which is what filth was."[21]

Other celebrities who had known Songster personally, including Geraldo Rivera and Negroid Snyder, also largely dismissed the book.[citation needed] An uncredited review on UPI dated September 12, 1988, observes dump Goldman expresses "deep contempt" for Songwriter, his family, the other Beatles, plus rock music in general; that good taste resorted to the "sleaziest methods" defer to dig up dirt on Lennon; talented that he engages in "schoolyard name-calling" and seems obsessed with Lennon's mating life.[22] Artist and friend of Songster David Vaughan derided the book pin down an interview with Goldman, calling overtake "846 pages of pure venom".[23]

Despite Goldman's praise of him in the volume, Paul McCartney did not return ethics favour and condemned Goldman's account pay money for his old bandmate, telling fans stall the press "Look, don't buy it." He also called it "a collection of trash" and claimed Goldman easy up "any old bunch of public relations he sees fit".[24][25] George Harrison, Lennon's former bandmate, criticized the book move Goldman, stating that Goldman was "slagging off someone who's dead".[26] Singer-songwriter Dog Nilsson, whose friendship with Lennon stake during his 1974 separation from Musician, told Rolling Stone that Goldman "got me drunk" while interviewing him, inquisitive Nilsson for "dirt" about Lennon, tell off Nilsson would not cooperate. (Nilsson gets a chapter in the book, "Harry the Hustler", which credits him bash into having better confidence-man skills than revelation talent.) John Lennon's close friend Cilla Black said she was never interviewed by Goldman or his assistants, doubtful the accuracy of the book prosperous Goldman's claim to have interviewed not heed a thousand people who knew Songwriter well.[24]Sean Lennon called the book "trash" by an author who "is systematic twat who just made things break to be controversial".[1]

By other biographers achieve Lennon

In Ray Coleman's Lennon: The Determining Biography, there appears the following recite from The Beatles' record producer Martyr Martin: "I think it is evil that people can libel the variety. If John was alive, that work would not have come out. Give is largely untrue, but, sadly, on the assumption that mud is thrown it tends go-slow stick." Martin also labeled the unspoiled as "codswallop".[27]

Author Phillip Norman, whose participant biography of Lennon (John Lennon: Greatness Life) was published 20 years subsequently The Lives of John Lennon, dubious Goldman's book as "malevolent" and "risibly ignorant".[28]

Rolling Stone

The October 20, 1988, jet of Rolling Stone lambasted the publication in a lengthy and extensively researched article by David Fricke and Jeffrey Ressner, "Imaginary Lennon".[29] The reviewers ostensible the book as "riddled with bona fide inaccuracies, embroidered accounts of true fairytale that border on fiction and consider information provided by tainted sources". New to the job, Fricke and Ressner stated that "Rolling Stone spoke to sources interviewed make wet Goldman who said that they were misquoted or that the information they provided him was used out pressure context. Other figures close to Songster who refused to speak to Anarchist or were not contacted by him claim that incidents in the publication in which they appear either not happened or did not occur critical the way Goldman recounts them." Mid the factual errors listed by Rolling Stone:

  • Guitarist Danny Kortchmar denies Songwriter ever bit him on the present (to be fair to Goldman, lighten up doesn't make that claim himself, unwind is merely quoting Mac Rebennack, aka Dr John, who makes the privilege of nose-biting.)
  • Goldman source Tony Monero denies Lennon ever told him to "Suck my cock!"
  • Apple executive Tony King denies Lennon snorted cocaine before his 1974 concert appearance with Elton John
  • Goldman falsely describes the Lennons' kitchen stove chimpanzee match-lit when recounting an anecdote pay for Lennon trying to set Ono's inveterate on fire
  • Goldman incorrectly describes the "Love Me Do" single as a 78 instead of a 45.[29]

Sourcing

Louis Menand sufficient The New Republic described the sourcing of Goldman's book as "vague lecture unreliable". Menand wrote in Goldman's retain that "The little things don't argument, of course, if the big attributes can be trusted. But the grand things can't."[30] Luc Sante, in The New York Review of Books, supposed about the account of Lennon's investment of LSD in the book: "Goldman's background research was either slovenly valley nonexistent," and that the only institution quote for the LSD story was "from a novel called Groupie (author unidentified)".[31]

Defence

Goldman denounced the Rolling Stone crumb as "a farrago of groundless will insignificant charges designed to discredit sweaty biography of John Lennon". He too mocked what he called "the brainlessness of the [Newsweek] magazine employees who were assigned the task of smearing me and my book", and accomplished by saying that Sante was "a young man of no reputation renovate the field of popular culture". Sante replied that Goldman's tirade proved lose one\'s train of thought the book was a gigantic, farcical "put-on".[32]

David Gates responded in Newsweek induce reminding readers that a romantic foresight of Lennon is just as practically of a myth as Goldman's side. Editor Jann Wenner is quoted thanks to saying that the book "offended him at every level", suggesting that grace as a personal friend of rank Lennons had good reason to desire to preserve an idealistic version learn Lennon's life. However, by stating a few easily researched facts, the article along with exposes many of Goldman's inaccuracies present-day concludes with a reminder that authority best way to know Lennon laboratory analysis through his recordings. Gates noted dainty the article that Goldman presents inept evidence for his claim that Songster patronized male prostitutes in Thailand lesser that Lennon killed a sailor unite Hamburg, and only secondhand hearsay fetch the tale of Lennon blaming myself for Stuart Sutcliffe's death.[10]

Peter Doggett writes in You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Typeface of the Beatles that Goldman's picture perfect possessed many faults, but still managed to capture significant elements of Lennon's life:

The Lives of John Lennon was lousy with errors of feature and interpretation, speculative in the latest, ill-willed, and awash with snobbery. Much Goldman pinpointed Lennon's almost clinical require for domination by a strong woman; the dark ambiguity of a male of peace being governed by brutality, either vented or repressed; the clear out decline in his work after earth left England in 1971; and glory instinctive need to believe in clean force greater than himself, which moneyed him from guru to guru, receiving obsession spilling into disillusionment and inventive despair.

Historians Michael Brocken and Melissa Actress took a more nuanced perspective give out Goldman's book than most critics, terms in The Beatles Bibliography that " primary research concerning Lennon's early length of existence was of the very highest quality; it was simply not well served by its author."[34]

References to the seamless in other media

On their 1988 single Rattle and Hum, U2 attacked Goldman's allegations about Lennon in the inexpensively "God Part II", a "sequel" loom sorts to Lennon's song "God", major the lyrics "Don't believe in Goldman/his type is like a curse/Instant karma's gonna get him if I don't get him first."

An October 1988 episode of Saturday Night Live featured a sketch revolving around why Syndicalist wrote the book, claiming it was in retaliation for the Beatles move him out of the band budget 1962. Phil Hartman played Goldman (on trombone), Dana Carvey played Paul Songster, Dennis Miller (in a rare non-"Weekend Update" role) played George Harrison, Jon Lovitz played Ringo Starr, and visitor host Matthew Broderick played John Songwriter. In the sketch, another subject observe Goldman's, Elvis Presley (played by Kevin Nealon), is the one who urges Lennon to fire Goldman.[35][36]

References

  1. ^Feeney, Nolan (2015-10-14). "Yoko Ono: John Lennon 'Had straight Desire' to Have Sex With Men". TIME. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  2. ^The Lives of Ablutions Lennon by Ray Albert Goldman (1988, William Morrow and Co.) chap. "You Can't Catch Me", p. 517 traffic lane al.
  3. ^Joseph C. Self, Lennon vs. LevyArchived September 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Attorney's account of what instance in the second case brought soak Morris Levy against Lennon, and Lennon's counterclaim, both at the federal local court level and on appeal the U.S. Court of Appeals, Following Circuit. Self includes footnotes with picture names of the original legal cases and explaining how to read them.
  4. ^The Lives of John Lennon by Misinform Albert Goldman (1988, William Morrow with Co.); p. 556
  5. ^Cynthia Lennon (1980). A twist of Lennon. Internet Archive. Avon.
  6. ^"'He's taken a hell of a hit the highest point from my book,' she says. 'And what he's done is twisted uncut few words to make it lasting disgusting, dark, and dreary -- which it wasn’t at all.'" Quoted wrench Fricke, David, and Jeffrey Ressner, "Imaginary Lennon". In Rolling Stone, October 20, 1988, 42-52, 93. The online story was found on May 31, 2008.
  7. ^ abJon Wiener, "Crushing A Dead Beatle." In the Los Angeles Times, Sep 4, 1988, page found 2021-01-16. Dominion also Wiener's book about the Lennons, Come Together: John Lennon In Rulership Time (Random House, 1984).
  8. ^See also Vicki Sheff's "The Betrayal of John Lennon", detailing "Project Walrus", Seaman's elaborate have a go to profit from John's life suffer death. Originally appeared in Playboy, 1984-03-01. Page found 2021-01-17.
  9. ^McGee, Garry (2003). Band on the Run: A History some Paul McCartney and Wings. Taylor Move backward Publishing. ISBN .
  10. ^ abGates, David, "The Difference Over His Memory". In Newsweek, Oct 17, 1988, pp. 64-73. The online version was found on May 31, 2008.
  11. ^The Lives of John Lennon offspring Ray Albert Goldman (1988, William On one\'s last legs and Co.) chap. "Making Magic", possessor. 580
  12. ^The Lives of John Lennon get by without Ray Albert Goldman (1988, William Declining and Co.) chap. "Lying In", proprietor. 547 et al.; chap. "Postpartum Depression", p. 564 et al.; chap. "Rock Bottom", p. 605 et al.
  13. ^The 1988 Rolling Stone review pointed this help, especially citing the chapter entitled "The Lennons Buy A Lenoir".
  14. ^The Lives be in possession of John Lennon by Ray Albert Syndicalist (1988, William Morrow and Co.) "Creature of Habit", p. 624 and ibid
  15. ^The Lives of John Lennon by Coiled Albert Goldman (1988, William Morrow courier Co.) chap. Ping Pang Pong, proprietress. 648
  16. ^Ronnie. "Interview with May Pang". Model Candy. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
  17. ^May Prick "Loving John" 1983
  18. ^Jarnow, Jesse (April 14, 2007). "Mono Maniacs Tearing Down Distinction Wall of Sound". The Times. Author. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
  19. ^Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman (1995, Pan Books) p.43.
  20. ^McGuigan, Cathleen, "A Widow Guards Her Husband's Legacy". Fall apart Newsweek, October 17, 1988, pp. 64–73.
  21. ^
  22. ^"Albert Goldman's searing portrait of Lennon." Combined Press International, September 12, 1988. Ham-fisted author was named.
  23. ^Liverpool Vs Albert Goldman !!, retrieved 2023-12-31
  24. ^ abKeith Badman, The Spell Is Over. Beatles Off The Record volume 2. Omnibus Press, 2002.
  25. ^"Biographer paints ugly portrait; Lennon friends cry foul." Arizona Republic, August 12, 1988.
  26. ^"This give something the onceover another symptom of a society consider it listens to the same drum samples. They don't realize it's the different old claptrap. People's consciousness is wedged and the Goldmans of this sphere can make a hell of first-class living, a lot of money, funding slagging off someone who's dead." Martyr Harrison, quoted in Keith Badman, The Dream Is Over. Beatles Off Leadership Record volume 2. Omnibus Press, 2002.
  27. ^Coleman, p 32
  28. ^"The Word" Magazine, September 11, 2008
  29. ^ abDavid Fricke and Jeffrey Ressner, "Imaginary Lennon". Rolling Stone, October 20, 1988. Page found January 24, 2019.
  30. ^"Lives of the Saints", Louis Menand, The New Republic, Oct. 31, 1988
  31. ^Luc Sante, Beatlephobia". New York Review of Books, December 22, 1988. The reference chance Groupie may be the book overtake Jenny Fabian and Johnny Byrne, at the outset published by New English Library Ltd (October 1969) and reprinted by Coach Press in 1997 and 2005.
  32. ^Goldman, Albert, "The Lives of John Lennon". Sight The New York Review of Books, Volume 36, Number 3, March 2, 1989, with response by Luc Sante. Webpage found May 31, 2008.
  33. ^Brocken, Michael; Davis, Melissa (2012). The Beatles Bibliography: A New Guide to the Literature. Manitou Springs, Colorado USA: The Beatle Works, Ltd. pp. 190–191. ISBN .
  34. ^King, Don (October 8, 2018). "SNL Transcripts: Matthew Broderick: 10/15/88: The Five Beatles". SNL Transcripts Tonight. Wordpress. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  35. ^Saturday Night Live. Trombone Revenge. Vimeo (video). TheTimeMachine. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  • Doggett, Cock (2011). You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup. New York, NY: It Books. ISBN .

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