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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 11, 2021 11:31:53 GMT -5
gimmie some truthIn early 1971, John & Yoko were living in the house he bought in Weybridge when he was a Beatle. John had a recording studio built in the home, so he wouldn't have to rely on booking an open time. In May, Lennon was working on the "Imagine" album. He drafted friends like, George Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, and Ringo Starr. Most of the basic tracks, using very simple arrangements were done in Weybridge, with Yoko and Phil Spector co-producing. The record has been acclaimed as his best piece of work, some call it the best Beatles solo album. It is very good. The title track was taken from a book of Yoko Ono poems called "Grapefruit", it became his signature piece. Songs like "Oh My Love" or "Jealous s Guy", are as direct and honest as any man can be about the struggles and joys of a relationship. On "How?" Lennon could be profound in the most simplest form, "How can I go forward when I don't know which way I'm facing?"The breakup of the Beatles had come down to the management. Brian Epstein had died in '67, and the band thought they could manage themselves. They began a company called "Apple" but needed a real business team. Three Beatles chose Allen Klein from New York, and Paul wanted his in-laws. The sides were taken in a viscous spiteful divorce of the biggest band in the world displayed for all to see. A statement had been issued April 1970. The bitter separation was the other attraction to this record. At the time, John and George each released songs that criticized and insulted Paul. "Instant Karma" and "I Found Out" by Lennon, George's "Beware of Darkness", "Wah Wah", and "Run of the Mill" all reference attacks on McCartney. Imagine had three of these songs. "How Do You Sleep?" was pointed, the other two only hint at him, "Crippled Inside" and "Gimmie Some Truth" In "Gimmie Some Truth", there are a couple of punches at Macca in the third and fourth verses. Real nasty stuff. "..from tight-lipped, condescending, mamas little chauvinists..". and "...schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas..."That's from John to Paul at the time. John references some of that in "How Do You Sleep?", and talked about it during the 1980 Playboy interviews. It was all the dirty laundry hung out to dry. On the tracks slapped at Paul were George Harrison and Ringo Starr playing along. Paul released "Ram" in May of '71, taking hits at John with "Too Many People", "Three Legs" and "Smile Away." On the cover, 2 beetles copulating. Lennon released "Imagine" in Sept. and included a postcard, a poster and all the lyrics. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Sticks & StonesIn July, Spector moved the sessions to New York for overdubs, mixing and mastering at Record Plant. John was lucky to get a temporary work visa. At some point over the summer Lennon met, Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, two of the Chicago defendants charged with conspiracy, with intent to incite a riot, and other charges related to anti–Vietnam War and counter cultural protests in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. This was the start of all his immigration troubles. He took a direct stand against the Nixon Administration for the relentless efforts to deport him. He made fun of him, called him "tricky dicky", Nixon hated that. On "Gimmie Some Truth" he sang it 3 times in the refrain, loud distorted guitars, and screaming vocals, "No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dicky.. and there's "...money for dope...". On the next record they cropped a picture of Nixon dancing naked with Chairman Mao.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 11, 2021 11:32:34 GMT -5
Que pasa, New York? Jerry Rubin Abbie Hoffman Bobby Seale John & Yoko arrived in New York City at the end of August 1971. At first they settled in lower Manhattan in the very "artsy" Greenwich Village. Bob Dylan hadn't left yet, Andy Warhol was in New York. It was an area Yoko was familiar with and was able to show John around. He loved it. It was not like England where he was mobbed everywhere he went. Here, he could talk easily to the fans, whether up close or from across a street. Two people that seemed to scope the Lennons out intently, were left wing radicals Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, both founded the Yippie movement. Yippies were a radical [mainly] youth organization, promoting free speech and anti war movements. They had begun to take Federal grant money for theater and use it for politically based street shows and speeches. It was this real political theater that attracted Yoko Ono to their pitch. Then, Rubin and Hoffman introduced John & Yoko to Bobby Seales. Seales had co founded the "Black Panthers Party for Self Defense", a radical group that openly carried guns as a deterrent and as a cop monitor, defended black Americans from discrimination and abuse by police. In Sept. of '69 all three had been found guilty of "...conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot, and crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot..." at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. All were eventually acquitted, but served time for contempt of court. These men were considered radical left, and had been under surveillance by the FBI since 1968. On July 1st, 1971, Congress ratified the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, that gave 18 year olds the right to vote. Now the movement had its sights on the '72 National Conventions, and possibly getting a grass roots candidate to remove Nixon from office. Also on the agenda was stop the violent oppression of Blacks and Native Americans in this country, better living condition in the prisons. Free prisoners for non violent offenses, Women's Liberation in both work and society, and most important, end the war in Vietnam. The Mike Douglas show was live from Philadelphia, with a special guest co-host for the week to design the show. John & Yoko were Feb. 14-18 '72. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, artists, and political activists, had taken up these causes with a full body enthusiasm that was contagious. No doubt the FBI was watching very closely at the influence this mega star could mobilize. In Feb. '72 John introduced his new friend Jerry Rubin to the country on the Douglas Show. Jerry seemed honest and forthright at the movement's intention to get Nixon out of office. Also, one has to wonder if the authorities had any influence on the questions Mike was asking, such as, "Do you work for John now?"
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 11, 2021 11:34:13 GMT -5
John SinclairJohn Sinclair was born in Flint Michigan, in Oct. 1941, He attended Univ of Michigan-Flint in the early sixties and was on the Publication Board for the school newspaper "The Word". After graduating in 1964, he began contributing to the underground newspaper "Fifth Estate". He worked as a poet, and a writer over the next few years and founded a bi-weekly underground paper, "Ann Arbor Sun". In Nov. '68, Sinclair and his wife Leni, along with radical left wing activist, Pun Plamondon, founded the White Panther Party. An anti racist political collective, for what white people could do to support the Black Panthers. But it was an extreme group. Plamondion and John Sinclair were indicted (Sinclair for conspiracy) for bombing a CIA building in Ann Arbor in Sept. '68. In the first edition of Ann Arbor Sun, Sinclair proclaimed the formation of the White Panther Party, which was dedicated to “...cultural revolution through a total assault on the culture.” “Everything is free for everybody. Money sucks. Leaders suck. Underwear sucks. School sucks.” "[some]don’t have guns yet—not all of us anyway...But we will use guns if we have to, we will do anything, if we have to...” Apparently, no one told John & Yoko of this radical past when they signed on to help Sinclair. When the arrest warrants were issued in 1969 in the CIA bombing, Pun Plamondion heard on the radio he was suspect and fled the country. Meanwhile, Sinclair had been set up and arrested for selling marijuana to a cop, this time the judge gave him 10 years in prison for 2 joints. Abbie Hoffman, and Jerry Rubin called on John Lennon to help with a political music rally to try and get their friend out of jail. John & Yoko agreed. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Freedom Rally | 10.04.02On Dec. 10, 1971, the John Sinclair Freedom Rally was held at the Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan to a full house of 15,000 kids. Performances by Lennon and Yoko Ono, David Peel, Stevie Wonder, Phil Ochs, Bob Seger, and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Allen Ginsberg and Ed Sanders, interspersed with political speeches by Abbie Hoffman, Rennie Davis, David Dellinger, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale. Without any curfew, the event went on well into the morning of the 11 th with John & Yoko headlining the stage at about 3am. They performed a new song written for the event, "John Sinclair" and a few others from the forthcoming album "Sometime In New York City." FBI agents were in the audience taking notes of the speeches all night, but the only lyrics copied were the "Sinclair" song. Three days after the rally, the Supreme court ruled the marijuana statutes were unconstitutional, and Sinclair was released from prison. It worked. The rock moved.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 11, 2021 11:34:39 GMT -5
However Big You Think You AreAfter relocating to New York City in 1971, John & Yoko found themselves involved with some very radical people. Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, then later Bobby Seale and John Sinclair all had violent reputations built up over the previous 3 years. Threats of riots, and bombings, were openly spoken at a time of violent anti war demonstrations on college campuses and public parks. One year earlier at Kent State University, four students were killed and nine were injured when National Guard opened fire on protesters. And in the fall of 1971, John & Yoko were mixed up with these nationally known, even notorious figures of chaos and violence. Sinclair was involved in a conspiracy to bomb the CIA building in Ann Arbour and the authorities did what they could to get him off the street. The Lennons were fooled by Rubin, they were used to get Sinclair out. John confessed later he had made a mistake, these guys were nothing but trouble. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Strategic Counter MeasureWhen Bresler wrote his book in 1987, he requested the Lennon file thru a Freedom of Information Request to the FBI. He received 217 pages dated from January 1969 - August 1976. The authorities gave him no indication of the number of pages that actually exist(ed). The first incident relates to the University of Hartford CT, where a New Haven FBI agent found it imperative that he write a memo to headquarters, to the Army, to military intelligence, and the Secret Service, warning of a nude picture of John & Yoko reprinted front and back in the school paper. Never mind the photo was available in a much clearer version, 12 X 12 in any record store as the cover of Lennon's latest album "Two Virgins". The files demonstrate a language used regarding Lennon as a revolutionary, radical, drug addict, with a great influence on young people. Two reports on May 23, and May 24, 1972 referred to Lennon's subject matter in the file as "...revolutionary activity.."Blacked out sources in the Sinclar Rally documents, "...to protect the identity sources whose identities if disclosed could be detrimental to the national defense interest of this nation..." uses national defense as a ridiculous pretext for a secrecy that prompts suspicion. On April 10, 1972, Hoover to the SAC New York Office: "...promptly initiate discrete efforts to locate subject and remain aware of his activities and movements. Handle inquiries only through established sources and discrete pretext inquiries. Careful attention should be given to reports that subject is a heavy narcotics user, and any information developed in this regard should be furnished to narcotics authorities and immediately furnish to Bureau in a form suitable for dissemination..."On Feb 04, 1972, South Carolina Senator, Strom Thurmond, sent a secret memorandum to Nixon AG, John Mitchell drafted by his Senate Internal Security Sub Committee that read, "...this group has been strong advocates of the program "Dump Nixon". They have devised a plan to hold more concerts and various primary states for the following purpose,
- To obtain access to college campuses
- press legislation legalizing marijuana
- get persons to come to San Diego...[first choice for RNC]
- Intent to use John Lennon as a drawing card to promote their success...
"...This can only lead to a clash between a controlled mob organized by this group, and law enforcement officials. If Lennon's visa is terminated it would be a strategic counter measure."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 16, 2021 10:30:20 GMT -5
From DecaturMark David Chapman was born in Decatur GA in May, 1955. He was the oldest child of David and Diane Chapman. His father had been a Staff Sergent in the Air Force, his mother was a nurse. Mark has a younger sister, Susan. He lived in fear of his father's abuse of his mother, and felt he never received love from him, nor regarded him as any kind of father figure. The family had settled in a middle class neighborhood. He always had enough to eat and clothes to wear, even simple luxuries like a guitar. There was no outside indication there was anything wrong with the young Chapman. When he joined the local "Y" as a high school freshman. The Executive Director, Tony Adams said, "..it was a very happy family and Mark was a happy well-adjusted boy.."At Columbia High School, there were 2 groups, jocks & freaks. He was not very good at sports, and was outcast to them. Mark was more of a "freak" and began abusing drugs. He became known as a "Garbage Head", one that would take anything. After a few "bad acid trips", Jesus came in to his life when Mark attended a meeting of California evangelist, Arthur Blessed in 1971. Chapman discarded all drugs, cut his hair short, and wore a huge wooden cross around his neck. He was more soft spoken and calm in his manner. NO discussion of any little people in his head (yet), and no indication of any Beatles obsession, or that John Lennon had better look out for this guy. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ First of Three | Not as FoundIn this case, there are three misconceptions about Chapman, that continue to leech on to him. One, that he was a avid admirer of Lennon, Newsweek called him, "Lennon's alter ego", LA Times, "Fan of John Lennon stalked him", "A devout Lennon fan", read two more papers. This tag was attached to him from the start by his legal-aid attorney, Herbert Adlerberg, he told the Judge at the arraignment, "His answers were not connected with the questions in any way. He admired The Beatles very much. He doesn't value himself too much." When Adlerberg walked out into the chaos of reporters he said, "He told me he had admired Lennon very much, since he was 10 years old."However confused anybody is at that point in the case, the fact remains that District Attorney, Allen Sullivan, later said, but would not reveal in open court that, "Mark had no particular interest in John Lennon between the age of fourteen and twenty-four." It was their main case, that Chapman was not a fan, but a calculating, cold-blooded killer. Any famous person would achieve the same notoriety. In the church, Mark was very close to Rev. Newton Hendrix, they shared a common bond of music, Hendrix noted, "He never expressed strong views on the Beatles or Lennon, directly to me. He played the guitar and may have even written some songs, but it was not "Beatles type music". All of his feelings, very strong feelings, I might add, towards John Lennon and the Beatles were new to me when I heard them in 1980." In the months following the murder, his wife Gloria said, "I have more Beatles records in my collection then Mark had."Captain Louis Sonza, of the Honolulu Police Dept, spent a few months after the murder inquiring about Chapman's background from the island, "I did not come to the opinion that he was a John Lennon nut. It appeared like he was just the opposite. he was not particularly in favor of that type of music. He was not a particular fan of John Lennon. He did not express any views on Lennon, he didn't talk about him."In 1973, Mark had told an old school friend, Miles McManus, his musical idol was Todd Rundgren.
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 16, 2021 10:30:53 GMT -5
A Catcher in the Rye"The Catcher in the Rye", is a book written by J.D. Salinger. It was first published as a serial in the mid-'40s, and a novel in 1951. It is still one of the most popular books sold, with sales of over million each year. For years it was standard reading in American schools. The story of Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old, protagonist, that points out the phoniness and pervading hypocrisy of the adult world. It was the symbol for teenage rebellion, containing elements of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, connection, sex, and depression. This was the book Chapman had the night of the murder, and instead of running away, he sat calmly on the curb reading it. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Second Time AroundAnother element of this case that Bresler points out to be a misconception, is that Mark always identified himself with Holden Caulfield. Chapman was required to read "Catcher" in school when he was the same age as the hero, but left no evidence of obsession in his past. In his copy of the book that night, Chapman had written, "To Holden Caulfield, from Holden Caulfield. This is my statement."In his cell awaiting trial, Mark maintained, "The reason I killed John Lennon was to gain prominence to promote the reading of JD Salinger's "A Catcher in the Rye", I'm not saying I'm the Messiah or anything like that. If you read the book and if you understand my past... you will know, I am indeed the "Catcher in the Rye" of this generation."Yet, thru all the interviews by the press and media, not one of his past classmates or friends remember any obsession with Holden Caulfield. The only mention Bresler could find was an old friend, Vince Smith. Smith was a Senior Official at the S. De Kalb YMCA, and a close friend. Chapman had read "Catcher" again and was talking about it, recommending it to everyone around him, but not as any troubled obsession. "He tended to have grand ideas, passions, that would stick with him - then one day they'd be gone and another one would come by. I felt the "Catcher" business was one of Mark's passions. I didn't see anything in there that made me think it a more serious passion, than another book. In fact, I figured that maybe next week, he'd have another book that he'd been trying to get everybody to read."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 16, 2021 10:31:19 GMT -5
Not What I Appear to BeThere was no motive ever explained in the JFK Assassination, no reason ever confirmed as to why Oswald would shoot the president. They said Lee was a loner. Buell Frazier, his only documented friend at TSBD, said, there was some of that. He kept to himself a lot. His mother Marguerite, said the opposite about New Orleans, Mrs. OSWALD: "...and he was a messenger. And then he had a lot of friends. Now, they say Lee didn't have friends. There were boys of his age while he was working he had an opportunity to make friends, coming to my home." When Lee moved back to Dallas with his beautiful Russian wife, she made a lot of new Russian friends. Many more than Lee. Oswald became outcast from this group and so would have appeared as the loner. Actually, he was probably more of an introvert. He didn't have many friends at TSBD, but some folks are like that at work. I may have believed it when I was told, but looking further, I am not convinced he was, he had friends, but he was also losing his wife. Regardless, "loner" has been a characterization of the American assassin, whether he was one or not. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Third Man ThemeThe third misconception in this case is the same, Mark Chapman was a loner, yet looking further it is the opposite. His mother gave an interview with People Magazine in 1987 and said, " I've seen him described as being a loner. Are you kidding? He had lots of friends. I never had to tell him to go out and play. And when he was inside he was always on the couch talking to me. I was the one who wanted to be the loner." Background checks and interviews done from the police in Honolulu, found remarks that were generally kind and even flattering, " ...Mark with an outgoing good-humored optimistic guy..." "...Mark was is a gentle compassionate man never lost his temper that I saw never violent..." "I remember Mark is one of the crowd who used to meet before school, in the woods, by the tennis courts to talk, maybe to smoke a joint. He was really into music..."Jessica Blankenship, was a girlfriend he met when they were both seventeen and in the same prayer group, " There was nothing devious about Mark, everybody liked him. He used to come over to our house all the time, eat and sleep there as a friend of the family. So we had a personal lost when it all happened."Brown hair, blue eyes, outgoing personality, "played guitar and sang beautifully", were some other comments given. Great with kids, able to develop deep meaningful relationships with males sightly older than him, as father figures, Tony Morris, a friend from school and the local YMCA. Morris was insistent that something must have happened to Mark between 1973-1980. "The Mark Chapman that I knew, I just couldn't picture as the Mark Chapman who killed John Lennon."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 17, 2021 11:03:01 GMT -5
Sometime in New York City By the end of 1971, The Beatles as solo artists were quite successful. Paul had released his "McCartney" and "Ram" albums. The singles "Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey" and "Another Day, did very well for him. George had the beautiful 3 album treasury, "All Things Must Pass', with the singles, "My Sweet Lord", "What Is Life?". He wrote (then gifted) and produced Ringo's first hit single, "It Don't Come Easy." Ringo had two albums, one Big Band, "Sentimental Journey" the other from Nashville, "Beaucoups of Blues". "Instant Karma", "Plastic Ono Band lp", "Imagine lp", "Give Peace a Chance", "Power to the People", and "Happy Xmas" were all from John. In June 1972, John & Yoko released a two record set, Sometime in New York City. A bonus live album was included, but the album itself, were studio tracks, with socially driven lyrics, packaged as a newspaper. The first song, and first single, "Woman is the N**** of the World", was shocking to hear on the radio. The title comes from something Yoko had said in a 1969 interview, but then, had to be clearly explained because it was sung by a man. That was the point. On this record for the first time, John & Yoko were singing together, alternating verses or passing on the whole song. It was recorded very quickly between Dec. '71 and Mar. '72, with a group of local NY players, "Elephant's Memory". John dubbed the group, "The Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band", one familiar face was Jim Keltner sometimes on drums. Many radio stations refused to play the lead single, and Apple released a statement in "Billboard", explaining the use of the N-word. All the songs are politically charged, re; racism, sexism, genocide, incarcerations, colonization, and war, and the production was rushed, John said he wanted it that way, like a newspaper, but the critics hated it, and were not ready for her singing alongside him. A cropped picture of Nixon dancing naked with Chairman Mao didn't help. Then, Capitol Records blocked the photo. When John & Yoko co hosted the Mike Douglas Show a few months before the record was released, the FBI was watching. Memos at that time refer to Jerry Rubin as “an extremist” and Lennon an “SMNL: Security Matter, New Left.” Plans were being made for a full concert tour of musical and political rallies, ending at the Republican National Convention. Register young people to vote at the new lowered age of eighteen, and create a real change in Washington. Within 2 months, immigration proceeding began against Lennon, asking for immediate deportation in 60 day waivers - for the next 4 years. Prof. Jon Weiner, from the Univ. of California, won a monumental case against the Government for the release of Lennon documents. The amount of information he has since compiled in a book called "Gimmie Some Truth" is compelling. He talked to Terry Gross of "Fresh Air" at NPR back in 2010. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Prof. Jon Weiner | Fresh Air (NPR)TERRY GROSS: Now how accurate was the FBI's information that John Lennon did want to help organize these political concerts that would be for peace and against Nixon? Prof. WIENER: "There's no question that Lennon was talking about this with his friends - his friends being Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, Bobby Seale, and they tried doing one of these in Ann Arbor, Michigan in December, 1971. They had John and Yoko headline a political rock concert, the Free John Sinclair concert. Every once in a while I run into somebody who was there. Fifteen thousand people spent six hours in Chrysler Arena, they listened not only to John and Yoko, but Stevie Wonder came, Commander Cody came, the MC5 came, William Kunstler gave a speech, Jerry Rubin gave a speech, Bobby Seale gave a speech. And a lot of it was about, you know, mobilizing young people to oppose Nixon. So - and they were very excited. John and Yoko were very excited about the tremendous turnout they had for this concert and how successful it was. So they were interested in the idea. They never got to the stage of setting up the national concert tour because the deportation order came down just two months later."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 17, 2021 11:03:36 GMT -5
Rock Liberation Front AJ Weberman David PeelAJ Weberman is a writer, and political activist, born in Brooklyn NY, May 1945. One of his claims to fame was "Dylanology". The study of Bob Dylan. Through most of 1971 Dylan wasn't working, two years before he had released the comeback lp "Nashville Skyline", his latest record was "New Morning", but he hadn't appeared on a concert tour in over 5 years. Weberman was upset with Bob for having turned his back on the responsibility of a spokesperson for the counter culture. He began to stalk Dylan, going thru his garbage in a new kind of science he called, "garbology" not the modern, ecologically oriented, study of refuse and trash, this is to study the garbage of famous people, to know what they eat, or read, use, and eventually dispose of. David Peel was born, David Michael Rosario, in August 1942, in Manhattan. He was best known as a street musician in Greenwich Village. In 1968, he was signed to Elecktra Records and made two albums for them. He was one of the first people the Lennons met in New York. John was so impressed, he went on to produce their next album, "The Pope Smoke Dope" for Apple Records. Thru all this, Weberman and Peel started the "Bob Dylan Liberation Front", and with some local street musicians, took up the cause of saving Bob Dylan from himself. Bob had recently moved back to the Village from Woodstock to escape the hippie invasion after the festival. The BDLF wanted "Protest Bob" to take up their cause as the, "the voice of a generation." and write the songs they need to sing. In August '71, George Harrison hosted, "The Concert for Bangladesh", an all star benefit in New York, for the refugee tragedy in India. George wanted John to play, but last minute negotiations broke down when Lennon insisted he perform as John & Yoko. George said no. In a moment of total surprise, Dylan came out and amazed the crowd with five early songs on an acoustic guitar and a harp around his neck. Weberman was satisfied with the performance and left Bob alone for awhile, then he rechristened the "Bob Dylan Liberation Front", "The Rock Liberation Front", and got John Lennon interested because of David Peel, that got Jerry Rubin interested because of John Lennon. The idea was to do a full concert tour of music and political rallies in primary cities, ending at the Republican National Convention. At the Sinclair Rally, Rubin sidelined Weberman, hijacking control, declaring the concert, "..the first act of the Rock Liberation Front". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ More Immediately DeportableProf. JON WIENER: "...Their concern was that Lennon would participate in some kind of concert, rally, anti-war demonstration outside the Republican National Convention. And there's a memo from J. Edgar Hoover to the head of the Miami FBI office that suggests that if Lennon could be arrested on possession of narcotics charges he would become more immediately deportable. Now this seems to me an effort to set Lennon up for a drug bust. The FBI doesn't enforce possession of narcotics charges, that's a state offense, this is not part of what the FBI is supposed to be doing. I then filed a Freedom of Information request with the Miami FBI office, asking for their files on Lennon, to see what their response to this was. They replied to me that their John Lennon file had been destroyed as a part of a routine file destruction procedure..." "...The other really strange one is that there's a kind of a wanted poster for Lennon. The FBI proposed that "Lennon should be arrested, if at all possible, on possession of narcotics charges" - I'm quoting now from one of the documents " which would make him more immediately deportable." And these instructions to local police officials include a kind of a wanted poster. A picture of Lennon, you know, height, weight, eye color and so on. You'd think that they wouldn't really need this. Lennon was certainly one of the most recognizable faces in the world in 1972. They have a picture there anyway. But the strangest thing is the picture isn't of John Lennon. It's of another guy." (Soundbite of laughter)Prof. WIENER: "A guy - I mean I know who it is. It's a guy named David Peel..."
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Post by Michael Capasse on Apr 17, 2021 11:03:58 GMT -5
Garbology in ActionHere's a funny Bob Dylan story. "Garbology", was a term coined by AJ Weberman, as a means of learning about a celebrity by studying their garbage. Thru this intrusive action, one can learn about, what they buy, the type of mail they get, or food they eat. Sometime in Sept. '71, Weberman was demonstrating his method for some AP photographers. He had climbed into Dylan's dumpster, and was going thru the waste while the press snapped away. At some point, Sara Dylan came out and chased them all away like mice with a broom. She was aware of his antics and sometimes put the dog's poo in the container. Then one day, A.J. was walking down Elizabeth St., when he heard a bicycle come up behind him. A witness to the incident, Peter Blue, told this story to "The Berkeley Barb", "I live in the vicinity of Bleeker & Elizabeth Streets. It was late in the afternoon when, out of nowhere I hear this guy screaming bloody murder. You have to bear in mind that in my neighborhood a lot of people get jumped and robbed. We, the residents of the area watch out for such mishaps. Therefore, when I heard the screams, I went and got my dogs to check out as to what was happening.
What I saw when I got to the scene of the ‘crime’ was almost mythical. Bob Dylan on top of A.J. Weberman. As you know, Dylan is about half of Weberman’s size and not more than a third of his weight. When I arrived, all I saw was Dylan bouncing A.J.’s head on the side walk.” Interviewer: What were they saying to each other? Peter Blue: "Weberman was calling Bob an f-n junkie and to me he said: "Get the police. Dylan just jumped on me. After that he ran down the street yelling for the police." Interviewer: What was Dylan doing? Peter Blue: "When I came out with the two husky German shepherds — each weighing about 125 lbs — things cooled down. Dylan nonchalantly went back and picked up his Raleigh and in a very low gear took off down Elizabeth street and made a turn on Houston. I guess he went home. He was really cool. Weberman was running up the street—really freaked out."+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Weberman's Side"After this episode [w/ Sara] the AP people wouldn’t go back and take some more pictures so we all went home. I had just finished climbing a 15-foot brick wall in the alley behind the Archives in order to close a door which would keep out the junkies whiles I was in Madison for a DANA BEAL SMOKE IN and was walking down Elizabeth St. to a store to get some Coke when I heard someone get off a bicycle behind me. The next thing I knew was that I couldn’t breathe. I fought my way free and turned around to find Bob Dylan coming at me trying to punch me in the face. I effectively blocked his blows and wrestled him to the ground screaming. ‘Get the press. Get the press.’ My old lady came on the scene and started to scream for the police and a bunch of freaks came from around the block and pulled us apart. As Dylan got on his bike and began to ride away, one freak asked, ‘Did he get much money?’
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