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Post by Michael Capasse on May 2, 2021 10:33:33 GMT -5
Walls and BridgesAfter John and Harry Nilsson were thrown our of the Troubadour Club in March of '74, Lennon knew he needed to work. Phil Spector had run off with the masters from his latest project, so he decided to produce an album for Harry. Once again it was a madhouse of chaos, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Jim Keltner, Jesse Ed Davis, Klaus Voormann, and Bobby Keys. After one night of recording, Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder dropped in for an impromptu jam bootlegged as "A Toot and a Snore in '74"It was the only time John and Paul reunited after The Beatles, and demonstrates the breakdown and disarray of these sessions. The final album "Pussy Cats" failed to make any waves, and John was back and forth to the east coast. In May, he decided to go into Record Plant in New York and try some original songs for a new album. "Walls and Bridges" was released in Sept. and scored his only Number 1 solo single, "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". With familiar players, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, Nicky Hopkins, this time he settled down into a groove. And added special guest, Elton John provided vocals and piano on two numbers, and "Walls..." is his best record since "Imagine". Another song, came to him complete with lyrics and melody. May Pang remembered, "This was one of John's favorite songs, because it literally came to him in a dream. He woke up and wrote down those words along with the melody. He had no idea what [Ah, Bowakawa pousse] meant, but he thought it sounded beautiful.""#9 Dream", floats along in a haunting and foreboding manner, ..."Two spirits dancing so strange..." Somebody call out my name (John)"..as it started to rain"...Was it in a dream?...Was it just a dream?..."and the "ah bowakawa refrain" moves like ghost voices in the wind. Very spooky indeed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ August AppealOn July 18, 1974, the newspapers reported John Lennon must leave the country by Sept 10 th or face deportation. The government had not let up on the former Beatle, even though he hadn't demonstrated any political activism in more than 2 years. It turned out to be a last ditch effort of the Nixon administration before he was forced to resign less than a month later. The new president, Gerald Ford, did not push the Lennon deportation as hard, but at the same time did not expedite its allowance. Lennon's attorney, Leo Wildes, filed his appeal Aug 31 st, after Nixon had left office, yet, a decision still waited for over a year.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 2, 2021 10:34:17 GMT -5
In the GardenMadison Square Garden is a 20,000 seat arena that sits above Pennsylvania Station on Seventh Ave. in Manhattan. Its current location was built in 1968, while three other venues in various locales, had held the name since 1879. It is the home of the hockey team, the Rangers, and the basketball team, the Knicks, there also is a smaller adjacent theater. The arena has hosted some of the greatest concerts, and musical performances from Elvis Presley, to The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Concert for Bangladesh, The Concert for NY, and so many other outstanding moments and tributes. All four Beatles have played as solo artists on that stage, only Ringo not headlining there. It is the arena in New York. It is, "The Garden". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A Very Special ThanksgivingIn May '74, while Lennon was recording, "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night", Elton John was sure of a number one, and made a bet. If it tops the charts, Lennon will perform the song on stage with Elton during an upcoming performance. It did so, first week of Oct. Meanwhile, Elton had put out his version of The Beatles song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as his latest single, also number 1 in Dec. On Nov. 28, 1974, The Elton John Band, played a Thanksgiving concert at the Garden as part of the tour for his album "Caribou". About two thirds thru the show, Elton invited Lennon "..on to stage.." for three songs, ""Whatever Gets You Thru the Night", Elton's latest single, "Lucy..." and The Beatles classic, "I Saw Her Standing There". Yoko Ono was in the audience, invited by Elton. It was the last time Lennon performed on a concert stage, and it was a new beginning for John & Yoko when they met up backstage. In January '75, John moved back into Dakota, and soon Yoko was expecting a child. Here is "Lucy...", listen at the end of the middle eight [4:03] Elton drops out and leaves John singing the chorus alone.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 2, 2021 10:34:56 GMT -5
Rock & RollWhen Lennon agreed to to an album of oldies in Oct. '73, he did so on a contract dispute. The 1969 Beatles recording of "Come Together", referenced a line from an old Chuck Berry Song "You Can't Catch Me". "Here come ol' flat top..." was no longer owned by Berry and legal action was taken by Morris Levy. Levy was a producer, manager and song publisher, notorious for stealing away the rights of young artists, and had control of the Berry songs. An agreement was reached for John to record a handful of Levy's songs for the damage he claimed Lennon caused by taking part of one line. At the end of the "Walls and Bridges" album is a sparse recording of John and his son Julian (on drums) playing a verse of the Levy song, "Ya Ya". This infuriated Morris to no end, and caused him to threaten legal action forcing Lennon back into the studio to finish the record. Meanwhile, Phil Spector had recovered from his car accident and provided the tapes from the original sessions. When a rough cut was sent to Levy for approval, he immediately put it out on his TV label ADAM VIII and EMI had to sue to stop it. EMI/Capitol squashed the release of "Roots: John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits", and released their own "Rock & Roll" album. About 3,000 copies of "Roots..." did get out, blurry pictures would indicate a fake. It was the last album from John Lennon for five years. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tomorrow Today In April 1975, John appeared on NBCs "Tomorrow" Show w/Tom Snyder. Yoko was pregnant and did not appear. Also on the program was Lennon's attorney Leon Wildes, who does an excellent job explaining John's situation at the time. Once Wildes was able to overturn the '68 hashish charge as "cannabis resin", INS moved the goal post and charged Lennon with an "overstay" of his visa. Meanwhile, they had already issued a 10 day extension based on the cannabis decision. It was this blunder brought forward by Wildes, combined with other selective deportation methods, that eventually won Lennon's case.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 2, 2021 10:35:39 GMT -5
Oct. 09, 1975John received his green card July 1976It was the happiest day of John Lennon's short life. Yoko said she had never seen him happier. On his 35 th birthday, his wife gave birth to their "beautiful boy", Sean Taro Ono Lennon. Then, John got the call from Leon Wildes, the NY Supreme Court had overturned the deportation and the US will issue a green card. New York State Supreme Court judge Irving Kaufman, “The courts will not condone selective deportation based upon secret political grounds,” He added: “Lennon’s four-year battle to remain in our country is a testimony to his faith in this American dream.”For the first time since he was 22, there was no recording contract, no record to owe, not even a song he had to write. It was decided that John would spend full time tending to Sean, while Yoko ran the Lennon Ono business. That business was built on investments in art, real estate, and in particular, dairy farms and livestock. They purchased 122 cows, 10 bulls, on a property that included $100,000 of used farm equipment, while others ran the operation. Lennon later told Playboy, “Sean and I were away for a weekend and Yoko came over to sell this cow and I was joking about it. We hadn't seen her for days; she spent all her time on it. But then I read the paper that said she sold it for a quarter of a million dollars. Only Yoko could sell a cow for that much." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ One Eye OpenBy the time Nixon won '72 re election in a landslide, John Lennon was out of being any political spokesperson for anybody. He had fallen in a group of people that our government considered radical and dangerous, and with good reason. Sinclair was wanted for conspiracy to bomb the CIA, and not only did Lennon play a key role in his release, they couldn't touch him again. The second half of 1972 John played it cool because he had to, and the FEDS were told to back off at the end of the year. Dec 08, 1972, an FBI memo from then temporary Director, L. Patrick Gray, instructed the NY office to put the Lennon surveillance on hold, "In view of the subjects inactivity in Revolutionary Activities, and his seemingly rejection by New York Radicals, captioned case is being closed in New York division. In the event other information comes from your attention indicating subject is active with Revolutionary groups, the case will be reopened at the time of the Bureau being advised accordingly."Yet, a coded teletype as late as Sept. '73, instructed, surveillance to continue and all cooperation be given to the INS in its findings. There is no evidence of when the surveillance ended, or if it did, the last document Bresler found in his FBI file are instructions to once again, put the Lennon case on hold, with one eye open, just in case. If something bigger did happen in 1980, it may have been left over from '72. August 13 1976"No investigation should be conducted concerning subject but your sources should be alerted to the subjects presence in the area covered by your office. Any information developed indicating activity outside the scope of the intended purpose while in the United States should be promptly furnished to the Bureau."
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 5, 2021 11:34:45 GMT -5
Around the WorldChapman started working at Castle Memorial Hospital in Kailua in August of 1977 and was there until Nov. '79. He worked there soon after arriving, first in maintenance and eventually promoted to customer relations. Remember, early on he had also taken a series of successive flights to Atlanta and back, with no explanation of funds. In July 1978, he decided he wanted to take a trip around the world, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Delhi, Israel, Geneva, London, Paris, Dublin, Atlanta and back to Honolulu. The cost in airfare alone of this six-and-a-half week excursion was well beyond his financial means. Authors have written it was taken as a loan from the Castle Hospital Credit Union. Bresler doubts this conclusion and questions why any employer would make such a loan, to allow him all that time off from work, and not expect some sort of collateral to secure his return. After all, he was a stranger to the islands, and had only worked there a year. A calculation of cost comparison, would be about $4,000 in 2021 money, for every $1,000 he would need in 1978 [CPI Inflation Calculator]That's a lot of money for 13 flights that circle the globe. The cost would only be airfare and food, the accommodations by the YMCA. Mark had written to his friend David Moore, requesting a letter of recommendation, Moore was a VP at the World Alliance, in Geneva. "..meeting people would not only give me a real feel for these countries but....would help me financially". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Take a Letter...Chapman had booked the trip thru a woman he met at Water Worlds Travel in Honolulu. Gloria Abe, a twenty-eight year old Hawaiian Japanese travel agent had secured the flights for him. Once they began talking and found they had a lot in common, Mark promised to call her when he got back. A transcription of the letter from David Moore that Mark had carried with him is below. Some things to consider as this note is presented around the world. A direct message to the right person will know what it means. The very specific, "change of governments in Indo-China" also the "Spring of "75", could be used as a cue to discuss his experience in Beirut, and of course, any assistance "will be" greatly appreciated by this office. At the very least, and in all probability, this letter was also given to Castle as the collateral needed to secure the loan. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN "This is to introduce Mark Chapman, staff member of the US International Division of the National Council of YMCAs. Mark was an effective and dedicated worker at the refugee camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, following the mass influx of refugees after the change of governments in Indo-China in the spring of 1975. Mark was also a youth representative on the Board of Directors of the YMCA in his hometown in Georgia.
Mark will be visiting YMCAs in Asia and Europe and we look forward to his visit here in Geneva. I commend him to you as a sincere and intelligent young man. Any assistance that you can give Mark during his travels will be greatly appreciated by this office."
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 5, 2021 11:35:27 GMT -5
Restricted ControlWhen Mark got back to Hawaii in the fall, he called as he promised and began dating Gloria. They were often seen very happy together on the beach, and in January '79 he asked her to marry him. She converted from Buddhism and joined his church, and they were married in June at the United Methodist, in Kailua. Mark kept his job at the hospital, Gloria stayed at Water Woods. Within a few months, Mark became increasingly possessive of her. Co workers remember Gloria working longer hours before she was married and now seemed restricted in her outside of the home time. Chapman convinced her to quit her job at the agency and work at the hospital, and when a neighbor happened to whistle at his wife, Mark decided to they needed to move to the other side of the island, and would commute together on public transportation. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Without Dali VisionIn Sept '79 Mark suddenly found a new hobby, collecting art. Pat Carlson from a Honolulu Art Gallery remembered Mark coming in with Gloria and his mother. "He said they were interested in buying art, or at least he seemed very interested in looking at it."The following month he bought a Yamagata lithograph, for $300, then became fascinated with Salvador Dali, and bought a golden wall plaque of his "Lincoln in Dalivision", with $5,000 he borrowed from Gloria's father. He suddenly changed his mind and sold the Dali, borrowed another $2,500 from his mother, and bought a Rockwell lithograph, "Triple Self-Portrait", for $7,500. Sept.'79 - Jan.'80, Mark was obsessed with art as anyone could imagine. Pat Carlson, "He would go from gallery to gallery. He would call me three or four times a week to talk about his art. He didn't just ask questions, he did a lot if investigative work, making long distance calls and writing letters all over the United States. He really became an authority." Then, just as quickly, he completely lost interest.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 5, 2021 11:35:52 GMT -5
Passed OverChapman was at Castle a little more than 2 years, when he got into a argument with the Head of Nursing regarding a promotion he felt he was passed over for. It took a while to find another job while Gloria stayed on at the hospital. In Dec. 1979, Mark found employment as an unarmed security guard at a Waikiki Vacation Apt Complex at 444 Nahua St. Fue Liva, was the owner that hired Mark, and said he was, "...a very dependable person, but someone with his share of problems involving, drugs, religious organizations and not getting along with his family...." He also told the local newspapers, "He liked music. He had a few records in his apartment, but I didn't see any Beatles."++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Bang, Bang...Across the street from the office where Mark worked, was a Church of Scientology. Dennis Clarke, then spokesmen, made statements after the arrest, that in the months before the murder, someone would call the Church in a whisper and threaten, "Bang bang, You're dead." Then after the murder, the calls mysteriously stopped, implying it was Mark that had made these ominous threats. Capt. Louis Souza, Honolulu Police Dept., told Bresler, there is no evidence that was Mark, and the "Honolulu Star-Bulletin" had been reporting there were three other men identified in the area, as having been harassing the church. Further statements in the press said, someone was disrupting Scientology events by blaring loud Beatles music. Once again, there is no evidence it was Mark and it is extremely unlikely someone could blast any music into an event without being discovered as the source of the disruption.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 5, 2021 11:36:26 GMT -5
A CatcherIn August 1980, Mark was having a difficult time. He almost quit after a break-in of one the apartments. His boss, Fue Liva, had to talk to him like a brother and convinced him to stay on in the maintenance dept. Once again, Mark became interested in the book, "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. Bresler calls it, "an ominous new factor". Suggesting if someone brought this book in to his life at this time it might be for purposes of controlling. The main character Holden Caulfield, fit the temperament of the troubled, unhappy twenty five year old, but he hadn't been obsessed with this before. He had read it in school, and again as a young man at the YMCA where he recommended it to others as an important book. Now, he bought two paperback copies, one for him, one for his wife, and called himself, "the twenty five year old catcher". ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ No Cross OverLooking back on all that is written here, it is difficult to see all the dots. Reflection on the background will make some sense later. It gets stranger after the murder. Bresler has made no mention of talking to any "little people" (yet), and there is no indication of any violent tendencies to hurt others. There is no evidence of how this book came in to his adult life both times. Yet it is interesting that he is reminded of "Catcher" at these significant and dysfunctional moments that make him most vulnerable. Where does he get the money? He took 3 successive flights Atlanta to Hawaii after arriving, then took a loan from where he worked and traveled the world. He quit after two years, but who repaid the loan? There must have been a significant balance remaining when he left. He also borrowed $5,000 from Gloria's father. and another $2,500 from his mother. They hang as art on a wall. He makes $4 an hour. Consider the Blankenships, a surrogate family to Mark that really care, and know him well enough to say there is something wrong here. Something disturbing about his attitude when he returned from Beirut, or when Gene Scott is around. His disgust of a gun rack on an Arkansas truck, to the fascination with Gene's pearl handled revolver, and Mark's personal dedication with pleasing Gene. There was no obsession with The Beatles or Lennon's music. There were made up stories of Mark having listened to Beatles for 13 hours straight while waiting for Lennon. There is no evidence of this, and no tapes or player found when he was arrested. He is troubled, one might say, broken, but everyone Bresler talked to said, Mark was a sweet, gentle, non violent person. It doesn't cross over or make sense. There is no line that can be drawn to the horrible act, but for a movement toward New York.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 7, 2021 10:50:42 GMT -5
Keep it GreenThe Great Lawn, is a 14 acre piece of open land, in Central Park, New York City. There are also eight baseball fields, a soccer field and four basketball courts. It is a sanctuary from the concrete jungle. In the early sixties the NY Philharmonic Orchestra played annual concerts at the band shell on the property. As late as 1979, James Taylor, played a free concert in a portion called Sheep Meadow, and drew 250,000 people. Concerts by Simon & Garfunkel, Diana Ross, and a No Nukes Rally, have since brought record numbers, as high as 750,000. On Sept. 13, 1980, Elton John broke the attendance record at the time, with a free concert for about 300,000 people. I was there. It was a beautiful day in NY. I remember people saying they had seen John Lennon with Yoko & Sean in the crowd. Elton is godfather to Sean, and remains close to the Lennon family. In a recent interview between the two, Sean remembered Elton performing in a Donald Duck suit [at Great Lawn], and being brought on stage at the Garden in '82. From August-Oct. 1980, John Lennon was recording what would be his final album, "Double Fantasy". It was a piece of work shared with is wife, and presented as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. They each have seven tracks on the record. The songs are back and forth in a "heart play". Gone is any specific political cause, now, if we take care of each other, we'll all be alright. In an interview with Playboy magazine, Lennon told David Sheff, "We're one world, one people whether we like it or not... We can pretend were divided into races and countries and we can carry on pretending until we stop doin' it. But the reality is that it is one world and it is one people.
Leaders is what we don't need. We can have figure heads and we can have people that we admire and like to have standing up and all that. We can have examples... But leaders is what we don't need. It's the Utopian bit again. We're all members of the conceptual Utopia. So let's not go round and round it. It's one world, one people, and it's a statement as well as the wish."Back on the Great Lawn, Elton brought the full band, full tilt. It was a two and a half hour+ concert, being recorded for HBO. He played so many great songs, he has so many he can play. The record crowd of 300,000 was well behaved, the weather was perfect, About 2/3 thru the show, he played "Imagine" for his friend, "..he only lives just down the road" that happens to be recording a new album. Yet, who can sense the irony when returning to the band shell just 3 months later for the ten minutes of silence, segued in to the original.
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Post by Michael Capasse on May 7, 2021 10:51:22 GMT -5
(Just Like) Starting OverOn Nov. 17, 1980, John & Yoko released "Double Fantasy". The 14 track album, was Lennon's first in over five years. The record was produced by Jack Douglas, who began at Record Plant in NY engineering artists like, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Miles Davis and The Who, "Who's Next". He was the producer/engineer for Aerosmith in the mid 70's. In '71 Douglas was asked to help engineer the "Imagine" lp, the two developed a close relationship for the rest of John's life. In the middle of 1980, Lennon and his crew sailed his yacht from Newport, Rhode Island to Bermuda. Severe storms along the way, sickened the entire troupe, and left John at the wheel commanding the ship. The near death experience prompted a flood of new songs, "I was so centered after the experience at sea that I was tuned in to the cosmos – and all these songs came!"Once safe on dry land, he began documenting the songs. He would phone them to Yoko, and a few days later, she would respond with another tune back to him. A musical dialogue between husband and wife. The first release was appropriately titled, "(Just Like) Starting Over" The album was released about 3 weeks before the murder. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Left Over ColdConnecting the dots in the case is also difficult from this side. If there was any conspiracy to kill John Lennon, why? He was done with any radicalism, and political cause, his new message, "..here we are...we made it...and we hope you are OK too..."Yet, when looking further at what he was doing in the early seventies, it becomes obvious he was duped by Rubin and Hoffman, He could not have possibly known Sinclair was wanted on suspicion of bombing the CIA when he got behind the cause that set him free. He told American Magazine in Sept. 1980, “That radicalism was phony, really, because it was out of guilt. I’d always felt guilty that I made money, so I had to give it away or lose it. I don’t mean I was a hypocrite, when I believe, I believe right down to the roots. Being a chameleon, I became whomever I was with.
When you stop and think, ‘What the hell was I doing fighting the American Government just because Jerry Rubin couldn’t get what he always wanted, a nice, cushy job?’"Bresler, suggests whatever evil plot was in the works, was left over from the early 70s. Perhaps something that was considered, then put on hold. The bombing of the CIA building in Ann Arbour MI by his "friends" was serious enough to mark Lennon as an extremist. He got Sinclair out, and there was no recourse against him. Then, Lennon beat the deportation and exposed some nasty government tactics. All this combined with the media blitz in the fall of 1980 could have prompted some misguided element to put this into play. That also doesn't mean Chapman was always the candidate. It may have taken years to develop the logistics of the process. Chapman was already weak and broken and could've been realized as an easy target at this later time. No one expected Lennon to return.
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