1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,240 Speaker 1: Blood on the Tracks is a production of I Heart 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:07,000 Speaker 1: Radio and Double Elvis. John Lennon was a musical genius 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,479 Speaker 1: and one of the most beloved cultural figures of the 4 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: twentieth century. His songs inspired dreamers to imagine, his search 5 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: for the truth gave power to the people. But some 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: thought he dreamed too much. Others thought he was too powerful. 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: So he was followed, he was threatened, he was declared 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,000 Speaker 1: a danger to the United States, and in night he 9 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,839 Speaker 1: was assassinated. This is his story told by his so 10 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: called friends. This is Special Agent shim Steal with the 11 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,600 Speaker 1: Federal Bureau of Investigation, working case number double oh nine 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: zero eight zero four nine one. Case subject as Lennon, 13 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: John Winston oh No. This information pertains to a period 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: ending November four. Interview subject as John Sir Elton Hercules 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: interview number one Dash one to Dash eight one nine 16 00:01:07,160 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: Dash seven four Recall number one December. At first, I 17 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: was quite intimidated by John, because I knew he was 18 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: raised sharp and could be quite abrasive. But outside of 19 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: him never came out around me. In fact, John and 20 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: I got on like a house on fire. We had 21 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: the same sense of humor. I found him very kind 22 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: very funny. I don't know why the click we just did. 23 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,680 Speaker 1: Our relationship was a bit of a world. We saw 24 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:45,759 Speaker 1: each other a lot of it about a short period 25 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:47,319 Speaker 1: of time, and then when we didn't see each other 26 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: much anymore, I love for each other simply endured. So 27 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:53,919 Speaker 1: when he died I refused to believe it's at first 28 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: it was so violent. I just lost Mark Boland and 29 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: Keith Moon and now John murdered for absolutely no reason. 30 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: It was simply unbelievable. I just landed in Australia for 31 00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:10,600 Speaker 1: a tall woman be told to go off the plane, 32 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,240 Speaker 1: and suddenly there were these news reports showing microphones and 33 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: cameras in my face asking me how I felt bloody? 34 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:23,799 Speaker 1: How how do you think I felt? Was devastated. I 35 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: was also angry. Drummonds told me when Jim Crowtray died, 36 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: the new sample records when you're deader when you're alive, 37 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: pretty sick. This world, this world paid good money for tragedy. 38 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: The wallets come out to get a good look and 39 00:02:42,040 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: the blood in the tracts Ye chapter six, John Lennon 40 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 1: and Elton John. Everyone said that John Lennon wasn't like 41 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: the other Beatles, for years. I had to take everyone 42 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,560 Speaker 1: at their word because I didn't meet John personally until nine. 43 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: And of course I learned straight away that everyone was right. 44 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: John was not like the others. John wasn't like anyone else, 45 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: really simidated Bartel. I learned this the moment I walked 46 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: to Tony King's office at Capitol Records in Hollywood. Tony 47 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: King was Apple Records General manager for the United States, 48 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: and he just sets up his office in that legendary 49 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: building that looks like a stack of records. John was 50 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: in town to shoot promotional videos for his upcoming album, 51 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: Mind Games, and he and Tony were tossing around some 52 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: ideas behind closed doors. Nothing prepared me for what I 53 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:03,760 Speaker 1: was about to see when I opened the office door 54 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 1: and I walked inside, Tony King dressed in full drag 55 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: because Queen Elizabeth the Second dancing wildly with John. There's 56 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: no music playing. John may have been having a tune 57 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: as he stunned Tony in that huge regal dress, but 58 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: all I remember is the laughing the ladies and gentlemen, 59 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: Her Royal Highness, the Queen. The Queen. You know when 60 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:29,680 Speaker 1: you meet someone for the first time and realize that 61 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: they're a kindred spirit that you just know that the 62 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:35,679 Speaker 1: two of you are destined for something special, something shared. 63 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 1: I had the instant connection with John when I met him, 64 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: and yes, I realized he was one of the most 65 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: famous people in the world at that time. He always 66 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 1: had been and he always will be. And I also 67 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: realized that my opportunity to meet him like that in 68 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: such a private moment that no one else in the 69 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,040 Speaker 1: world ever saw. The reason I had that chance was 70 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: because I had begun my own assent on the charts 71 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,360 Speaker 1: that year Daniel Saturday Nights all Right for Fighting and 72 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Raw Hits in seventy three, And 73 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: before you know it, I'm witnessing this incredible moment in 74 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 1: this tiny office of the Capitol Building. John rarely let 75 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: his guard down, that's famously noted, especially in front of 76 00:05:17,960 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: the public or people who didn't know. But for the 77 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: moment we shook hands, his guard was non existent. He 78 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: felt like the rock and roll world was progressing beyond 79 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 1: where the Beatles had left it a few years before, 80 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: and he was feeling left behind. He was beginning to 81 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: feel out of touch, frustrating Lee. I was at touch, 82 00:05:38,760 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: and this was earlier there was all this androgeny happening 83 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: in rock and roll at the time. He didn't get it. 84 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,880 Speaker 1: It's just rock and roll with lipstick on, he dismissively 85 00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: told Bowie, I got glam. In addition to Bowie's ziggy 86 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: start us, there was Mark Boland in t Rex and 87 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: Mick Jagger was continuing to blur lines of sexuality and me. 88 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: Of course, perhaps that's one of the reasons John wanted 89 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,039 Speaker 1: to meet me. He felt like he was losing his head. 90 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: He was he was becoming uncool. He didn't know how 91 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,640 Speaker 1: to be like Bolan or Bowie or Jagger. I don't know. 92 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:22,160 Speaker 1: Maybe he thought he'd cleaned some insight or learned by 93 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: osmosis or something by being around me, because I did 94 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: what I wanted and John did what he wanted. But 95 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: the difference was that I didn't care what I looked 96 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:36,480 Speaker 1: like and John cared far too much. Now I've heard 97 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: the same stories you've heard about John's supposed homophobic comments. 98 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: Is jokes, the ones from the past that he made 99 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: at the expense of people like his former manager Brian 100 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: Epstein Quarty person. But I don't know anything about that. 101 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: I never saw anything like that, just as I never 102 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: saw the rock bottom depressed, self destructive time bond that 103 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: everyone else talks about. During this period John's lost weekend 104 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,080 Speaker 1: away from Yoko, I had two fish named John and Yoko. 105 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: Did you know that before I ever got famous? Anyway, 106 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: I digress. He wasn't depressed, he wasn't self destructive. Was 107 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: he going through a rough patch? Absolutely? Did he know 108 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: the light was somewhere at the end of the tunnel. 109 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: Of course he did. But the narratives of people like 110 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: Harry Nielsen and Keith Moon only tell one side of 111 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: the story. Oh sure, I had some wild times that John. 112 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: My experience wasn't unique in that way. But our wild 113 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: times weren't sad and pitiful. They were exhilarating and they 114 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: were funny. We hit from Andy Warhol in minor hotel room, 115 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: the Sherry Netherlands on Fifth Avenue in New York. It 116 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: was just the two of us, Me and John, along 117 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: with a lot of cocaine. Look, John's excessive drinking and 118 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: drug use didn't end when he came back to New York. 119 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,320 Speaker 1: We had just had as much coke. Because you'd expect 120 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: two major pop stars to have in the mid seventies, 121 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 1: the amount of coke we did then well, there was 122 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: always too much, but it felt like we never had enough. 123 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: We rolled up dirty dollar bills and snorted line after 124 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: line cheese as the rush. It's like a firework on 125 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: your forehead. In the hotel room, we talked about collaborating 126 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: while we did lines. John was making a new album 127 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: at the record plant in New York and he wanted 128 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: me to come play on it. Now, that was a 129 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 1: thrill to be asked to play on a record by 130 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 1: a Beatle, the Beetle who was not like the other Beatles. 131 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: We were talking about this collaboration when there was a 132 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: knock at the door of my hotel room. We're both froze. 133 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: We were quite a site, I'm sure, sitting there on 134 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: the couch, high power annoid, wondering if we were hearing things, 135 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 1: not making a move or a sound. Our noses are 136 00:08:56,760 --> 00:09:01,839 Speaker 1: probably covered in dust. John spoke first, did you hear something? 137 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,079 Speaker 1: He whispered, at least I thought it was a whisper. 138 00:09:06,040 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: And then on knocking at the door, we heard a 139 00:09:08,520 --> 00:09:11,440 Speaker 1: voice house in the hallway, But boys, are you in there? 140 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: I tiptoed over to the door and stuck my eyes 141 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: to the pole glasses, white hair, camera dangling around his neck, 142 00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:24,319 Speaker 1: and it was acting. I turned around and tiptoed back 143 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: to John. I told him because Andy Warhole with a camera, 144 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 1: and he knocked again. I raised my shoulders John and 145 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: gave him the universal sign for what should we do. 146 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: John's eyes went wide. He violently shook his head side 147 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,719 Speaker 1: to side, and he was right up. As of them 148 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: never came out. We were up to our eyeballs in cocaine. 149 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: If we let Andrew Warhole carry a camera into that 150 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,520 Speaker 1: room at that moment, who knows how many pictures he 151 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: would have taken, and who knows who would have seen 152 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: those pictures. So he kept doing lines in silence. Every 153 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: once in a while and he knock again. I know 154 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:06,920 Speaker 1: you boys are in there. We'd stifle a laugh, trying 155 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,920 Speaker 1: not to chuckle while powder was rocketing up noses. And 156 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: we kept doing that until the knocking stopped and Nancy 157 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: Warhol went away. Because there are some things that are 158 00:10:17,720 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 1: meant to be private, there are some moments that the 159 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: world will never be allowed to see. People still call 160 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:54,480 Speaker 1: it the most famous bet in the history of rock 161 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 1: and roll. So while I'm sure you've heard about it, 162 00:10:57,679 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: it bears repeating. We finished the track for John's new album, 163 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 1: Walls and Bridges, the one who wanted me to play on. 164 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: I played piano and sang with him. It was called 165 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,240 Speaker 1: whatever gets You through the night. There was a simple 166 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: phrase that John and I had picked up watching TV 167 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 1: late at night. John loved to watch TV. People say 168 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: that TV rotch your brains out. Well, John Lennon, one 169 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: of the eminent geniuses of our time, watched a lot 170 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: of TV, so you'll be the judge there. He was 171 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,200 Speaker 1: watching TV late one night and stumbled upon some televangelist 172 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:34,719 Speaker 1: and he said that phrase right to the camera to 173 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: his audience, whatever gets you through the night, You do 174 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 1: what you have to do. So we tracked the song 175 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 1: at the record plant, and I loved the song so 176 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: much and had so much energy and felt so alive 177 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: in a way that John's original music hadn't felt in 178 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: some time. I loved it so much that I told 179 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:57,440 Speaker 1: John it was going to be a number one hit, 180 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,719 Speaker 1: a funk off, John said. John hadn't had another one 181 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: in the US since the Beatles Imagine got close, but 182 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: he felt like he was no longer a number one artists, 183 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: and with everything going on with him, in America, the 184 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: immigration stuff, the political stuff. He felt like a guy 185 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: who really wanted to be at the party, even though 186 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,439 Speaker 1: everyone at the party wanted him to leave. I mean, 187 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,640 Speaker 1: there were many Americans who still hadn't gotten over that 188 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: bigger than Jesus nonsense. Meanwhile, Paul, George and Ringo all 189 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:35,680 Speaker 1: had number ones on their own good money. So I 190 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: know that the topic of number one is made John 191 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:42,680 Speaker 1: very bitter, but I could hear it. I knew the 192 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,439 Speaker 1: song is going to be huge, and so I made 193 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:46,959 Speaker 1: him a bet right then and there, before we even 194 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,480 Speaker 1: left the studio. I bet John that if the song 195 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: went to number one on the charts, then he would 196 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: agree to perform with me live on stage at my 197 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 1: four Thanksgiving show at Madison Square. Guard and he agreed 198 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: because he was convinced that I would lose that bet. 199 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:08,720 Speaker 1: If he had known that the song was going to 200 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: go all the way to the top, he probably wouldn't 201 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: have taken the bed. Remember, the Beatles had quit performing 202 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: live in nineteen sixty six. John had played a handful 203 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 1: of live shows since then. You could count them on 204 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:22,120 Speaker 1: one hand. It had been two years since he last 205 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: played live. When the single came out in the fall 206 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:35,840 Speaker 1: of what started climbing the charts first, and I kept 207 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: going September October November. That's when John started paying attention 208 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: and started to sweat. Why was he sweating because he 209 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 1: had no intention of appearing on stage maybe ever again. 210 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:58,160 Speaker 1: And then the song hit number one November, just twelve 211 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: days before my show at Madison squa her Garden. John, 212 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,679 Speaker 1: of course, was a man of his word, showed up 213 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:09,960 Speaker 1: that night November. He told me I had one caveat. 214 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: He didn't put Yoko there. Even though John was living 215 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: back in New York and his lost weekend was over, 216 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 1: the two of them were still a ways off from reconciling, 217 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: and he was so nervous about performing live. I think 218 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: the thought of Yoko coming there made him even more nervous. 219 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: He just couldn't handle it all. So I said, sure, 220 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,240 Speaker 1: Yoko won't be there, like I could fucking control what 221 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,000 Speaker 1: Yoko did or didn't do. She knew that John had 222 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: requested that she not show up, and so she made 223 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: a purely Yoker move showed up anyway. She made a presence, no, 224 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,360 Speaker 1: not by coming backstage to which John a good show. 225 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: She kept a distance, but she did send a Guardinia 226 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,640 Speaker 1: backstage to John. At this point, I was thinking, oh 227 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: my god, he's going to back out. Yeah, he was 228 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 1: already a nervous wreck going into this thing, and no 229 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: Yoko and the Gardinias much too much, you know. I 230 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: took the stage of my band and opened the show 231 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: with Funeral for a Friend and Love Lives Bleeding. The 232 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: sold out cry of twenty people were on their feet 233 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: and singing to every chorus. The place was electric, the 234 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: noise was deafening. Meanwhile, John was puking his guts out backstage. Headaches, nausea, formatting, 235 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,440 Speaker 1: more headaches, more nosier, more vomiting up. I don't know 236 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: if yourself medicating with anything, but if he was, it 237 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,920 Speaker 1: wasn't helping. He was pale, the shirt collar was wet. 238 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,120 Speaker 1: My band kept rolling, Take Me to the Pilot. Benny 239 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: and the Jets burned down the mission. We were about 240 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:54,640 Speaker 1: nine or ten songs into our set when I decided 241 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: it was time to bring out John. I couldn't save 242 00:15:57,560 --> 00:15:59,360 Speaker 1: him for an encore surprise. I was worried if I 243 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: didn't just pull the trigger on it sooner rather than later, 244 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: he'd get cold feet for real and disappear. I looked 245 00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: over to the side of the stage where John was 246 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: standing out of sight, looking like he was about to 247 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 1: throw up or bolt, or maybe both. I gave John 248 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: a wink and a nod, and then looked out on 249 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: the crowd and spoken to the microphone. It's our great 250 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 1: privilege and your great privilege to see and here Mr 251 00:16:32,640 --> 00:16:38,040 Speaker 1: John Lennon and John Lena. John walked onto the stage 252 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: wearing dark sunglasses, a black shirt, black suit with Yoko's 253 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,840 Speaker 1: white Guardinia stuck through the button hurle of his jacket. Now, 254 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: let me tell you, I have been in front of 255 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: some of the biggest crowds at some of the biggest shows, 256 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: and I have I've never heard an audience react like that. 257 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 1: They've roared, they screamed, just world, post good money. I 258 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: could only imagine it was a bit like experienced even 259 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: the original beatle Mania, you know. Once the crowd settled 260 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:15,880 Speaker 1: a bit, we launched into Whatever gets You through the Night, 261 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: the very song that had made this whole thing possible, 262 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:21,359 Speaker 1: and then we followed that up with Lucy and the 263 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:26,120 Speaker 1: Sky with Diamonds, and I saw her standing there. John 264 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: had successfully blown the cop website, so he came back 265 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,600 Speaker 1: out with us. During the encore, he and Bernie Torbin 266 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: played tambourines on the Bitches Back. It was a transcendent moment, 267 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:46,159 Speaker 1: absolutely beautiful. No one knew it at the time, but 268 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: that will be the last time John would ever play 269 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: a concert like that again. Six years later he was 270 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 1: gone and My Madison Square Garden show was his swan song. 271 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: Perhaps been more incredible, however, is what happened immediately after 272 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: the show. John and Yoko reconciled. Eleven months later, Sean 273 00:18:08,440 --> 00:18:11,480 Speaker 1: was born, and I was asked to be Shaun's godfather. 274 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: And this is exactly why I say that the day 275 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: I first met John Lennon in Tony King's office at 276 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:25,640 Speaker 1: the Capitol, I knew it was something truly unique, something special. 277 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: I knew great things were going to come from our relationship. 278 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: I believe I was put in John's life at that 279 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: precise moment to make all those things happen. Perhaps I 280 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 1: was a talisman, a good luck friend, because soon after 281 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,919 Speaker 1: all those things happened, I didn't see John much anymore, 282 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: and that's when things changed. That's when things got really dark. 283 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:11,919 Speaker 1: We'll be right back after this word word. Do you know? 284 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:18,440 Speaker 1: A Roman? Polanski filmed Rosemary's baby the Dakota, the one 285 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: in same Dakota where John and Yoko lived. But now 286 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: maybe it's just me, but I couldn't live in a 287 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: place like that. Not only was it a location for 288 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: a creepy movie, but it looked creepy enough and in 289 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,480 Speaker 1: real life to warrant it's used in a creepy movie. 290 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: And then all the stuff about Robert Ryan's wife who 291 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: died there, Yoko suspected that maybe the ghost of this 292 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: woman didn't appreciate her and John living there, and this 293 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: ghost was doing things to make them feel unwanted world. 294 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,480 Speaker 1: Yoko even saw a psychic about whatever was going on 295 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 1: at the Dakota, a Tarot card reader. Ironic, isn't it, 296 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: given the John famously saying he did believe in Tara. Anyway, 297 00:20:03,040 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: the Tara reader didn't necessarily cure the Dakota of its creepiness, 298 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: but he told something to Yoka very disturbing. He said, 299 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:18,560 Speaker 1: your husband sleeps in blood. I'm telling you all of 300 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: this because there was something very strange going on amongst 301 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:25,439 Speaker 1: the preferey of John's life. A lot of it couldn't 302 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:31,280 Speaker 1: be explained. A lot of it was probably incidental or coincidental. 303 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,120 Speaker 1: A lot of it I didn't really think about until later. 304 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:40,679 Speaker 1: But for example, after the show Madison Square Garden, some 305 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: of us went to the Pierre Hotel on his sixty 306 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,720 Speaker 1: one Street for a drink. It was me and John Reid, 307 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: who was both my manager and my lover at the time. 308 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 1: John and Yoko and Tony King. It was late, it 309 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:58,640 Speaker 1: was a Thursday night, Thanksgiving night. You're a Gala showed 310 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: up at our table at some do you know You're 311 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:06,679 Speaker 1: Agether the mind reader illusionist. He was there bending silver 312 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: air that was laid out on the tables, the usual 313 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: floating in and out of conversations, gravitating to those who 314 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 1: obviously didn't know his stick and were therefore most liable 315 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:18,240 Speaker 1: to drop their jaws to the floor when Uri read 316 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,120 Speaker 1: their mind or bent a fought backwards with his own mind. 317 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: He started reading minds, which is always quite entertaining because 318 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 1: of the looks unsuspecting people make when they realize they 319 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,239 Speaker 1: need to quickly figure out a way to hide all 320 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: the dirty things they're thinking at that very moment, and 321 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,399 Speaker 1: then subsequently realized that there is literally no way to 322 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: hide your thoughts from a person who can read your mind. 323 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:49,080 Speaker 1: If you can actually read mind simply unbelievably. In fact, 324 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:50,840 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what I trust to what I believe 325 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,000 Speaker 1: about Uri. But that night at the Pierre Urie and 326 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:56,800 Speaker 1: John started talking on alood shot than never come out. 327 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,959 Speaker 1: John had recently given an interview to well to himself 328 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 1: in a way. This was an interview magazine, which was 329 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:10,119 Speaker 1: Andy Warhols magazine. The interview was with John Lennon and 330 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: conducted by Dr Winston o' boogie, which people may or 331 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:16,679 Speaker 1: may not have realized at the time was really debauched 332 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:21,159 Speaker 1: alias John had gone under for quite some time. In 333 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,879 Speaker 1: the interview, John claimed that he saw a UFO flying 334 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: around New York City from the window of his apartment. First. 335 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: The issue of Interview had just come out that month, 336 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:34,439 Speaker 1: in November seventy four, and Ury was very interested in 337 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 1: talking to John Moore about UFOs. He was a big 338 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,679 Speaker 1: believer in the existence of aliens all that. So the 339 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: two of them began talking at the corner of the table. 340 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: Jury made John feel comfortable by telling him that he 341 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: believed John's story that he himself had seen UFOs or 342 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: even photographed UFOs. John became so comfortable. It turns out 343 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: that Jury says John told him even more. John said 344 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:05,399 Speaker 1: that one night he was lying in bed at the 345 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 1: Dakota he us alone, a bright light slowly lists up 346 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: the outline of the bedroom door, which was closed. The 347 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:16,520 Speaker 1: light was so bright the door appeared to be glowing itself. 348 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: John got himself out of bed, walked over to the 349 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:25,600 Speaker 1: door and opened it, and there, silhouetted against this blinding 350 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:31,680 Speaker 1: white light, were four figures. They weren't people, There were 351 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: beings otherworldly. They reached out for his hands and his 352 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:39,640 Speaker 1: legs and guided him forward through the apartment. Only they 353 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,959 Speaker 1: weren't in the apartment anymore. They were They were walking 354 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: down this path of bright light that played scenes from 355 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,560 Speaker 1: his life in a series of small screens to his left, 356 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:52,520 Speaker 1: his right, above him, and below him. He watched his 357 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,040 Speaker 1: entire life in a flash, from Liverpool to London, to 358 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: New York and beyond. The figures gave something to him, 359 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: but didn't see what it was. Then they guided him 360 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: back to the bedroom. When they left, John realized there 361 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: was something heavy in his hands. He opened up and 362 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,040 Speaker 1: looked down, and in his palms was a ball of 363 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:19,360 Speaker 1: metal in the shape and size of an egg. Did 364 00:24:19,359 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: this actually happen? I can't confirm or deny. I haven't 365 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:26,600 Speaker 1: talked with the Rian years and this is something I 366 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,679 Speaker 1: had second or third or fourth hand from that evening, 367 00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: not that I was in a sober state on that 368 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 1: evening or any evening around that time to remember anything 369 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: correctly or coherently. Have you ever seen a ufo another 370 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: worldly figure in your house that shows your entire life 371 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:50,280 Speaker 1: on playback? John and I never talked about UFOs. In fact, 372 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,919 Speaker 1: I thought the interview magazine was John taking the piston, 373 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 1: pretending to be a believer, because as we know, he 374 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:02,160 Speaker 1: didn't believe in much besides himself and Yoko and Sean 375 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,159 Speaker 1: and the people who are meaningful to him. But what 376 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:09,680 Speaker 1: if there were other things he believed? Would you believe that? 377 00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:14,639 Speaker 1: What if we thought we knew everything about John Lennon 378 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:50,720 Speaker 1: but in reality we didn't know him at all. It 379 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: wasn't until he got the cuckoo clock home that he 380 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:57,160 Speaker 1: realized it wasn't actually a cuckoo clock after all. So 381 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,600 Speaker 1: what would one call it a cuckoo clock? Upon intended, 382 00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: of course, because instead of a wooden cuckoo springing forth 383 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 1: at the top of every hour, clock produced a wooden 384 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: penis a big one. Elton John found the clock hysterical, 385 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,640 Speaker 1: and it made him think of the one person who 386 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,399 Speaker 1: shared his same sense of humor. It would make the 387 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 1: perfect gift. John and Yoko's apartment at the Dakota Cooperative 388 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,919 Speaker 1: Building at the northwest corner of seventy two Street in 389 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: Central Park West and Manhattan's Upper West Side was full 390 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,440 Speaker 1: of trinkets from the couple's travels, guitars, antique couches, a 391 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,399 Speaker 1: warlords or jukebox, priceless artwork. Elton figured that the clock 392 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: would fit right in with John and Yoko's bohemian bric 393 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,880 Speaker 1: a brac style. Elton included a card with the gifted 394 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:47,040 Speaker 1: clock that reveled in the brand of humor that he 395 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 1: and John shared. Imagine six apartments. It isn't hard to do. 396 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: One is full of fur coats, another's full of shoes. 397 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,960 Speaker 1: Years later, Elton John stood inside the Dakota Building, in 398 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,679 Speaker 1: the middle of John and Yoko's apartment and saw the 399 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: cheeky clock displayed amongst other fanciful collectibles. The clock brought 400 00:27:05,520 --> 00:27:10,359 Speaker 1: back memories, good memories. He needed the good memories because 401 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: these days it seemed like one bad memory was the 402 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: only memory that hung around It was the early nineteen eighties, 403 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 1: and John Lennon had been dead for a few years. 404 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,159 Speaker 1: In the six years between the fateful Madison Square Garden 405 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: show and his assassination, John had seen Elton only a 406 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,639 Speaker 1: handful of times. Elton was godfather to John and Yoko's son, Sean, 407 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:37,240 Speaker 1: but while Elton was busy making records and touring, while 408 00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 1: John was busy not being busy. In September of nine eight, 409 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,680 Speaker 1: Elton played a show in Central Park half a million people, 410 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,720 Speaker 1: his largest crowd to date. He played Imagine in John's 411 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 1: honor and hoped that John was sitting on his roof 412 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:54,680 Speaker 1: deck on the edge of Central Park and could hear 413 00:27:54,720 --> 00:28:00,160 Speaker 1: his song wafting through the warm September air lay her. 414 00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: That night, John Yoko reconnected with Elton at a post 415 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 1: gig party. Little did Elton no it would be the 416 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:10,360 Speaker 1: last time he would ever see John alive. Just two 417 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 1: months later, John was gunned down outside the Dakota, and 418 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:19,440 Speaker 1: now Elton John stood inside the Dakota. It was two 419 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:24,679 Speaker 1: Probably Elton had stopped keeping track. His steady diet of vodka, 420 00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,919 Speaker 1: martinis and coke helped blurred days into weeks and weeks 421 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:30,959 Speaker 1: in two years Yoko Ono had asked him to come 422 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: over to the Dakota to see her. She had tapes, 423 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: tapes of music that John had been working on before 424 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: he was shot. The tapes were unfinished. She needed someone 425 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: to finish them. She wanted Elton to finish them. But 426 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: Elton couldn't do it. He didn't even want to hear them. 427 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 1: He didn't want the temptation. Elton John didn't want to 428 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:51,760 Speaker 1: be the one who funked up the legacy of John Lennon, 429 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,000 Speaker 1: the guy who couldn't make a decent meal out of 430 00:28:54,040 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: some leftovers. Elton wrote music to Bernie Topen's words, that's 431 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 1: what he knew. Fact. The duo wrote the song empty 432 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: Garden about John's murder, one part eulogy to their departed friend, 433 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: one part condemnation of the murderer. It's one of the 434 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: standout tracks on Elton's most overlooked jump up album from 435 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,479 Speaker 1: But what Yogo was asking Now? This ask was too big, 436 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: too far outside Elton's comfort zone, so Elton turned Yogo down. 437 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 1: Yogo finished the tapes on her own with the help 438 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: of producer Jack Douglas, and the postumus John and Yoko 439 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: album Milk and Honey was released in January of but 440 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: Jack Douglas didn't see his name in the liner notes. 441 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,840 Speaker 1: Yoko had left it out on purpose because Yoko was 442 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,440 Speaker 1: embroiled in a court case that same year when Jack 443 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: Douglas suited her to the tune of three point five 444 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: million dollars. That was the amount Douglas claimed he was 445 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 1: owed for unpaid royalties on both Milk and Honey and 446 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: Double Fantasy, the record John released right before his death. 447 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: Yogo claimed the con tract was fraudulent. The jury sided 448 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: with Douglas in order to Yoko to pay him more 449 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,880 Speaker 1: than two point five million dollars in back royalties. The 450 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 1: case was settled just months after Milk and Honey had 451 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:15,280 Speaker 1: been released, and as they say, I'll press is good press. 452 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:19,040 Speaker 1: Though not as critically successful as Double Fantasy, Milk and 453 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,440 Speaker 1: Honey went to number three on the UK charts and 454 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:24,680 Speaker 1: number eleven on the US charts, where it also went gold. 455 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:28,680 Speaker 1: Milk and Honey didn't radically alter anyone's perception of John's 456 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:32,600 Speaker 1: latter musical years. Serviceable rock songs like I'm Stepping Out 457 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:34,720 Speaker 1: and Nobody Told Me would have fit in just fine 458 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:38,920 Speaker 1: on Double Fantasy. It wasn't a career reinvention. It didn't 459 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 1: flip the script or offer a new perspective on the 460 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 1: person everyone thought they knew. No one knew that Elton 461 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 1: John had almost made his own mark on the songs, 462 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: and thus no one knew what said mark would have 463 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 1: sounded like, Not even Elton John. Reinvention was years in 464 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:57,200 Speaker 1: the rear view for John Lennon. Reinvention happened right before 465 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,920 Speaker 1: the birth of Sean, right before John won his fight 466 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:02,800 Speaker 1: to remain in the United States, and it could only 467 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:07,000 Speaker 1: have happened in New York City. It happened in nineteen 468 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 1: seventy five. That was John Lennon's last gasp as a 469 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: creative revolutionary, before Elton John and the rest of the 470 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:18,600 Speaker 1: world lost sight of him. In John made a last 471 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,440 Speaker 1: minute decision to join a recording session which would put 472 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: him unexpectedly in the nexus of New York City's avant 473 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:28,160 Speaker 1: garde and at the forefront of New York City's pop scene. 474 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: That same session elevated the American profile of another British 475 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: rock star seeking to make another of his many own reinventions, 476 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 1: and it happened amidst more chaos, drugs, death and disorder 477 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: were constants along with the unexpected, the unexplained. If you 478 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:49,280 Speaker 1: look back on that year, in that time, you can 479 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: still see the residue of what happened, what was lost, 480 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: what was one, what's gone forever, and what remains. It's 481 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:01,120 Speaker 1: all still there, hidden deep within the Blood on the Tracks. 482 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 1: All right, everybody, thanks for listening to Blood on the Tracks. 483 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: If you like what you hear, be sure to find 484 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: and follow Blood on the Tracks on Apple podcast, I 485 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:26,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, app, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. 486 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:29,760 Speaker 1: On this season two of Blood on the Tracks, we'll 487 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,120 Speaker 1: be releasing ten episodes on the incredible life of John Lennon, 488 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: with a new episode every Thursday. You can also binge 489 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: all ten episodes of season one on the insane story 490 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: of the notorious record producer Phil Spector right now. It's 491 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: available wherever you get your podcast. This episode of Blood 492 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: on the Tracks was written by Zeth Lundi and hosted 493 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:52,760 Speaker 1: an executive produced by me Jake Brennan, also executive produced 494 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 1: by Brady sad Story and copy editing by Pat Heally. 495 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: This episode was mixed by Colin Fleming. Additional music and 496 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: score elements by Ryan Spreaker. This episode featured Rob Kendrick 497 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:06,880 Speaker 1: as Elton John. Blood on the Tracks is produced by 498 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: Double Elvis and partnership with I Heart Radio. Sources for 499 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,520 Speaker 1: this episode are available at Double Elvis dot com on 500 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: the Blood on the Tracks series page. If you want 501 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:17,840 Speaker 1: to chat about this show or hear more about the 502 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:20,560 Speaker 1: other shows, we're making a Double Elvis tap in on 503 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 1: Instagram at double Elvis, on Twitter at double Elvis fm, 504 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,120 Speaker 1: and now on Twitch where we're streaming three days a 505 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: week at Twitch dot tv slash Double Elvis Podcasts. And finally, 506 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: be sure to check out disgrace Land, the award winning 507 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 1: music and true crime podcast that I also host. Disgraceland 508 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 1: is available only on the free Amazon Music. To hear 509 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 1: tons of insane stories about your favorite musicians getting away 510 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 1: with murder and behaving very badly, go to Amazon dot 511 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: com slash disgrace lamb, or if you have an Echo device, 512 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 1: just say Alexa play the disgrace Land podcast. Black Amm 513 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:03,240 Speaker 1: That Crazy,