What competitive bands or musicians did John Lennon admire

Bing Crosby, particularly his early stuff from back in the 1930s.

I'm not kidding. Look it up. Every influence on the guy wasn't R&B or rock.

 

Yes, I believe Mimi’s husband George was a Bing fan and exposed John to him and other crooners (Rudi Valee etc. )

 

So, he collaborated with his friends all under the guise of competition?

Oh my goodness, I truly beg to differ.

 

I’m not sure. Lennon was very insecure, but he was pretty dismissive of the rock star scene in the later Dakota years. He’d stopped trying to be one.

 

I’m not sure that you understand the music business. If you are a big Beatles fan, Peter Dogetts book “You Never Give Me Your Money” would be an eye opener among many others.

 

Listen to the Bowie rap John gives. He says that Elton gave him his number 1 and so he passed the torch on to David for his #1.

So they were friends. That was also very big business going on with some of the most lucrative entertainers in the world too. John Lennon was a very insecure person, a real person not an immortal. Don't be naive.

 

What year?

In the mid 70s he was in the game and randy to appear on records. I think you are elliding the time frames.

 

Wow, you guys. I’m not naive, I’m making a point. Art isn’t a competition. Artists get inspired to greater heights by the ones they admire.

Why the heck would John Lennon, who had already been to the loftiest peaks in the racket even care about competing for attention. He demurred from the spotlight for the second half of the 70s because he didn’t care about the business, and had nothing to say. Some competitor.

Hockey is about competition. Lennon didn’t play hockey with music in the 70s.

 

Whatever the years were when Sean was just a baby until late 1980. Mid 70’s he was still trying to sell records. No question Elton challenged and helped him on Whatever Gets You..... being a big hit. That was real admiration/friendship AND some big record biz PR/Marketing.

 

Lennon didn’t compete in the late 70’s for like three or four years. That said, he didn’t get to be “John Lennon” music mega star without being competitive as all get out! That’s where you are naive

 

I've read that John was a fan of Brian Wilson and maybe the group minus Mike Love who he said was a jerk.

 

I have no thesis about "competition in rock." We're both big fans. I just think I'm being more realistic. I do see them as people first.

Why would paul do anything at all in the 70s? He had been to the peak.

Have you considered the reality of being JL in 1973-5. Where was he in the biz, and where was he songwriting wise? If he was soleley an artist he must have had a patron right?

Have you ever heard of someone who refused to compete because they were insecure, blocked, had to face the raging success of his former partner, mentally troubled, any of a thousand things.

I am not a big fan of the house husband mythos. I have to say I care a lot more about Cynthia and Julian. What did he do for them in the 70s?

 

Maybe I missed this aspect: I don't want to accuse him of competitiveness in my posts. Just that he had a career, a manager, even if it was his wife, an art that had become big business and a path in life. He had been very competitive as a beatle by many accounts. in the 60s he didn't need anyone. In the 70s he was starting over, and he was not writing songs at his best, and most confident. Cameo appearances are the lingua franca of the business. I don't think they are as pure of heart as you do.

 

He was a Hendrix fan.... Earlier in 1967, while attending a party in London with Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Eric Clapton, Monkee Peter Nesmith heard a tape that John Lennon had of Jimi Hendrix playing his guitar. At that time, Hendrix was already a star in Great Britain, but had little traction in the USA.

 

He particularly singled out Madness in 1980 citing the bass and drums as being very good... High praise indeed for the London lads...... I often wonder if any of the band have commented on this.

 

John said he took the title for "Please Please Me" from Bing's song that goes "Please lend your little ear to my pleas ... "

 

John mentioned Donna Summer in an interview. And he also stated his admiration for Shame, Shame,Shame (Shirley & Company). He also mentioned Olivia Newton-John’s Magic-not disco,but a major pop hit.

 

When Jethro Tull appeared at Madison Square Garden for the first time in fall 1971, there was a rumor John and Yoko were going to attend the show. I don't know if it happened.

 

What competitive bands or musicians did John Lennon admire?

John Lennon truly admired the NYC-based musician David Peel whom he had met in Greenwich Village in 1971. Lennon loved his music & spirit & even went so far as to produce Peel's third album "The Pope Smokes Dope", released in 1972 through Apple Records.

 

The Merseys - Sorrow

I remember John saying how much he admired it and "wished he'd written it" in one of the UK pop mags at the time (NME or Melody Maker) back in 1966.

Of course, George and John were later to pay the song homage in the fade-out of It's All Too Much.

 

John’s most prized possession, a 78 rpm of The Goons, “ The Ying Tong Song “

 

John was friends with Eric Burdon (and is supposed to have dubbed Burdon "The Eggman"): John did a parodic version of "The House Of The Rising Sun" during the "Get Back" sessions. I guess he probably liked music made by The Animals.

 

That is correct. Fred Seaman writes in his book "The Last Days of John Lennon" that he mainly listened to reggae. Bob Marley was his favorite, especially the album "Uprising" and the song "Wake Up and Live".

In his 1979 audio diary John says he likes the song "Pop Music" by M. He also talks about the group Blondie.

 

I remember this song very well: huge hit in 1979: there was speculation at the time that the mysterious "M" might actually be...................................................
John Lennon making his comeback!! True story.

 

Wow, I didn't know that. You can hear him talk about it @4:17 minutes: