6 must-listen John Lennon cuts in honor of what would've been his 75th birthday
Go beyond "Imagine."
Like many artistic geniuses who died young, John Lennon’s catalog has been painstakingly examined since his death. But some of his best moments remain unappreciated when compared to the classics he penned both with the Beatles and as a solo artist. In honor of what would’ve been Lennon’s 75th birthday, we’ve rounded up some of his deeper cuts to slot between “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Imagine.”
The Dirty Mac, “Yer Blues” (1968)
With the Beatles disintegrating around him in December 1968, Lennon appeared on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, a goofy event staged by the Rolling Stones that also featured the Who, Marianne Faithfull, Jethro Tull, and Taj Mahal. While Lennon appeared alongside Yoko Ono for a strange performance and Mick Jagger for a bizarre comedy sketch, his standout — and, perhaps, the entire event’s standout — was a one-off supergroup formed with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell. Dubbed The Dirty Mac, the ensemble performed Lennon’s Beatles tune “Yer Blues” with a raucous gusto that makes the original version sound quaint.
John Lennon, Hold On (1970)
By: Eric Renner Brown
Source: Entertainment Weekly
