John Lennon Didn't Expect 1 Beatles Song to Get Played in the American South
John Lennon was terrified during one of his trips to the American South. Subsequently, he thought one of The Beatles’ songs wouldn’t get airplay there. He was surprised to hear the song was played in Jacksonville, Florida.
The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon includes an interview from 1969. In it, the singer discussed the reaction to his “more popular than Jesus” comment in the Southern United States. “Yeah, when we were down there, in the States [on The Beatles’ last U.S. tour, in August 1966], it was terrifying,” he recalled.
“That’s when they were getting me for saying we’re bigger than Christ,” he said. “Somebody was letting off balloons, and we all looked around to see which of us had got shot.”
John was surprised by the reception of The Beatles’ “The Ballad of John and Yoko” in the South. The track includes the line “Christ, you know it ain’t easy.” Notably. some Christians are offended by the use of Jesus’ name as an expletive.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
