There will be a theme emerging over the next several posts of Friday Night Jukebox...see how long it takes you to figure it out!
For those of you who just stepped out of a spaceship from an alien planet, John Lennon at one time was in a band called The Beatles. That's it for me--what the hell else are you going to say about one of the most successful musicians in human history? Hey, here's a surprise--he's in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice--solo and and for the band) and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame. In addition to that tiny bit of success he had with The Beatles, Lennon found time to release 11 solo albums. After his death, his estate must have gotten really busy because he has 21 compilation/box set releases. Sadly--though his loss is much sadder for his family than his fans--his assassination robbed the world of what might have been.
Fun Fact: For any of my readers (both of you) who may be David Bowie fans, his #1 hit song "Fame" was co-written by...John Lennon. How the hell I've been following pop music for nearly fifty years now and didn't know that is a mystery for the ages.
"Watching the Wheels" was the last single released from Lennon's final album before his death, Double Fantasy. It would eventually reach #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album hit #1 on the Billboard 200, though as someone who was working in a record store when he was murdered can honestly tell you, the album never would have had he not died.
To be perfectly honest, "Watching the Wheels" isn't even close to being Lennon's best song from his solo career. But as I've aged, it's one of those songs that I appreciate more so on a personal level because it encapsulates my aging in the working world--having gone from being a top notch performer to being more than happy to be a cog in the works and letting everybody else get the glory. For those who don't know, after the birth of his second son Sean, Lennon spent five years just being a house husband, and "Watching the Wheels" chronicles Lennon's joy in simple domesticity. While Lennon eventually decided to get back to his art, I decided to keep watching the wheels--and Lennon's song is a perfect reminder of the serenity I've found watching the world go ceaselessly by. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Lyric Sheet: "I'm just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round/I really love to watch them roll..."
Enjoy:
225,000+ Dead Americans
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
No comments:
Post a Comment