Today would have been John Lennon's 69th birthday.
That really amazes me, and I'm not sure why. I mean, I know he was 40 when he was killed. And I know it has been nearly 30 years since that happened. But when I add those two numbers together, I have a very hard time picturing John Lennon — the John Lennon I remember — on the brink of his 70s.But that isn't so remarkable. I mean, can you picture John F. Kennedy at 92? Or Marilyn Monroe at 83? Or Martin Luther King at 80? Or James Dean at 78? Of course not. But that's how old all those people would be if they were alive today. In our memories, they are eternally young.
And, since Lennon had only been 40 for two months when he was killed, our memories are of him in his 30s — or, if one thinks of him in his Beatles days, in his 20s.
Anyway, in honor of the occasion, I have attached a video (which is really an audio with text on the screen) of the Beatles' "Birthday," which was part of "The Beatles" album (informally known as The White Album).
In fact, that song was released as a single a few days before my birthday (I won't say which birthday that was!).
Today is an appropriate day for that song, though, because several people who were/are linked to the music industry were born on this date.
For example, Judy Tyler had some training in song and dance, but she was mostly an actress who co–starred with Elvis Presley in "Jailhouse Rock."
Tyler was born on this date in 1932, and she never saw the film she made with Elvis. After filming was complete, she and her husband went on a vacation, during which they were both killed in a car accident. Tyler was only 24. Elvis always said he couldn't watch that movie because Tyler's death upset him so much.
John Entwistle of The Who was born on this date in 1944. Jackson Browne was born on this date in 1948. Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's wife, was born on this date in 1952. And Lennon's son Sean was born on this date in 1975.
In fact, a lady for whom I worked for several years had a daughter who was born on this date. I don't know what kind of work will appeal to her, but it would be fitting if it had at least some connection to music.
