E-Book Overview
Imagine you're the world's biggest Beatles fan and you've just snuck into John Lennon's hotel room. But instead of being thrown out, inexplicably you're invited to spend the day with your idol. That's exactly what happened to fourteen-year-old Jerry Levitan in 1969. After hearing John was in Toronto for a "bed in," Jerry tracked him down at the King Edward Hotel and convinced the world's biggest rock star to sit down for an exclusive forty-minute interview. John talked candidly about war, politics, the scandalous Two Virgins album, and the supposed subliminal messages in his music. Now, forty years later, it's all here: Jerry's once-in-a-lifetime adventure, illustrated by acclaimed artist James Braithwaite and featuring never before seen photographs of John and Yoko. Also included in the book is Jerry's memorabilia from that day—notes from John and Yoko, the secret code to contact him, drawings, John's doodles, and much more. Complete with an audio and video DVD of the interview that inspired the Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, I Met the Walrus is an immortalized one-on-one moment with John—a must-have for Lennon fans around the world, as well as anyone who has ever dreamed of meeting a hero.
E-Book Content
I MET THE WALRUS HOW ONE DAY WITH JOHN LENNON CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER
JERRY LEVITAN
TO MY BELOVED PARENTS, CHONON AND JUDITH LEVITAN. THEY HAD FAITH IN ME, BELIEVED IN ME, AND LOVED ME.
“I REMEMBER FONDLY, HOW YOUNG JERRY CAME TO US AND DID THE INTERVIEW, WHEN SO MANY JOURNALISTS WERE TRYING TO SPEAK TO US. HE WAS NOT ONLY BRAVE BUT VERY CLEAR AND INTELLIGENT. BOTH JOHN AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A VERY PLEASANT EXPERIENCE.” YOKO ONO
CONTE N TS
EPIGRAPH
1 2 3 4
MEET THE BEATLES I MET THE WALRUS IN MY LIFE EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR CREDITS COVER COPYRIGHT ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
MEET THE BEATLES
was nine years old when the Beatles first performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. It was February 9, and like millions of other families in those days, we sat around the TV each Sunday night at 8:00 P.M. to be entertained by that awkward yet strangely captivating impresario. That night there was a special buzz to his show. He was to showcase his latest find, four lads from Liverpool, England, who were taking their country and the music world by storm. The Beatles were something special. Girls screamed and fainted at the sight of them. Their mop-top haircuts made them controversial and gave them a slight edge of mystery and danger. Everyone anticipated their appearance for different reasons. I was practically vibrating from all the excitement. Sullivan came on the black-and-white TV and in his distinct speaking manner said, “This city never has witnessed the excitement stirred by these youngsters from Liverpool who call themselves the Beatles. Ladies and Gentlemen . . . the Beatles!” With that announcement, my family and a nation were mesmerized as they opened the show with “All My Loving,” accompanied by high-pitched, never-ending screams from teenage girls. John, Paul, George, and Ringo were confident and cute as they performed four other songs (“Till There Was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand”) between the other acts, including a
12
magician performing a card and saltshaker trick, an impressionist, and a comedy acrobatic troupe. The Beatles took my breath away. I had officially witnessed my first great spectacle. Ringo kept the happy beat on an elevated stage looking down on his mates on a set that had huge arrows pointing at them. Paul played his distinctive, violin-shaped left-handed bass; George was on lead guitar. But John—standing in that quintessential Lennon style, defiant, guitar high up against his chest, legs apart—was clearly the ba