35 Years Later, John Lennon’s Politics Are as Loud as His Music

I’m an artist first and a politician second. -John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 75 years old this week, on Oct. 9. In the 35 years since his 1980 murder, the world has seen Reaganomics, Monica Lewinsky, Duran Duran, Nirvana, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise and fall of Biebermania, the nation’s first black president, Seinfeld, Live Aid, Jon Stewart, Sarah Palin, and Taylor Swift.

Lennon died before the internet, Facebook, iPhones, and 9/11. He was gunned down while The Jeffersons was a top 10 TV show and three days before Popeye hit movie theaters.

The world is very different 35 years later, but two things have remained constant: the staying power of Lennon’s music and his politics. And while the Beatles will always be the headline, it’s John Lennon’s political bravery that deserves continued praise. Lennon not only provided the roadmap for every songwriter of the 20th (and 21st) century. He rewrote the book for political activism. Some of Lennon’s political activity may now seem as naive as “Love Me Do,” but his willingness to leverage his fame for matters of world peace and equality is still largely unmatched to this day. U2′s Bono, who has done his own fair share to further artist activism, says Lennon “wrote the blueprint.” He’s right.

Here are John Lennon’s greatest political hits. As you read them, think about an artist who is willing to risk his or fame — and ultimately life — in order to say what’s right. We live in age of artists aligning themselves with causes that bolster their brand. This ain’t the same as sticking your neck out for what’s right. Activism serves others more than it serves ourselves. Lennon was a first-rate activist and agitator. He dedicated his life to standing up to power as much as he dedicated it to music. We could could use more artists playing the part of activists than playing Beatles covers.

“Bigger Than Jesus”

This was the first hint of Lennon’s politics. In 1966 — 26 years before Sinead O’Connor would rip up a picture of the Pope on SNL — Lennon made an off-the-cuff statement comparing the Beatles’ popularity to Jesus. It was wildly misrepresented and caused a major backlash in America. Lennon characteristically refused to back down, and Beatles fans began to see his anti-establishment views unfold.

Bed-Ins for Peace

John Lennon and his new bride Yoko Ono decided to spend their March 1969 honeymoon in an Amsterdam hotel room bed to call attention to world peace.

In the most excellent David Leaf documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon, photographer David Fenton noted it was completely original use of “a conscious use of one’s myth to project a political and social and poetic goal.”

In 2013, Yoko published footage from the bed-ins on YouTube. In her post, she wrote:

In 1969, John and I were so naïve to think that doing the Bed-In would help change the world.
Well, it might have. But at the time, we didn’t know.

It was good that we filmed it, though.
The film is powerful now.
What we said then could have been said now.

Let’s remember WAR IS OVER If We Want It.
It’s up to us, and nobody else.
John would have wanted to say that.

About two months later, a second bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal was turned into an impromptu recording session for what became the anthem of the anti-war movement.

John Sinclair Freedom Rally

In 1969, John Sinclair was a poet and anti-war activist who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for giving two joints to an undercover officer. The Draconian decision drew the attention of many celebs — including Lennon, who agreed to perform at a live concert telecast in 1971 aimed at overturning Sinclair’s release. Lennon showed up with a song written for — and named after— John Sinclair. Lennon’s appearance at the rally got the attention of the government. Sinclair was release three days later. It also got the attention of the FBI, who would hound Lennon for the next four years.

The Mike Douglas Show

Television talk how host Mike Douglas asked John and Yoko to co-host his popular talk show the week of Feb. 14, 1972. The couple used the platform to expose the country to range of political, consumer, and environmental activists, including Jerry Rubin, Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale, and Ralph Nader. It was bold, radical television and further drew the ire of the right-wing establishment of the day.

John Winston Lennon vs. U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

The U.S. government spent nearly five years trying to kick John Lennon out of the country for his political views. Lennon could have left quietly, but instead he fought at serious financial and personal expense. He not only ultimately prevailed (he was awarded a green on July 27, 1975), his case served as a legal precedent for the current DREAM immigration Act.

Watch Lennon’s immigration attorney, Leon Wildes (only 39 when he began representing Lennon in 1972) explain the case and its lasting legacy.

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photos: Associated Press