A couple years ago I saw a program called John Lennon's Jukebox, which gave a fascinating look into the musical roots of one of the most important singer/songwriters of our time. Since this was before I had TiVo, I thought the program was lost to me unless I happened to stumble upon it in a rerun.
Now, through the magic that is the internets, the program is available for viewing or download from Google videos here.
The story is that Lennon owned a portable jukebox that he carried with him on his early journeys--sort of a precursor to the iPod. In 1989 the jukebox turned up for auction at Christies. The lid to the jukebox features the playlist written in Lennon's hand. Lennon apparently purchased it in 1965, at a time when the Beatles were firmly entrenched in the American pop charts, and it includes some hits of the day like "Do You Believe in Magic" by the Lovin Spoonful. But the jukebox was also loaded with 45s of his favorite songs, many of which the Beatles themselves had recorded or which influenced them in some way. It 's clear from the playlist that Lennon had a fondness for American R&B records with tracks by James Ray, Wilson Pickett, The Miracles, and Otis Redding among others.
In voice-over commentary, Lennon explains the magic that the music held for him.
"I was just interested in the music and how to do it. How can I do that? Which is what I was doing studying the records. I studied the records: What are they saying? How are they doing it? How do they make this music? What is it that they're doing that excites me, that I want to do it?"
Lennon also comments on some of the songs in the playlist, although with no screen credits on this internet version of the video, the source of his commentary is unclear. For example, he mentions Richie Barrett's "Some Other Guy," and points out how the song's intro influenced his own "Instant Karma" years later.
Appearances by performers and songwriters whose work appears on the playlist make this video a gold mine for music history fans. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the writers behind so many hits of the era reminisce over some of their tracks included in the jukebox, while Gary US Bonds marvels that the Beatles even heard some of his early work, which wasn't getting airplay in the states. Bruce Channel and Delbert McClinton talk about how "Hey Baby" influenced Lennon's harmonica playing on "Love Me Do," and Bobby Parker tells how his guitar riff on "Watch Your Step" became the introduction to "I Feel Fine." John Sebastian also reveals how the Lovin' Spoonful's "Daydream' inspired "Good Day Sunshine." And, of course, Little Richard reminds everyone, once again, that he invented rock n' roll.
For the curious, here's the playlist that appears on John Lennon's jukebox:
Arthur Alexander: "You Better Move On" /"A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" 1961
The Animals: "Bring It on Home to Me"/"For Miss Caulker" 1965
Richie Barrett: "Some Other Guy" / "Tricky Dicky" 1962
Len Barry: "1, 2, 3" / "Bullseye" 1965
Fontella Bass: "Rescue Me" / "The Soul of a Man" 1965
Chuck Berry: "No Particular Place to Go" / "You Two" 1964
The Big Three: "Some Other Guy" / "Let True Love Begin" 1963
Gary US Bonds: "New Orleans" / "Please Forgive Me" 1960
Gary US Bonds: "Quarter to Three" / "Time Ole Story" 1961
Booker T. & the M.G.s: "Boot-leg" / "Outrage" 1965
Bruce Channel: "Hey! Baby" / "Dream Girl" 1962
The Contours: "First I Look at the Purse" / "Can You Do It?" 1965
Donovan: "Turquoise" / "Hey Gyp (Dig the Slowness)" 1965
Bob Dylan: "Positively 4th Street" / "From a Buick 6" 1965
Buddy Holly: "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" / "Slippin' and Slidin'" 1959
The Isley Brothers: "Twist and Shout" / "Spanish Twist" 1962
Little Richard: "Long Tall Sally" / "Slippin' and Slidin'" 1956
Little Richard: "Ooh! My Soul" / "True Fine Mama" 1958
The Lovin' Spoonful: "Daydream" / "Night Owl Blues" 1966
The Lovin' Spoonful: "Do You Believe in Magic" / "On the Road Again" 1965
Derek Martin: "Daddy Rollin' Stone" / "Don't Put Me Down Like This" 1963
Jimmy McCracklin: "The Walk" / "I'm to Blame" 1958
The Miracles: "Shop Around" / "Who's Lovin' You" 1960
The Miracles: "Ain't It Baby" / "The Only One I Love" 1961
The Miracles: "What's So Good About Goodbye?" / "I've Been Good to You" 1961
The Miracles: "The Tracks of My Tears" / "A Fork in the Road" 1965
Bobby Parker: "Watch Your Step" / "Steal Your Heart Away" 1961
Wilson Pickett: "In the Midnight Hour" / "I'm Not Tired" 1965
James Ray: "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody" / "It's Been a Drag" 1961
Otis Redding: "My Girl" / "Down in the Valley" 1965
Paul Revere & the Raiders: "Steppin' Out" / "Blue Fox" 1965
Timmy Shaw: "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia" / "I'm a Lonely Guy" 1963
Edwin Starr: "Agent Double-O Soul" / "Back Street" 1965
Barrett Strong: "Money (That's What I Want)" / "Oh I Apologize" 1959
Tommy Tucker: "Hi-Heel Sneakers" / "I Don't Want 'Cha" 1963
Gene Vincent: "Be-Bop-A-Lula" / "Woman Love" 1956
Larry Williams: "Short Fat Fannie" / "High School Dance" 1957
Larry Williams: "She Said, Yeah" / "Bad Boy" 1959
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