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Listeners: you may recall my conversation with Robert Rosen (245), detailing the blocking of a pair of books by reputable authors that detailed the “househusband” years of John’s life; it evolved out of an essay Robert wrote. Well, one of those writers is here to tell his story himself.  Michael Medeiros was hired in 1977 to work on the indoor gardening at the Lennon’s Dakota apartments. But as he performed his assigned tasks, his role grew to ad hoc personal assistant and eventually, archivist. His memoir, Barefoot in Nutopia, remains unpublished – yet. But Michael wanted to share some stories and insights and we’re happy to have him, in what we project to be the first of at least two conversations. Subjects include day-to-day life, Yoko, Bermuda, Fred Seaman, and the night the unspeakable occurred, and its aftermath. 

Picking up where we left off (259: Sgt. Pepper Olympiad ), lecturer/professor Gary Wenstrup and I resume the Olympiad series with a pair of releases featuring film score music, the 1967 Magical Mystery Tour EP/album and 1969’s Yellow Submarine release. Owing to the unique issues, with the latter representing only four new Beatle songs and the former being a six-song double 7″ set, we got creative with the tracks reviewed.  Previous installments can be found here.Gary Wenstrup’s site is here. 

There’s no joy to be had in this subject, but it is an important topic for an open discussion. We have been fed a narrative for 43 years regarding the murder of John, yet there were aspects that either lacked detail or, upon closer inspection, made little sense. At least a couple of of authors have published books on the case, but documentary-maker David Whelan has approached the subject with fresh eyes, resulting in three years of research and interviews that he presents in Mind Games: The Assassination of John Lennon. He makes the case that virtually nothing we were ever told about what happened is supported by evidence and much is substantially contradicted. We managed to touch on only part of his research in this conversation, but you can learn more through the book, David’s Substack site, and his YouTube channel.  

This British journalist/author/screenwriter/playwright is a SATB fave and was heard most recently among the 21 guests in the “Now and Then” discussion. But here he is alone in the spotlight, recounting his fabulous life as a chronicler of creators and a creator himself. Check out his website for a full accounting of his works – https://www.rayconnolly.co.uk/ – and this show for a discussion of his 2023 memoir.  Ray was friends with The Beatles and the screenwriter of THat’ll Be The Day (1973), Ringo’s finest film project. He discusses all and much more here. 

The release of a new Beatle recording in our lifetime warrants a special approach. To that end, I assembled a group of some of your favorite podcast guests, plus a few new ones to discuss, critique, and analyze the new Beatle record. Folks representing a number of geographical and generational perspectives weigh in with their insights and observations. In alphabetical order, they are: Nancy Lee Andrews (Photographer and Author, A Dose of Rock ‘n’ Roll) Dr. Allison Bumsted (Author, 1960s Teen Fan Magazines and The Beatles ) Ray Connolly (British journalist and Beatles insider, author of Born At The Right Time and Being John Lennon, etc.)Richard Courtney (Beatles radio host and author, From Me To You)Dennis Diken (The Smithereens)Dr. Duncan Driver (University of Canberra)Dr. Christine Feldman-Barrett (Author, A Women’s History of The Beatles) Debbie Gendler (Author, I Saw Them Standing There)Glenn Greenberg (Author of Beatles bookazines)Cameron Greider (Musician and musicologist, RPM-School.com )Jerry Hammack (Producer/Author, The Beatles Recording Reference Manuel series )Chip Madinger (Author, https://lennonology.com/ )Skylar Moody (Beatles content creator)Dr. Sibbie O’Sullivan (Author, My Private John Lennon) Dan Rivkin (Blogger, https://theymaybeparted.wordpress.com ) Luther Russell (Those Pretty Wrongs, solo artist) Arion Salazar (Founding member of Third Eye Blind)Pat Sansone (Wilco, Autumn Defense) Carol Tyler (Cartoonist/author, Fab 4 Mania) Erin Weber (Author, The Beatles and The Historians)Gary Wenstrup (Music lecturer/cowbell) 

The Beatles were the end result of an array of confluences, circumstances and influences. On the short list near the very top (if not THE top) was American rocker Buddy Holly. In his short career, he wielded his influence on the budding Liverpool rockers in an array of ways, which returning guest Luther Russell and I discuss here. Though his time on earth was brief, the impact he made casts a long shadow, as he provided an unwitting blueprint on what a successful rock artist looked like, sounded like and could aspire to.