Jill Sobule and John Lennon

Jill Sobule’s recommendation: “I should bring up an under-appreciated oldie or a new discovery, however, over the last week I have been spending time on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus -it’s a non-profit recording studio on wheels dedicated to providing students with opportunities to write and record music. It’s pretty amazing. Anyway, they asked me, for their blog, to record a couple of Lennon songs. I have not not in awhile listened to his non-Beatle catalog. I almost forgot how rousing his vocals were on Working Class Hero. Part I’m sure is personal nostalgia, but the power of his song and voice is undeniable. Plus, I think it was the first song that I ever heard with the F-word. As a kid, that was…huge! And he, along with John Prine, the Clash, and later Billy Bragg, taught me the joy of a good protest song.”

Find out more about the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and friend their Facebook page.

See Jill perform Working Class Hero on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus here:

New to John Lennon? Jill says: “I’m sure all know Lennon’s solo work – but mostly the hits like, Imagine – or the Green day cover of Working Class Hero. But I would even go deep into the Yoko influenced camp. I will always stand up for her.” (Editor’s note: An easy starting point is John’s first solo record, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band)

About the guest author, Jill Sobule: Jill hit Billboard’s top 20 with her 1995 radio hit I Kissed a Girl and has continued to put out high quality records that perfectly swirl sophistication and fun ever since. She’s shared the stage with the cream of the crop, including Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, and Waren Zevon, and her fantastic 2009 collection, California Years was funded by her fan base. Talk about a dedicated following! Be sure to check her site and treat yourself to one of Jill’s live shows.

John Lennon and Jerry Lee Lewis

The Quote (Per Jerry Lee): “One night in the early 1970s, after a show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, a man came into his dressing room, got down on his knees, and crawled across the floor to him. ‘He kissed my feet,’ Jerry Lee remembers…’My boy was there, Junior. He said, ‘Dad, Dad is that John Lennon?’ … He’d done it and said, ‘I just wanted you to know that you are the man who made it possible for me to be a star in rock ‘n’ roll music.’”

Editor’s note: Later in this interview, Jerry Lee expressed frustration that Elvis ‘called me a genius and everything…But he never got down and kissed my feet.  That’s the only thing I hate about him.’

The Source: Interview by Chris Heath, GQ November 2009

More on: John Lennon | Jerry Lee Lewis

New to Jerry Lee Lewis? Start Here: Songs like Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On and Great Balls of Fire made Jerry Lee Lewis so popular that label-mates Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash were compelled to leave Sun Records for smaller ponds that were Killer-free. These songs are represented here on The Definitive Collection and are essential representations of the wild roots of Rock N Roll. Just as important is the inclusion of choice cuts form Jerry’s 1970s country era like Another Time Another Place. Missing is Lewis’ cover of Brown Eyed Handsome Man, but that’s what iTunes is for, right?

Buy the Album Here: