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John Lennon: One Day at a Time: A Personal Biography of the Seventies
Biography of John Lennon.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 24, 2013
I began this book thinking it was a biography of either Lennon's life or discussions with him at the very least. Two things became clear as I started: One, the author was friends with John Lennon to some extent when it was written, which was four years before he was killed. It is written in the present tense with a hopeful eye toward the future that is sad to read. Two, if you didn't know anything about John Lennon prior to opening this book, you would think this was a man who barely existed before the fabulous creature named Yoko Ono came into his life and made everything all better. It picks up with their relationship and revolves heavily around it, as though nothing that happened in his life before that point mattered. Because of this, I skimmed a lot of the book. Especially disturbing in hindsight was this passage, talking about the various art projects Lennon had created at that time:
"Self-Portrait" was an indulgent Warholian piece of film which consisted of a fifteen-minute slow motion shot of John Lennon's erection. Presumably this excursion into the ridiculous was a product of John's humor and his sense of the absurd, and part of his game of baiting the critics. When questioned about being a leader around this time, John had told a reporter, "So I refuse to lead, and I'll always show my genitals or something which prevents me from being Martin Luther King or Gandhi, and getting killed."
I'd like to read a proper book on John Lennon. This one wasn't it.
"Self-Portrait" was an indulgent Warholian piece of film which consisted of a fifteen-minute slow motion shot of John Lennon's erection. Presumably this excursion into the ridiculous was a product of John's humor and his sense of the absurd, and part of his game of baiting the critics. When questioned about being a leader around this time, John had told a reporter, "So I refuse to lead, and I'll always show my genitals or something which prevents me from being Martin Luther King or Gandhi, and getting killed."
I'd like to read a proper book on John Lennon. This one wasn't it.
May 21, 2014
Fawcett is a very subjective writer on the subject of John and Yoko. I can tell that he is writing from the perspective of someone who worked closely with the Lennons. This was a very informative work about John's life in the late sixties and early seventies, particularly his relationship and work with Yoko. I feel that Fawcett only hits the tip of the iceberg with John's other relationships; I would love to read more about his relationship with the other Beatles after they broke up. I liked the black and white photos of John. Not one of my favorite pieces of work about a Beatle.
November 30, 2013
Hard to find bio of John Lennon post-Beatles up to his self-imposed retirement around 1976. Lennon's uneven solo career is examined as are his relationships. Good contemporary insights here.
May 29, 2025
Fawcett gives insight into the nature of John's development and frustrations as a person and musician especially with respect to the Beatles and of course, his relationship with Yoko Ono. The impact of personal and other events on John's songs and music, his other projects including art (both individually and with Yoko) and his campaign for peace demonstrate some of the driving force in his life and work. I found the book to make more real both John and Yoko and not the idols of my youth.
The book has an Introduction, there are 10 chapters divided into two sections: Part One - The Man and Part Two - The Magic, a Lennon Chronology, a Lennon Discography, and a Lennon Selected Bibliography. The chapters have some breaks in them and there are plenty of black and white photos and some of John's lithographs as well.
The book has an Introduction, there are 10 chapters divided into two sections: Part One - The Man and Part Two - The Magic, a Lennon Chronology, a Lennon Discography, and a Lennon Selected Bibliography. The chapters have some breaks in them and there are plenty of black and white photos and some of John's lithographs as well.
November 12, 2023
I liked this story about John Lennon and Yoko.
December 23, 2016
I received this as a present. The copy was from 1976 (because this book was more of a memoir than something to be re-published), so my interest was piqued to read something that actually was vintage. Taken from the perspective of before John died, of course it had to be more interesting than the majority of books written about him.
I enjoyed this book because of its in-formalities. It is written not with a researched hand or one experienced with bibliographies but by someone who knew John at a personal level. This increases the bias of the book but also makes it more believable. The author has opinions like all people of the relationship between John and Yoko, so it is believable in the sense that he is qualified to write about such a sensitive topic. I view John's life as a sensitive topic and those of any artist for that matter.
The photographs are always fun to look at because it breaks the monotony of the loaded factual information with pictures of my husband. However, the erotic cartoon drawing of Yoko with her legs splayed was not something I wanted to be viewing while sitting near family (or viewing at all, for that matter). After reading about John and Yoko's avant-garde viewpoints on art and radical socialistic views, I realized that believe it or not, there are some differences my husband and I share. However, there were some eerie similarities, notably how we both love to "smother ketchup" on fish and chips, to periods of depression and then productivity, down to how we write music.
I know a lot about the Beatles, so when I learned how impromptu John's Toronto trip was and more about his solo work I was reveling in the information. I also got to learn more about the dynamics of the Beatles when they started arguing and how the group dynamic is so similar to what I have experienced dealing with music. Regardless of whether Paul was being pompous to dominate the group, the fact of how John let it garner up inside of himself led to the explosion. It is much more beneficial to call out someone while they are presently hurting you but often it is inconvenient or the person does not listen. I just had this experience with someone when I wanted to perform a certain song ("Memory" from Cats) but they would not cut another I was doing because they were all more "showy." I was frustrated at their stubbornness and how they criticized me non-constructively for a long time, giving me the first sense of low self-esteem I have ever experienced. So, I exploded a bit in Italian fury. Albeit, I performed my song and all is well now, but the point still stands with many situations in life and in their magnitudes. John went through the same process while he was dealing with neurosis: We repress our emotions and then they come boiling to the surface in unhealthy ways.
This comes through in John's music, from songs like "I'm a Loser," "Hide Your Love Away," "Help!," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "I'm Only Sleeping," "I'm So Tired," to name some from Beatle days. These happen to be some of my favorite songs by the Beatles which led me to marry each and every one of them. The musicality of the four working together expresses what we all feel inside. John expressed what we are feeling. He says this uncanny contradiction: "So I refuse to lead, and I'll always show my genitals or something which prevents me from being Martin Luther King or Gandhi, and getting killed." To me, John was an ultimate leader. Anyone who has an opinion is not a leader, but those who stand for the opinions of others.
Fawcett ties up the book with a direct motif. John develops from the end of Beatle days when he was interested in peace to when he was starting a family life and doing more rock 'n' roll again. He was co-dependent on Yoko--it was unhealthy but in their time together and then time apart, he appeared to learn a lot about himself.
Yesterday, ("all my troubles seemed so far away"), I wrote down the five most important things in my life on slips of paper. Most of them were collected from the general consensus of the population: Family, friends, food, and music. I was left with one card, and that was Expression/creativity. This would be how I could survive if the remainder were taken away. Self-expression has been essential for me as long as I can remember. I have always been performing, writing, playing, and singing. There is a need for me to create my own original work because of who I am as a person. However, this became enhanced during certain circumstances in my life ("I love you more"). John seemed to feel this way too. Creativity is an outlet--often primal, it reaches out to everyone.
I enjoyed this book because of its in-formalities. It is written not with a researched hand or one experienced with bibliographies but by someone who knew John at a personal level. This increases the bias of the book but also makes it more believable. The author has opinions like all people of the relationship between John and Yoko, so it is believable in the sense that he is qualified to write about such a sensitive topic. I view John's life as a sensitive topic and those of any artist for that matter.
The photographs are always fun to look at because it breaks the monotony of the loaded factual information with pictures of my husband. However, the erotic cartoon drawing of Yoko with her legs splayed was not something I wanted to be viewing while sitting near family (or viewing at all, for that matter). After reading about John and Yoko's avant-garde viewpoints on art and radical socialistic views, I realized that believe it or not, there are some differences my husband and I share. However, there were some eerie similarities, notably how we both love to "smother ketchup" on fish and chips, to periods of depression and then productivity, down to how we write music.
I know a lot about the Beatles, so when I learned how impromptu John's Toronto trip was and more about his solo work I was reveling in the information. I also got to learn more about the dynamics of the Beatles when they started arguing and how the group dynamic is so similar to what I have experienced dealing with music. Regardless of whether Paul was being pompous to dominate the group, the fact of how John let it garner up inside of himself led to the explosion. It is much more beneficial to call out someone while they are presently hurting you but often it is inconvenient or the person does not listen. I just had this experience with someone when I wanted to perform a certain song ("Memory" from Cats) but they would not cut another I was doing because they were all more "showy." I was frustrated at their stubbornness and how they criticized me non-constructively for a long time, giving me the first sense of low self-esteem I have ever experienced. So, I exploded a bit in Italian fury. Albeit, I performed my song and all is well now, but the point still stands with many situations in life and in their magnitudes. John went through the same process while he was dealing with neurosis: We repress our emotions and then they come boiling to the surface in unhealthy ways.
This comes through in John's music, from songs like "I'm a Loser," "Hide Your Love Away," "Help!," "Strawberry Fields Forever," "I'm Only Sleeping," "I'm So Tired," to name some from Beatle days. These happen to be some of my favorite songs by the Beatles which led me to marry each and every one of them. The musicality of the four working together expresses what we all feel inside. John expressed what we are feeling. He says this uncanny contradiction: "So I refuse to lead, and I'll always show my genitals or something which prevents me from being Martin Luther King or Gandhi, and getting killed." To me, John was an ultimate leader. Anyone who has an opinion is not a leader, but those who stand for the opinions of others.
Fawcett ties up the book with a direct motif. John develops from the end of Beatle days when he was interested in peace to when he was starting a family life and doing more rock 'n' roll again. He was co-dependent on Yoko--it was unhealthy but in their time together and then time apart, he appeared to learn a lot about himself.
Yesterday, ("all my troubles seemed so far away"), I wrote down the five most important things in my life on slips of paper. Most of them were collected from the general consensus of the population: Family, friends, food, and music. I was left with one card, and that was Expression/creativity. This would be how I could survive if the remainder were taken away. Self-expression has been essential for me as long as I can remember. I have always been performing, writing, playing, and singing. There is a need for me to create my own original work because of who I am as a person. However, this became enhanced during certain circumstances in my life ("I love you more"). John seemed to feel this way too. Creativity is an outlet--often primal, it reaches out to everyone.
February 9, 2024
Christmas present
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews