Tomorrow marks the 58th anniversary of when The London Evening Standard newspaper published a feature article about John Lennon, written by Maureen Cleave. It contained the infamous quote of Lennon saying to her, “We’re more popular than Jesus…”
Nothing much happened after it was published in London, but months later, a teen magazine reprinted it and all hell broke loose for The Beatles in America! Below are six links to articles and a video of the awkward press conference where John Lennon apologized. There’s also a link to a cartoon video featuring the infamous statement by John Lennon.
And below that is the MBIP Coming Attractions for what’s coming up here on the blog next week!
——
SUNDAY LINKS
John Lennon: “We’re more popular than Jesus” - This is the feature article that had the quote in it and it went unnoticed when it was first published and it’s easy to gloss over it while reading the article which focused on how John Lennon was living his life in 1966.
50 Years After John Lennon’s “Bigger Than Jesus” Quote, We Forget How Shocking the Rest of That Interview Was - This article points out that there were more shocking moments in the same interview that went unnoticed for all these years.
Danny Says: How Danny Fields Changed Music Forever - This is an interesting interview with Danny Fields, who was the one who started the whole ball rolling by highlighting the quote in the teen magazine, Datebook. He addresses it in the second and third questions in the interview. This interview is about a documentary on Danny Fields called, “Danny Says” and in the documentary it’s noted that Danny Fields ended up being good friends with Linda McCartney and he tells the story of how he told Paul McCartney he was the one that started all of the controversy about this quote! It’s worth watching the documentary just to hear him tell this story!
The Music Minute: John Lennon Vs. Jesus - This piece notes that after the tour that followed the controversy, The Beatles stopped touring for good. John Lennon is quoted in the article as saying, “Yeah, I did want to tour because I thought they’d kill me.”
The Beatles Were More Popular Than Jesus For One Week In 1966 - This article notes that The Beatles both outsold the Bible and that they were probably taller than Jesus, hence they were “bigger” than Jesus! Ha ha ha!
John Lennon / Beatles 1966 / Jesus statement - This video has The Beatles record producer, George Martin and Paul McCartney talking about the Jesus quote and the awkward press conference where John Lennon apologized and you can tell he ‘s not all that comfortable doing it!
The Beatoons - Episode 1 - “More popular than…” - This cartoon video turns the infamous statement into a game show hosted by Ed Sullivan!
——
MBIP COMING ATTRACTIONS
Monday: We’re re-starting the Saturday Night Cheeseburger series that will eventually feature 52 cheeseburgers in and around the Peoria area. We’re starting off this cheesy Saturday series at Mike’s Tavern, a beloved cheeseburger destination and watering hole in West Peoria.
Tuesday: A new food tour is starting here on MBIP this week. It’s The MBIP Spring Into Summer Macaroni & Cheese Tour. We’re going to sample mac and cheese all over town until summertime. Our first stop and the place to beat, in my opinion is The Publik House. It’s my favorite mac and cheese, so this is our first cheesy destination in this new food tour!
Wednesday: I was a guest on a fun podcast that will air this Monday. The podcast is called Yesterdaze and it’s a nostalgic look at pop culture. We actually recorded two podcasts and I have photos from both sessions. I’ll also have a link to the podcast so you can have a listen this coming Wednesday.
Thursday: After a few months hiatus, The Scott Turley Road Trip is back in 2024! This month the MBIP Wheelman steered us over to the brand new Cranwill’s Bar & Grill in Washington, Illinois.
Friday: We’ll be featuring another Peoria pub on our weekly MBIPTGIF Happy Hour post.
Saturday: Once again we’ll take a look back in time on another Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past post.
——
SUNDAY COMIC
Related Posts: Sunday Links: Groundhog Day, Cheap Trick abd The Sopranos Final Episode.