John Lennon's Cat Family
From
Book Lover@21:1/5 to
All on Sat Jun 29 05:57:59 2024
John Lennon, the iconic Beatle who declared, "I Am the Walrus",
held a less-known affection for a different whiskered animal - the
cat.
THE FELINES OF LIVERPOOL
"Cats were a big thing with John," May Pang, Lennon's now 73-year-old
former secretary and girlfriend, shared in a recent conversation
with me. She recalled learning about Lennon's childhood spent under
the watchful eye of his Aunt Mimi, who filled their home with feline companions. Aunt Mimi's house always had a crowd of cats, as many as
nine at a time, laying the foundation for an affinity Lennon would
have throughout his life.
Lennon's mother, Julia, also had a thing for cats (and rock 'n'
roll), She named a family cat Elvis, but Elvis turned out to be a mom, surprising them with a litter of kittens.
In Liverpool, Lennon owned two cats, Tich and Sam. Tich's death
during Lennon's art school years was a poignant loss. Sam, named after
Samuel Pepys, reflected Lennon's appreciation for historical and
creative figures.
One winter day, Lennon found a stray cat in the snow and persuaded
his Aunt Mimi to let him keep it. After no one responded to his lost
cat ads, Lennon named the brown-and-white half-Persian cat Tim. Even
as Lennon's stardom soared with The Beatles, he remained devoted to
Tim, often calling to check on him.
IT'S RAINING CATS
With Cynthia, his first wife, Lennon's home was a haven for cats.
They named one kitty Mimi after his aunt, and their household
ultimately expanded to accommodate about 10 more.
In 1974, during a recording session, Lennon's fondness for cats
resurfaced unexpectedly. A worker brought in a litter of kittens,
and Pang, unaware of Lennon's childhood experiences with cats, was
taken by their charm.
She picked a black-and-white tuxedo cat, which Lennon named Minor
after the black piano keys. His impulsive decision to adopt another
loudmouthed white kitten with black spots, named Major, showcased his
whimsical and compassionate nature.
LOVE AND LOSS
After Lennon left Pang and returned to his wife, Yoko Ono, in 1975,
the couple adopted kitties Salt and Pepper. They also cared for two
Russian blues, Gertrude and Alice. Gertrude was euthanized due to a
virus that was contagious to humans, but it was Alice's tragic death
from a fall out of their Dakota apartment window that most deeply
affected Lennon, which his son Sean has recalled as one of the rare
times his father was brought to tears. In his final months, Lennon
found companionship in Persian mixes Misha, Sasha and Charo, who often
stayed on his queen-size bed with him at home.
Lennon's relationship with cats paints a fuller picture of a
renowned musical genius. Beyond the legend, his life with cats
underscores the simple joys and vulnerabilities that made him
endearingly human.
--
From Inside Your Cats Mind
written by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
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From
Chris Schram@21:1/5 to
All on Mon Jul 1 10:47:25 2024
On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 02:24:25 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-30 23:35:30 +0000, Blueshirt said:
Chris Schram wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:01:20 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-29 09:57:59 +0000, Book Lover said:
John Lennon, the iconic Beatle who declared, "I Am the Walrus", held >>>>> a less-known affection for a different whiskered animal - the cat.
It's odd he didn't express his love of cats in his music, the only
cat connections I can think of off the top of my head are "Three Cool
Cats" back in the Hamburg days and his contribution to Harry
Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album.
Don't forget "Leave My Kitten Alone."
A track that should have made it on to the "Beatles For sale"
LP...
Yeah anything would've been better than "Mr. Moonlight," lol.
"Mr. Moonlight" is definitely strange. I bet that without that
unfathomable 'honking' organ solo, most people would have considered the
song a nice-enough trip back in time to the Beatles' Star Club catalog.
I spent some time searching for reviews of "Beatles for Sale," and found a
few articles, all written post Y2K, most of which conveniently omit Mr. Moonlight from any mention. However, a critic from the BBC absolutely
loved the song.
--
chrispam1@me.com is an infrequently monitored address. Email may get lost. Networking: What happens when, for as long as a moment, billions of
things simultaneously fail to go wrong. -- Dan Farkas, 3/3/2007
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From
Chris Schram@21:1/5 to
All on Mon Jul 1 22:03:40 2024
On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 02:24:25 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-30 23:35:30 +0000, Blueshirt said:
Chris Schram wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:01:20 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-29 09:57:59 +0000, Book Lover said:
John Lennon, the iconic Beatle who declared, "I Am the Walrus", held >>>>> a less-known affection for a different whiskered animal - the cat.
It's odd he didn't express his love of cats in his music, the only
cat connections I can think of off the top of my head are "Three Cool
Cats" back in the Hamburg days and his contribution to Harry
Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album.
Don't forget "Leave My Kitten Alone."
A track that should have made it on to the "Beatles For sale"
LP...
Yeah anything would've been better than "Mr. Moonlight," lol.
The very rough attempt at Mr Moonlight on Anthology 1 is quite similar to
the original Dr Feelgood arrangement of the song. John screws up the
lyrics, but is otherwise in great voice, and the guitar solo is pretty
weak. Otherwise, if they'd finished that version and released it, it could
have been a kick-ass B-Side.
--
chrispam1@me.com is an infrequently monitored address. Email may get lost. Networking: What happens when, for as long as a moment, billions of
things simultaneously fail to go wrong. -- Dan Farkas, 3/3/2007
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From
super70s@21:1/5 to
Chris Schram on Tue Jul 2 02:15:11 2024
On 2024-07-01 22:03:40 +0000, Chris Schram said:
On Mon, 1 Jul 2024 02:24:25 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-30 23:35:30 +0000, Blueshirt said:
Chris Schram wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jun 2024 12:01:20 -0500, super70s wrote:
On 2024-06-29 09:57:59 +0000, Book Lover said:
John Lennon, the iconic Beatle who declared, "I Am the Walrus", held >>>>>> a less-known affection for a different whiskered animal - the cat.
It's odd he didn't express his love of cats in his music, the only
cat connections I can think of off the top of my head are "Three Cool >>>>> Cats" back in the Hamburg days and his contribution to Harry
Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album.
Don't forget "Leave My Kitten Alone."
A track that should have made it on to the "Beatles For sale"
LP...
Yeah anything would've been better than "Mr. Moonlight," lol.
The very rough attempt at Mr Moonlight on Anthology 1 is quite similar to
the original Dr Feelgood arrangement of the song. John screws up the
lyrics, but is otherwise in great voice, and the guitar solo is pretty
weak. Otherwise, if they'd finished that version and released it, it could have been a kick-ass B-Side.
I listened to the Anthology version and I agree, it does sound better
without the "honking organ," that must have been George Martin's idea.
Maybe they could have tacked that version on at the very end of Beatles
For Sale (and its US quasi-counterpart, Beatles '65) because John
surely must have "destroyed" his voice for the day with that intro
(like he did with "Twist and Shout" on Please Please Me) instead of
putting it halfway through on both albums.
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