John Lennon vs the Mobster

[Canard]

There is apparently a book coming out about Lennon's struggles against the boss of Roulette Records.

Beatle v mobster: the day John Lennon put paid to a shady record label boss

Lawyer’s book reveals the inside story of the musician’s 1976 court battle with Morris Levy, a mafia-affiliated music mogul

www.theguardian.com

 

[Teleguy61]

It's a good story.

 

[walrus]

Great link! It's quite amazing what he was going through in this time period.

In the early '70's Lennon spent more in the courtroom than the studio, and not just for the Levy lawsuit. Don't forget during this period he was also fighting the US Immigration to stay in the USA. He had his phones tapped by the FBI, etc. Because of his protests for peace, Nixon and Hoover wanted him out.

His musical output during this time is often criticized, but he was dealing with a lot of extraneous stuff.

But it all had a happy ending. On October 7th, 1975 the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York overturned the order from the INS to deport Lennon. They said, "Lennon's four-year battle to remain in our country is a testimony to his faith in his American dream.”

Two days later (on Lennon's 35th birthday!), his son Sean was born. As you all probably know, he decided to stay home and raise Sean and did not produce any new music until five years later with "Double Fantasy".

Lennon was not your typical "rock star".

walrus

 

[DrumBob]

Morris Levy was a piece of walking sh**. He pulled all kinds of stuff also on Tommy James and many other artists on Roulette. He got cancer and died. The world and the record business is a better place for it.