John Lennon 1980: The Last Days in the Life

A good read. The book confirms my suspicions for the real reasons of Lennon's self-imposed retirement. His withdraw from music had less to do with his public reasons (wanting to raise his son) and more to do with his dried up muse. Some years ago, I came across an interview with Linda Mccartney, who said she didn't buy John's reasons for pulling back from the music industry. She said, to paraphrase, "I know he put out that image of just wanting to raise his son and being happy baking bread. But he wasn't happy. He couldn't write. And that depressed him."
This is the first book that I've come across that addresses Lennon's dilemma.
In interviews to promote "Double Fantasy", Lennon stated that all the songs on the album that he wrote came to him "within a period of two weeks." I don't think so. As the book points out, the songs took much, much longer. He wanted to create new music, but he was struggling. His "muse" was never near what it had used to be.
He was a genius. But he was a spent force (at least compared to his prolific output before).

I received this new book about John Lennon’s final year yesterday, and I’m already 2/3rds of the way through it. It’s a fantastic read, and very difficult to put down. It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 40 years since the assassination of John, and this timely book paints as complete of picture of his life from the mid-1970s through 1980 as any book I’ve read about him. And I have read numerous volumes about John’s life. This book is a welcomed edition about one of the key figures of the twentieth century and beyond. My favorite parts of the book are Womack’s description of John’s quirkiness, his eccentric nature, and his genius. The author’s description of the writing and the recording of John and Yoko’s LP “Double Fantasy” is also beautifully told and very well done. Many thanks to the author for this wonderful volume. Long Live John Lennon!

I have seemingly a 1,000 Beatle books, and just got done reading 'John Lennon 1980'.' I was so moved by it that I had to write this review immediately. The detail in this book was ridiculous good, and would recommend it to the biggest Lennon fan (like me), down to the 'Beatle beginner.' I'm still numb. Thank you Kenneth Womack for writing this. I think I'll go for a walk, and then sit down and start reading it again! Thanks man!!

Ultimately I enjoyed this book very much and read it quickly because I just wanted to know more.
At first I was a little bit annoyed by what seemed like overuse of words such as vaunted and venerated. Also it seemed to jump around as far as dates. We'd be in 1976, then 1973, then 1979 it seemed and a bit hard to follow.
Eventually either the book got into a rhythm or I got into a rhythm and it fell into place.
Through the writer's words I saw a very vivid picture of John's life in the decade leading up to his death. This was a man in his 30's during the 70's. A very rich and famous man. A man that had some troubles and some joys.
I was a Beatles fan. I was a Lennon fan. I remember where I was when I heard the news. I appreciate the care that was taken to write about the events of those years and the sensitivity taken at the end when the tragedy we knew happened finally had to be told.

Womack’s book is solid and absorbing but is not without its flaws. There is not a whole lot that is new here; much of it appears to rely heavily on Madinger’s and Easter’s day-by-day Lennonology and Fred Seaman’s controversial The Last Days of John Lennon (Womack apparently interviewed Seaman, at least according to an endnote, surprising since Seaman was recently sued again by Yoko for violating the agreement not to discuss his time with the Lennons publicly). The newer interviews are not especially revelatory, hardly surprising since the passage of time has not only softened attitudes but dulled memories in several cases.

Jack Douglas’s shifting perspective offers an especially obvious case. In 1999, he gave an especially frank interview in Beatlefan about the Double Fantasy sessions (easy to find online). Among other things, he observes that “there was already too much competition between those two” and that Yoko was not inclined to give John much encouragement about his music at this time. Douglas also detailed an ugly lawsuit thanks to the unwillingness of Yoko and the Lennon estate to live up to their financial obligations. “She tried to say the contract was a forgery, all this really weird stuff, brought in people to say that I … people like [Rolling Stone publisher] Jann Wenner to say that I was a nobody.” Strangely, none of this is mentioned by Womack.

In this same interview Douglas also claims that it was Paul McCartney who tried to call the studio during the DF sessions but was rebuffed by someone in the Lennon camp. Womack claims it was George, the only citation pointing to the Lennons’ Playboy interview from 1980.

In any event, Womack should have interrogated his sources more. He does a good job in assembling the existing material from 1980, but he seldom asks the tough questions that need to be asked. Which, if any, sources are reliable? Does one entirely discount the vicious and disturbing material Albert Goldman supposedly unearthed in the salacious THE LIVES OF JOHN LENNON? Or are there nuggets of truth buried within that biography that need to be explored? Similarly, are John and Yoko’s manipulative and PR-conscious interviews from 1980 reliable?

Another question is whether John had adequate security in New York. I recall reading a comment from Timothy Leary in ROLLING STONE years ago where he mentioned warning the Lennons about the need for stronger security. This is not mentioned here.

Womack is similarly reluctant to critique the music. Most of John’s songs from the Double Fantasy sessions are quite good, but there are plenty of clunkers, lyrically and musically. Obvious questions that come to mind include whether the album have been stronger with the addition of “Real Love” or a reduction in Yoko songs. Would the album have been improved with the inclusion of the Cheap Trick version of “I’m Losing You”? Womack never takes a stand on these issues one way or another. Nor does he explicitly acknowledge that Yoko was later sued for copyright infringement for “Yes, I’m Your Angel’s” obvious similarity to “Makin’ Whoopee.” (he says it was “highly unoriginal” but does not mention the lawsuit, apparently later settled out of court).

In general, Womack pulls his punches too often in this book. Finally, the absence of an index is a major annoyance.

I've been following Kenneth Womack's work for a number of years and this book might be his best yet. Meticulously researched with the gravity of a textbook, Womack weaves elements of driving response into the tale. We all know how the story ends, yet Womack drives tension in the unknown nonetheless: will Yoko climb out of her own drug hole in time to pull Lennon out of his confidence hole? How will the duo possibly scale the wall of pent-up anticipation from the fans? Kenneth Womack keeps you guessing until the very end. Bravo!

If you REALLY want to know about the last days of John Lennon, read Fred Seaman’s book about Lennon. Fred actually spent practically every day with the rock n roll legend during his last days. Fred was John’s personal assistant. A lot of people dis that book. Why? Was it because Yoko did everything in her power to stop it from being published? Was she trying to hide the truth? By far, my favorite post Beatle book.

Brilliant in every way. I have been a Beatles fan since I was a boy watching their debut on Ed Sullivan. I have read many books, viewed many tv shows and movies on the Beatles. The book allows you to fully understand, appreciate and admire John Lennon, you will explore his mind, relax and float downstream. This book is a masterpiece, beautifully written,, the anecdotes are skillfully woven into a tapestry. Mr. Womack is a professor---this book is like your favorite professor, discussing a favored subject with intellect, warmth and insights you cannot find elsewhere. The author is a great storyteller. This book inspired me as an author and thrilled me as a Beatles fan. If you have any interest in music, the Beatles, John Lennon or culture....this book is superb.

Ken Womack, a world-renowned Beatles authority, does not disappoint in this engaging portrait of John Lennon's final days. Highly recommended!

I'm not a huge Beatle fan, although I always appreciated each of them as individuals and have been fascinated by how each handled the fame, specifically the impact it had on them and those that were close to them. This book interested me for those reasons, the insights held my interest. I especially appreciated the fact that the name of the person responsible for the killing was never mentioned...no reason to speak it, IMHO. The book is well researched, those that want details re how John created will be especially pleased. Definitely worthy of your time.