How John Lennon Broke Out of the Music Industry's Toxic Cycle, According to Himself
Escaping the behemoth shadow of the Beatles seemed nearly impossible for its former members following their 1970 breakup, but John Lennon credits one facet of his life, in particular, for helping him break out of the music industry’s toxic cycle of endless creation, production, and promotion.
One decade after the band’s official split, John Lennon and his second wife, Yoko Ono, sat down for a 1980 interview with Playboy that was as unfiltered and uncensored as one might expect for a magazine of that ilk. Lennon didn’t mince his words, regularly pushing back against the journalist’s questions of potential Beatles reunions and retrospectives.
But amidst the at-times confrontational interview, Lennon offered a glimpse into how he managed to break free from a musical regimen he had been locked into since his early 20s.
By the time John Lennon and Yoko Ono sat down with Playboy writer David Sheff, the pair had already diverged musically from Lennon’s former band. Lennon had released several albums, both as a solo artist and with Ono under the Plastic Ono Band. Eventually, Lennon stepped away from the music industry to focus on raising his and Ono’s son, Sean. He told Sheff his decision to become a “house husband” was a no-brainer.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
