Remember When John Lennon’s Father Tried To Capitalize on His Son’s Fame With a Record in 1965?

Most Beatles fans know that John Lennon didn’t have the best relationship with his father. Alfred “Freddie” Lennon was a seaman who married John’s mother, Julia, in 1938. John was their only son, and Freddie rarely saw him doing his seafaring time during World War II. 

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John Lennon’s family history was complicated and, unfortunately, quite painful. His mother became pregnant with another man’s child. And despite offers from Alfred to raise the child as his own, Julia rejected it. Subsequently, he had little in the way of contact with his son, who would later live with his grandmother. They didn’t really interact after Julia’s tragic passing in 1958, when John was only a teenager.

John and Alfred wouldn’t have much contact with one another until Beatlemania hit the world like a ton of bricks. Their relationship was admittedly strained. And Alfred decided to capitalize on his son’s fame in a way that allegedly bothered John and, by extension, The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein.

Brian Epstein and John Lennon Allegedly Didn’t Want the Song To Succeed

The story goes that in 1965, Alfred Lennon released a song in an attempt to “cash in” on The Beatles craze his son was at the center of. When John and Brian Epstein caught wind, they allegedly tried to pressure radio stations to not play the song.

In the end, some avoided playing the track and some went ahead and played it anyway. “That’s My Life (My Love And My Home)” was released in 1965. The song featured a large orchestra of musicians that included future Jimi Hendrix Experience members Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell. It was a decent commercial success, too. And in the years since, many believe that John Lennon tried to shut down his father’s music career, as the song soon disappeared from the charts.

There’s no proof that John was involved. However, some close sources at the time noted that he was not happy about his father’s attempt to cash in on his success.

“At Christmas 1965, we heard that Alf had made a record, under the trendier name of Fred Lennon,” said Cynthia Lennon in John. “‘That’s My Life (My Love And My Home)’ was awful, and hugely embarrassing to John, who was furious at his father’s blatant jump onto the bandwagon of his own success. He asked Brian to do anything he could to stop it. Whether Brian did or not I don’t know, but the record never made it into the charts and soon disappeared.”

“Alfred went up to visit John in Weybridge and to see why Brian Epstein had taken Alfred’s record, ‘That’s My Life (My Love And My Home),’ off the charts,” said Charlie Lennon, Alfred’s brother. “He slammed the door in his dad’s face.”

In 1970, the estranged father and son would meet again, leading to an intense confrontation. They never saw each other again after that. Alfred would pass in 1975, and John would pass in 1980.

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