Attempting to take the baton from a Beatle is not a task for the timid. That impossible task becomes even more so when that baton comes to you after the tragic death of John Lennon. Not only would that someone be asked to pick up where an incomparable talent left off, but the sadness of his death would create an insurmountable hurdle. This hypothetical situation was real for one rock icon: Elton John. Read more about John turning down a musical request from Yoko Ono in the wake of Lennon’s death, below.
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The John Lennon Album Elton John Was Hesitant to Play On
Because Lennon’s death was so sudden and unexpected, nothing was done about his unfinished demos and ongoing musical pursuits. The former Beatle was still trucking along in his solo career at the time, having just released a comeback album with Ono weeks prior.
In the aftermath of his death, Ono found uncompleted demos. In an effort to honor her late husband, Ono reached out to an old friend and musical peer of his: John. While in theory John working on this project would be a good fit, the musician felt like it was “too soon” after Lennon’s death to feel comfortable doing so.
“The tour moved on, crossing America then heading down to Australia,” John wrote in his memoir about Lennon’s death. “Our plane had just landed in Melbourne when a stewardess’s voice came over, saying that the Elton John party couldn’t disembark; we had to stay on board. It’s strange, the moment they said it, my heart sank; I just knew it meant someone was dead.”
A couple of years later, Ono got in touch with John to ask him a big favor.
“She said she needed to see me, it was urgent, I had to come to New York right away,” John continued. “So I got on a plane…She told me she’d found a load of tapes with unfinished songs John had been working on just before he died. She asked me if I would complete them, so they could be released.”
“I didn’t think the time would ever be right,” he added. “Trying to work out how to finish songs John Lennon had started writing – I wouldn’t be so presumptuous. And the idea of putting my voice on the same record as his – I thought it was horrible. Yoko was insistent, but so was I.”
In the end, Ono released the demos as they were on an album called Milk and Honey. Lennon’s unfinished work was coupled by some polished Ono offerings. It proved to be an apt way to honor her late husband’s legacy and the musical partnership they forged.
(Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
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