(300) Writings of 2018 dispute with the other guy´s widow if his full name or your full name comes first. ´YESTERDAY´
On the evening of October 26th, 2024 I found that a guy working on our house had rearranged some stuff, which had (somehow!) resulted in a page from a letter I had written in 2018, ending up on my writing desk. It was from a dispute with Bob Woffinden's widow in which I pointed out that my first draft of our co-authored book Bad Show had been some 75,000 words. Of which he wrote none.
But I was sure I had kept that letter in a separate room.
The bottom of the page of the letter had me pointing out that, when the manuscript was almost complete, he had suggested amending the styling of the title page from
by James Plaskett and Bob Woffinden
to now read
by Bob Woffinden and James Plaskett.
I had not the slightest problem with that. Indeed, in my letter to his widow of August 9th 2018, I had cited something similar.
́I responded, whimsically, that when McCartney asked Yoko if she would agree to a listing of Yesterday not as a Lennon and McCartney composition but a McCartney and Lennon one, she refused. Although John's input had been zero.
But I, naturally agreed. ́
... ... ...
The following day, October 27th 2024, I was leafing through my e mail when I saw something in from QUORA. One of the questions which had been asked was updated by the author some six years before (i.e. also in 2018.) And he another ́Writer - Artist ́ -
This is the question that Paul McCartney had also asked. Why indeed?
It seemed that the "common knowledge" that he and John had agreed on this when they were teenagers is a myth.
According to Paul, the agreement was different but was not followed. He talked about this on an Esquire interview in July 2015.
Paul McCartney:
"We had a meeting with Brian Epstein, John and me. I arrived late. John and Brian had been talking. 'We were thinking we ought to call the songs, 'Lennon-McCartney.'
"I said that's OK, but what about 'McCartney-Lennon'? If I write it, what about that?
"They said, 'It sounds good, too. OK, what we'll do is we'll alternate it: 'Lennon & McCartney,' 'McCartney & Lennon.'
"Well, that didn't happen."
When they made 'ANTHOLOGY' in the mid-90s, Paul decided to follow up.
"I said in particular cases like 'Yesterday,' which John actually had nothing to do with, none of the other Beatles had to do with, could we have 'By Paul McCartney & John Lennon,' wouldn't that be a good idea? And then on 'Strawberry Fields' we'll have 'By John Lennon & Paul McCartney'?'
"At first, Yoko said yes. And then she rang me back a few days later and decided it wasn't a good idea.
"Well, what happened next was there was a backlash from those who didn't see where I was coming from.'Dancing on a man's grave' was one of the phrases that came out.
"But it has nothing to do with bigheadedness. It's just to do with identifying who wrote what.
“I tell you what, if John was here he would definitely say that's OK. Because he didn't give a damn. But I've given up on it.”
Well, I think it was good that he gave up on it, because it would only mess things up. And besides, his main objective — identifying who wrote what — had already been achieved, since they were still The Beatles, the most scrutinized band in the world. Almost everybody knew that already. And for those who want to know, there are plenty of books about the band and their songs or they can search the internet where information about this abound.
No need to alter what's already engraved in rock 'n’ roll history. Thank you.
Funnily enough only YESTERDAY I found that a guy working on our house had rearranged some bric-a-brac which resulted in a page from a letter ending up on the very desk on which I now type these lines. It was from a correspondence of a few years ago in a dispute with the widow of a friend of mine with whom I co-authored a book. I pointed out that the first draft, of only some 75,000 words, I personally had written. His input being zero.
And then, on the page of that letter, I mention to her what I had mentioned to him!
i.e. that he had asked for our names to be rearranged on the cover so that it read “”By …. ……… and James Plaskett” instead of how I myself had originally styled it. With my name first followed by his.
I had not been at all put out and referred, quite amusedly, to how McCartney had asked Lennon´s widow to have YESTERDAY, on which no Beatle other than Paul makes any contribution, to be listed as a McCartney and Lennon song.
But she had refused.
Funnily enough, the letter I chanced upon YESTERDAY was written on 9 August 2018. And that would appear to be the same year Ely Matawaran updated this Question of his here at QUORA.
(Matter of fact, since I Blog the cuter coincidences of my life, I might even add this one to that Blog!)
Comments