I was living in London, With the girl from the summer before, It was the year of the Beatles, It was the year of the Stones
On a cold December evening, I was walking through the Christmas tide, When a stranger came up and asked me If I’d heard John Lennon had died
This song referenced both Johnny Ace the R&B Artist who supposedly have shot himself in a game of Russian roulette in 1954, JFK and John Lennon who was killed on December 8, 1980.
I remember the song on the Simon & Garfunkel reunion concert in Central Park video. When Paul started the part about Lennon a man rushed the stage, shocking Paul especially since it was under a year since Lennon’s murder.
“The Late Great Johnny Ace” is a song by Paul Simon, which is on the 1983 Hearts and Bones album.
The Late Great Johnny Ace
I was reading a magazine
And thinking of a rock and roll song
The year was 1954
And I hadn’t been playing that long
When a man came on the radio
And this is what he said
He said I hate to break it
To his fans
But Johnny Ace is dead
Well, I really wasn’t
Such a Johnny Ace fan
But I felt bad all the same
So I sent away for his photograph
And I waited till it came
It came all the way from Texas
With a sad and simple face
And they signed it on the bottom
From the Late Great Johnny Ace
It was the year of the Beatles
It was the year of the Stones
It was 1964
I was living in London
With the girl from the summer before
It was the year of the Beatles
It was the year of the Stones
A year after J.F.K.
We were staying up all night
And giving the days away
And the music was flowing
Amazing
And blowing my way
On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I’d heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us
Went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played
Was for the Late Great Johnny Ace
Simon once called this a jinxed song. Not only the incident at the concert in Central Park- which still is spooky when you remember what happened nearby not that long before– and also I think he was on Letterman or some late night show playing the song and a guitar string broke. Love the song- my favorite song on my favorite Paul Simon album- Hearts and Bones..
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You can see fear in his eyes when that guy rushed the stage…with good reason after what happened.
I was watching the Letterman show that night…it was spooky. It is a very clever song and combing those together.
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My dad absolutely loves that concert in central park…me too I guess
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It is really good. The performance is great…The nut added excitement especially so close to when John was shot.
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Johnny Ace died of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 25. He did not kill himself playing Russian roulette it was an unfortunate accident.
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wow, had read of that event but not seen it. Sure would’ve been frightening for Paul
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Especially just months after John was shot.
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I understand people take music seriously, but when I see these nuts going after musicians (and other celebrities) it creeps me out. I remember Eddie Vedder talking about being stalked and having to live in a fortified fortress because of it. To see this captured on video and have a closeup camera on Paul’s face while it’s happening, wow.
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I had to be very frightening to him because of what just happened a few months before to Lennon.
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It’s cool how it had Phillip Glass on it as well – it’s not my favourite tune on Hearts and Bones, but it’s a thoughtful, interesting piece.
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It’s interesting how he combined both into a song. I didn’t realize Phillip glass was on it.
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Does anyone know what the deal was with that guy who ran up on stage? I always wondered about that. He was yelling something at Simon.
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He was yelling “I need talk to you” over and over…probably drunk…I never found out the story or what his name was…
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I’m not familiar with this song…And I never watched the whole concert in the park either. I’m out of the loop on this one. Thanks for the education.
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I’ve never heard this and, damn, what a freak. Makes me think about Marty Balin.
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Yea…you could tell Paul was scared…this was September and Lennon was shot in December before.
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