The night Brian Wilson met John Lennon

cp3iverson

Pretty incredible story, but if you’ve followed Brian Wilson or even if you’ve just seen the film “Love & Mercy” it kind of makes sense....anyway two geniuses.  Im glad Brian is still around. 

As told by Alice Cooper:  

“I was sitting backstage after the 1974 Grammys with Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist) and John Lennon. This was when Brian was really having some mental issues. During the course of the conversation, I kept seeing Brian out of the corner of my eye, just kind of staring at us from different angles.”

“Finally, he came up to the table, bent down and whispered in my ear ‘Hey Alice, introduce me to John Lennon.’ I couldn’t BELIEVE that these two men had never met! They were virtually neck and neck in the 60’s as the greatest bands on the planet, and I’m SURE they must have crossed paths at some point. But then I thought to myself, ‘Wow, if they REALLY have never met, I’m going to be the one to introduce them and become a part of rock history!’”

“So I merely said, ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, this is Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was very cordial and polite, saying things like ‘Hello Brian, I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’ve always admired your work, and Paul and I considered Pet Sounds one of the best albums ever made.’ Brian thanked him and walked away, at which point Lennon went right back to his conversation like nothing had happened.”

“About ten minutes later, Brian came by our table again, leaned down and whispered something to Bernie, and all of a sudden, Bernie was saying ‘Brian Wilson, this is John Lennon. John Lennon, Brian Wilson.’ Lennon was just as cordial and polite as the first time, saying essentially the same thing about always wanting to meet him. As soon as Brian walked away, John looked at both of us and casually said in his typical Liverpudlian accent, ‘I’ve met him hundreds of times. He’s not well, you know.’”

pjpjpaul

Brian was living in his own world at that point. We are lucky he came back down to earth and survived but man he was very lost there for a long time. Can't be easy to be labeled a creative genius and have to constantly keep churning out new ideas, hits, and conceptual masterpieces. I understand his mental illness and desire to escape reality but I also think it probably robbed the world for some great music.

cp3iverson

Yep i agree. His peak unfortunately came as he was spiraling.  Look at 1966-1971. Wow. Pet Sounds. Surf’s Up. SMiLE.   

There’s a reason why Paul McCartney compares him to Mozart.  So cool that the Brian Wilson story has been a nice calm story for the last 20 years. 

Loujoe

Cool story. The question I'd have is did John know who Alice was.

brianlux

I really enjoyed Brian's book, I Am Brian Wilson.  He is so totally forthright about his mental illness as well as his successes.  There are no pretenses there.  He just says what he thinks.  At first, that seemed a little alarming and I can see where it might seem off-putting, but Brian doesn't seem to have the filters most of us have that hold us back from being either boastful or self-deprecating.   I actually love that about Brian Wilson.  100% no bullshit!

cp3iverson

I need to read that

brianlux

cp3iverson said:

I need to read that

It got mixed reviews.  The biggest complaint was that Brian's reminiscing tends to jump around in time.  I actually like that about it because it kept the book from being overly predictable.  It also helps to be accepting of the fact that this is how Mr. Wilson's brain works.

My other two favorite Brian Wilson related books are these, both are excellent! :