JOHN WINSTON ONO LENNON • HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY

In 1966 I went to the last concert by the Beatles . It was at Candlestick Park just south of San Francisco, California. Candlestick Park, at the time, was the home of the San Francisco Giants and the football 49ers. It was my brother's birthday. He was not a fan. I invited him and bought him a ticket as a surprise but he refused to go. So I went with my wife. The stadium wasn't packed! I expected by 1966 that it would be a sellout. Most of the attendees were very young girls. I was 24 at the time. When the band came running out onto the field from the Giants dugout area the crowd went wild. Thousands of young girls were screaming so much and so loud that it was impossible to hear any of the music. The concert lasted about a half-hour and then it seemed to abruptly stop and the band ran off the field. Later I read that it was at that concert the Beatles decided that since they hadn't been able to be heard live during most of their concerts, they were going to just record in a studio and not deal with the rigors of touring. I'm sure that was a lot easier on them in some ways. They did performed once more live and in public. It was on top of a building in London. It was filmed as part of a "Let it Be" farewell. Oh how I wish that I had saved the ticket stubs for the concert at Candlestick. I have met two people since that have their tickets proudly displayed on a wall in their home. I also met one that had hers in a safe deposit box.

I had become such an rapid fan that I bought a pair of glasses like the ones above. I was working as a Public Relations Representative with Trans World Airline in San Francisco. My boss' boss saw me, gave me a very disapproving look, and I was told not to wear the glasses because they weren't professional. Yeah right. I really enjoyed my job and it wasn't worth losing just for a pair of glasses. I didn't wear them to work but did in my off hours all the time.


In December 1980, the night that John was killed, it came as a news flash on television. My wife and I started to cry and our 10 year old son couldn't understand why we would cry about someone that was just "famous". Years later he told me that he finally understood why we were so upset because he had an opportunity to be introduced to the Beatles music and John Lennon's impact on the group and many in the Western world. Click on the link below for more info about their last concert.