A deep dive into the music and complex psychology of John Lennon, featuring interviews with such noted authors and podcasters as David Bedford, Dan Richter, Jude Kessler, Kit O'Toole and Ken McNab, as well as ex-Quarrymen bandmates Rod Davis and Colin Hanton
Episode 116: John Lennon's Jukebox with Matt Williamson
To celebrate the recently-passed 7th anniversary of the first episode of Glass Onion way back when, we welcome Matt Williamson of the 'Pop Goes The 60s' you tube channel to discuss an intriguing and entertaining documentary from 2004.
From the long-running UK arts and culture programme 'The South Bank Show', which had earlier brought us 'The Making of Sgt Pepper', comes an exploration of John Lennon's influences and musical loves by way of the portable jukebox he apparently brought on tour with him in 1965 and 1966, having loaded it with 40 of his favourite choons.
Matt and Antony also touch on the argument and fine line between inspiration and plagiarism, and the differences between 'black' and 'white' voices and music, both of which the documentary explores in a fairly gentle way. We also assess how John's own music stacks up against some of his idols, a lot of whose songs he covered
Enjoy!
Feedback to glassonionpod@yahoo.com
Support the show at
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno
OR
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod
Twitter handle
https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon
Matt's 'Pop Goes The 60s' channel
https://www.youtube.com/@popgoesthe60s52
Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching)
https://www.antonyrotunno.com
Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media)
https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com
episode links
The documentary, the jukebox and the songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgABKFLOKj8&t=1s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lennon%27s_jukebox
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOtuAJmIXVn8ifjw7pQaTQdNcFyTNkyiu
Money- Barrett Strong vs The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96XJl7mxDtc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeWjEYhk7Xo
Rock And Roll Music- Chuck Berry vs The Beatles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRF6nmqcbxo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wOZbMjzJsQ
Green Onions vs 12-Bar Original (no competition)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFQEsUjI0U8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W3G-CmjPtM
John Lennon's isolated vocal on 'Twist And Shout'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtVtMvvlemw
Lennon rocks out (Be-Bop-a-Lula/Slippin' and Slidin')
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8huF2Jgn4c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72D3dPnjtcI
List of hit songs written by Lieber and Stoller
https://www.leiberstoller.com/Charts.html
This May Be The Last Time- The Staple Singers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1jGF-6bFpI
Led Zeppelin plagiarism (oh dear)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyvLsutfI5M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zThdTAWQFAQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5uMQDlKn8g
Betty Everett knocks it out the park!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0v1MQRg5js
John & Paul reunite?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab_xJaDFBCs
War Games by The Lovin' Spoonful (Rev 9 vibes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE86UINrJS4
It Might Get Loud (great rock doc)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbxOM1ErYs4&t=1s
15 Dec 2025
Episode 115: John Lennon In 1975 (Part 2 of 2)
And so we bring to an end Glass Onion's 7th year…
John Lennon's 1975 is mostly remembered for being the year that he became a father for the second time and dropped out of the music biz for 5 years, apparently to become the most famous househusband in the world (the jury's still out on that one).
Before he did that though, he front-loaded the year with the usual frenetic activity you'd expect from a year in the life of our hero. There were albums and singles of his own, musical collaborations with others, his final ever live appearance, interviews for TV, radio and print, lots of written letters to friends and family, some Beatle contact, a public appearance here and there, lawsuits and his ongoing fight with America's powers that (probably shouldn't) be.
Oh, and he also found time for a sudden change in his lovelife, his past lover quickly consigned to (Lennon) history.
Best wishes for the season
Enjoy!
Feedback to glassonionpod@yahoo.com
Support the show at
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno
OR
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod
Twitter handle
https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon
Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com
Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media)
https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com
episode links
John's albums of 1975:
Rock 'n' Roll
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_'n'_Roll_(John_Lennon_album)
Shaved Fish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaved_Fish
Previous Glass Onion episode on the Rock 'n' Roll album and legal shenanigans
https://glassoniononjohnlennon.com/episode-65-rock-and-roll-1975-album-review-paul-or-nothing-swapcast-1
The majestic 'Angel Baby'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4kea1yZj0E
John's 2 TV interviews of 1975 (Bob Harris/Tom Snyder)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKDpCWO3nes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OQl10ZlfqU
John's final live performance (Imagine, April 1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtbzOENU3ec
John and *BOMF perform for 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkLXcQTusUw
John Paul (not that one) and Art at The Grammy's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUlR8jWUKd8
John does a bit of 'Lady Marmalade' on piano
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rs6Px9Cl-cg
May Pang's 'The Lost Weekend: A Love Story'
https://www.maypang.com/the-lost-weekend
Was John actually hypnotised by Yoko?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOsspa7uEis
Recommended books:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29501681-lennon-on-lennon
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21514255
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13528387-the-john-lennon-letters
Lennonology website
https://lennonology.com
David Bowie's 'Fame' (John on guitar and vocals)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypgq0qdgVZA
Operation Paperclip (important history)
https://explorethearchive.com/operation-paperclip
19 Nov 2025
Episode 114: John Lennon In 1975 (Part 1 of 2)
For our final offerings of the year, we present a 2-part look at 1975, the year of Antony's birth. As is traditional, we first cover the year itself in terms of world events, births & deaths, films and (non-Lennon) music, before turning to the John Lennon events of the year.
The Vietnam War is finally winding down, and there are numerous other examples of progress and destruction in another memorable 12 months on our blue planet. Ali & Frazier fight the fight to end them all and there are great films, singles and albums galore.
We'll look at John Lennon's part in all this fun and games in December
Enjoy!
Feedback to glassonionpod@yahoo.com
Support the show at
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/antonyrotunno
OR
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/antonyrotunno
Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/glassonionjlpod
Twitter handle
https://www.twitter.com/OnionLennon
Antony's website (music, podcasts, blog, life coaching) https://www.antonyrotunno.com
Antony's 'Life And Life Only' podcast (on Psychology and Alternative media)
https://www.lifeandlifeonly.podbean.com
episode links
1975 in film and music
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_in_film
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_in_music
Jaws 4k clips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzncv0ISaE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOe3n9eO6Lc
Film Gold audio commentary (2021)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1c_E-LuSxs&rco=1
Documentary on the film's legacy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgtJEhEppu4
Mr Jaws! (spoof song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeYCOFblZRg
The Thrilla in Manila fight in HD and 2007 documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olp9gsmD_A0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEtCq6X7fUI
Paul Simon on the Dick Cavett show (Still Crazy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtOa8d_BHU
Rolling Thunder Revue documentary (Dylan by Scorsese)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9577852/
'The Eleventh' podcast series (available everywhere podcasts are found)
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/truecrime/presents-the-eleventh/105982868
Eoghan Lyng's book about George Harrison
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61043229-george-harrison-in-the-70s
George Carlin on 'The Owners of the Country' (tough love)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dY4WlxO6i0
Christopher Hitchens gives the case against Henry Kissinger
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNi-rhLGNj8
Baby You're A Rich Man 'video' (Beatles in Greece)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nECfL2_rqVk
Inside a recent episode
Episode 116: John Lennon's Jukebox with Matt Williamson
Published 17 Feb 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] But nowadays, I mean, you can trace, I wouldn't say every song back to where it comes from, but if you wanted to, I think you could. And shall we just give a couple of examples of famous songs that were inspired or perhaps ripped off older songs? Yeah, I think the 60s were a time when, well, the Beatles changed everything where you were a You were the band and you wrote your own material. So a lot of the inspiration of the Beatles and other artists that they had to write, they started, they had to write. So Jimmy Page notoriously took a song from Jake Holmes called Dazed and Confused, which came out in 1967, put his name on it. […]
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