Later their song I WANT YOU (She’s So Heavy) as simple as it was, gave me chills throughout my body in the late 60s. If not for the Beatles recording their famous untamed BEATLES WHITE ALBUM, I’m sure I would have never gone through with forming rock bands in high school and for touring 30 more years after my stint in the US ARMY from 1976 through to early 1980.

When I recorded rhythm guitar tracks with Lennon on his song CLEAN UP TIME in August of 1980 “along with members of Cheap Trick” I felt like I was holding part of the world in my bare hands. “You’d have to be a musician and a Lennon fan to understand.”

Lennon had turned me onto some fellow musician friends of his “Country Joe and The Fish” in 1980. This was my true beginning of my 30 years of performing live as an opening artist / band with as many well know musicians as I did, which led me to later create several solo cassette tapes of my own material and having 6 music videos of myself filmed by a professional ex MTV music video director/camerman, and me recording demo cassettes for major record labels while continuing to briefly tour with artists such as Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, The Drifters, The Jesse Dreamer Band, The Platters, Ethan Fox, Tom Petty, Mike Belis, Lee Walter Williams, the band Chicago Transit Authority “CHICAGO,” Luther, David Palma, Neil Diamond, Heart, Country Joe and The Fish, Freddy Fender, Lonnie Johnson, Paul Presley, Stevie Nicks and more….

Still having my band opening for major record label signed artists, couldn’t get me signed with my own recording contract. “But I did sell close to 30,000 copies of my own solo artist Cassette tapes and over ten thousand copies of four of the 6 music videos ‘sold on consignment through TOWER RECORDS,” and through several California college radio stations.

I still manage to squeeze in a few solo gigs every once in a while, and as an opening band / solo artist. I now manage my fiances music career, if not for her having the seemingly serious undiagnosed medical problems pop up recently while her and I lived in Las Vegas, She’d right now be performing in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Mirage Hotel in the Beatles REVOLUTION lounge.

Without John Lennon hooking me up with Country Joe and The Fish in 1980, I probably wouldn’t have ever toured with any of the known artists I mentioned above. I didn’t become rich, or even become all that well known, the experiences I’ve had over the past 30 odd years have been priceless.

Hopefully this coming spring of 2010, I’ll have my fiance back in Las Vegas performing on stage at The Mirage Hotel. Thanks to an entertainment promoter working for the Mirage Hotel “Johnny Postel,” I’d still be breaking my ass trying to get an opportunity to represent and organize live performances of my singer/songwriter fiance to audition for promoters in Vegas, “let alone get her paying gigs at The Mirage Hotel lounges.” Once my fiance’s “Victoria Winters” doctors find out what illness she is dealing with and have it treated, Johnny Postel said he’d get her those paying gigs at The Mirage Hotel.

Go to my myspace site, listen my posted songs and possibly purchase three of my most recent CD’s I have for sale on http://www.MySpace.com/rhythmsreason through cdbaby.com

Personally I think it’s amazing that 38 years after their breakup, the Beatles are STILL one of the highest selling bands of all time.

My thanks to John Lennon for his interest in me and for his help for kick starting my music career back in 1980.

R.I.P. John Lennon and thanks for your friendship all those years ago.

Peace to all who have taken time out to read my reply.

~Mark Johnson~