John Lennon Thought an Album Caused His Son to Gain Weight
John Lennon patted himself on the back for taking care of his son, Sean Ono Lennon. However, the “Instant Karma!” star felt one of his albums caused Sean to gain weight. In retrospect, Sean felt the album had major musical problems. However, he was a fan of one of the hits from the record.
John Lennon said his son gained weight during the production of ‘Double Fantasy’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John referred to himself as a “housewife” for taking care of Sean while Yoko took care of the couple’s finances. John was asked if his role as a caregiver was a lark.
“No, it wasn’t a lark,” the “Imagine” singer replied. “The serious intent was to orchestrate what went into the baby’s mind and body on a full-time basis for at least five years. And it’s not over now just ’cause we’re making this album.” The album in question was Double Fantasy, the final record John released before his tragic death.
“In fact, I’m worried that Sean is away from my influence too much now,” the “Power to the People” singer added. “Like, he’s put on a couple of pounds because I’m not watching his diet, and as soon as this album’s tucked away I’ll go back and reestablish my position with him because I need it and he needs it.”
Yoko Ono discussed what she thought of John Lennon as a parent
John compared himself to Roman Catholic educators. “You know, the Catholic Church used to say, ‘Give me the child for five or seven years and I will give you the man,'” he said. “I wanted to be there for that. That’s the main concern I have — that I made the right moves. I’ve been very, very careful. There’s been no lightheartedness about that.”
Yoko opined John took good care of Sean. At first, she felt John could essentially take on the role of Sean’s mother. Subsequently, Yoko felt Sean longing for her and vice versa. The “Walking on Thin Ice” singer said she may have initially lacked a maternal instinct because she was raised by nannies. Despite this, she did not consider herself a poor mother.
Sean Ono Lennon felt the production of ‘Double Fantasy’ was subpar
During a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Sean had a lot to say about his father’s solo career. He revealed that he was not a big fan of Double Fantasy. Sean thought the late 1970s/early 1980s studio technology used to create the album wasn’t great, so it suffered from lackluster production.
On the other hand, he was fond of two tracks from Double Fantasy. He praised the hit single “Watching the Wheels” for its wonderfully melancholy sound. Notably, that song is about Sean. He also liked the album track “I’m Losing You” for its sexy feel.
Double Fantasy might have caused Sean to put on some weight, but he still favored two songs from that album.
