John Lennon’s First Wife Was Stunned When She Heard Her Son Julian Lennon Sing — We Were Too
When John Lennon‘s first wife, Cynthia, heard their son, Julian Lennon, sing for the first time following John’s 1980 murder, she had to do a double take. She wasn’t alone. Fans worldwide were stunned when they heard the Beatle’s son sing.
John Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, was stunned when she heard her son, Julian Lennon, sing
Cynthia Lennon was John’s first wife from 1962 to 1968. She knew John before The Beatles were swept up in fame and experienced the most hectic moments of the band’s popularity. So, she got to see many of the behind-the-scenes moments of one of the most important bands in history.
Her marriage crumbled in the late 1960s after John started his affair with Yoko Ono. However, she never stopped loving the musician. While he started a new life and solo career in the 1970s, she continued as a designer and raised their son Julian, who eventually pursued a music career like his father.
Shortly after John’s 1980 murder, she heard Julian sing. It was a moment she never forgot. During a 1985 interview with Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross, she said she saw a lot of John in Julian but was shocked hearing her son’s voice.
“Following John’s death, I had an experience of coming downstairs in the house I lived in North Wales, and [Julian] was sitting at a piano with his back to me, and he was singing a very soulful song,” Cynthia said. “And I had to do a bit of a double take; it was a very strange feeling.”
Hearing Julian sing is eerie
Cynthia’s double take at her son’s voice isn’t surprising. Fans reacted similarly when he released his debut album, Valotte, in 1984. Hearing Julian sing on the album invokes goosebumps. If you close your eyes, it could be John singing.
You can hear the Beatle the most on “Too Late for Goodbyes.” Maybe it’s Julian’s accent? When he sings the “me” in the lyric “Ever since you’ve been leaving me” and the “for you” in “Now I know how it feels for you,” there’s an inflection in his accent that is completely his father’s.
John doesn’t only come out in his son’s voice in “Too Late for Goodbyes.” Julian sounds like John in virtually everything he sings, including “Valotte.”
However, having the Lennon name and his father’s voice didn’t help Julian’s music career. They actually hindered him.
Julian said it was hard staying in the music industry as a Lennon
After Valotte, Julian released four other albums. However, he dropped his music career after Photograph Smile in 1998. Being a Lennon in the music industry was challenging.
During an interview on Larry King Live, Julian discussed leaving his music career behind. It had been 15 years since he’d entered the recording studio because he’d never had a great relationship with the music industry.
“It’s just been a tough road,” Julian said. “I’ve been bashed a lot, you know?” Having a music career and the Lennon name was impossible.
“When people don’t take you personally seriously as an artist but just only want to know you because of your father,” Julian explained. “They want to know you because of your father, and that’s it, and that’s a tough one to ride.”
However, the pull to music was strong, and Julian returned with 2011’s Everything Changes. After another 11-year hiatus, Julian released Jude.
Julian couldn’t help that he sounded like John any more than he could control the press’ comparisons to his father when he first started in the music business. He still can’t control those things. However, after many breaks from the industry, Julian has come to terms with it all. He makes music for himself and the fans.
