Yoko Ono Once Shut Down a Reporter Who Compared John Lennon to Kurt Cobain
Everyone basically agrees that John Lennon and Kurt Cobain are two of the biggest names in classic rock. Yoko Ono, on the other hand, had no interest in those comparisons — but Cobain himself did! Here’s a look at why he identified with the “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” singer so much but wasn’t a fan of Paul McCartney.
Yoko Ono said Kurt Cobain had similarities to John Lennon and so did all rockers
During a 2013 interview with Songfacts, a reporter asked Yoko about the state of rock music. “Rock music is rocking now!” she replied. “We are telling the world, we are going to survive, in whatever condition we are put in.”
The reporter asked Yoko if she thought Cobain was similar to the “Imagine” singer, especially considering that both of them were so honest in their songs and in interviews. “Don’t waste your time checking every rock ‘n’ roller if they have any similarities with John,” she replied. “In some ways, they all do, I’m sure.”
Kurt Cobain liked the ‘Imagine’ singer but not Paul McCartney
Perhaps part of the reason why people identify Cobain with John is the fact that … Cobain identified himself with John. During a 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, Cobain said he was a huge fan of the Fab Four. “John Lennon was definitely my favorite Beatle, hands down,” he revealed. “I don’t know who wrote what parts of what Beatles songs, but Paul McCartney embarrasses me. Lennon was obviously disturbed [laughs]. So I could relate to that.
“And from the books I’ve read — and I’m so skeptical of anything I read, especially in rock books — I just felt really sorry for him,” the grunge icon added. “To be locked up in that apartment. Although he was totally in love with Yoko and his child, his life was a prison. He was imprisoned. It’s not fair. That’s the crux of the problem that I’ve had with becoming a celebrity — the way people deal with celebrities.”
John Lennon downplayed his influence
There are definitely similarities between John and Cobain. They were both some of the most talented, intelligent, and essential people in the history of rock music. They also knew how to spark controversy and inspired innumerable imitators.
It’s easy to see The Beatles as an influence on grunge as a whole and Nirvana in particular. After all, The Beatles’ song “Yer Blues” from The White Album sounds like grunge and has the genre’s characteristically strange and morbid lyrics. However, John himself downplayed the idea that The Beatles were an influential group.
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John didn’t give his band too much credit. He said The Beatles wouldn’t have existed without Elvis Presley, Elvis wouldn’t have existed without blues singer Johnnie Ray, and Ray wouldn’t have existed without his precursors (though none of them came to mind). In the “Power to the People” singer‘s view, all music was derivative as there were only so many notes and so many themes.
Cobain’s life definitely paralleled John’s in some regards. Maybe Yoko is right and those parallels just come with the territory for all rock musicians.
