As stated on numerous occasions in the past I also love to collect signatures of people that played a notable role or part of an interesting side story to the Beatles tale. I recently acquired these signatures for the collection as a few examples.
Timothy Leary – the Harvard professor that advocated for the therapeutic use of LSD. Mentioned in the song “Give Peace a Chance”, and he and his wife were at the John and Yoko Bed-In where the song was premiered. Leary also asked John to write a campaign song for him which evolved into “Come Together.” Leary was not too pleased with the resulting situation and the track was to become the leadoff track for Abbey Road. Timothy Leary passed away in 1996.
Timothy Leary – Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Timothy Leary’s signature in the book:
Allen Ginsberg , a friend of Yoko’s and a beat poet of the ’60s. He is also mentioned in “Give Peace a Chance” and was at many of John and Yoko’s happenings. Allen also did an unusual performance with Paul McCartney called “The Ballad of the Skeletons” which has been posted by someone on YouTube.
Allen Ginsberg and Paul McCartney playing “A Ballad of American Skeletons” – YouTube
Ginsberg passed away in 1997
Here is a signed Ginsberg book that I acquired for my collection:
Baseball signed by Beat era poet:
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
A signed poem about baseball written by Lawrence Ferlinghetti that I purchased. The poem is about his passion for baseball and the San Francisco Giants!
Ferlinghetti passed away in 2021 and was over 100 years old at his passing.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti – Wikipedia
A signed baseball poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti to accompany the signed baseball:
Passing away at the age of 101, Ferlinghetti was one of the most renowned radical poets produced in America. Ferlinghetti published such well known Beat writers as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg.
Noticed on this online site at the link below that he wrote a poem that mentions about John Lennon dying too soon and not being around anymore to give us the age-old answer to the question of “Why are we all here?”
A poem that mentions John Lennon dying too young “before he got to share “the answer” with all of us.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti Not Dying | CSB Website (christopherscottbuck.com)
Royston Ellis – UK beat poet from the early ’60s who passed away in February of 2023. His Wikipedia background which details with the inspiration he gave for the songs of Paperback Writer and Polythene Pam. His friendship with John Lennon is also discussed on the Wikipedia page. Mark Lewisohn has discounted Royston’s claim that it was he who suggested that the Beatles spell their name as BEATLES rather than BEETLES!
However, in David Bedford’s book, The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles, Ellis explains how and when he mentioned to John Lennon that he should change the name from The Beetles to The Beatles.
Royston Ellis with the Beatles on the island of Guernsey in 1963, three years after the poet and the rockers first crossed paths in Liverpool. (Emmalena Ellis) I assume that Emmalena Ellis is the curator of the Royston Ellis Estate and the owner of the Beatles/Ellid photo. It was during the time that this photograph was taken that the inspiration for Polythene Pam arose. You will need to seek out the answer to that mystery on the internet.
Though not the book “The Primal Scream” that inspired John to write and record the John Lennon “Plastic Ono Band” LP, I recently bought this book because I was able to obtain Arthur Janov’s signature in this book. As you are aware I try to collect the signatures of many of the people that played an important role in the Beatles or solo Beatles lives! Janov’s therapy helped to create what many music critics have called a masterpiece despite it’s lukewarm sales figures due to it’s stripped down production and emotional intensity! Janov died in 2017 at the age of 93. He will always be associated and known for the psychotherapy he provided for both John and Yoko!
The album that Arthur Janov helped to inspire:
Buzz
Get Your Copy of The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
The Fab One Hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles
The Fab one hundred and Four: The Evolution of The Beatles tells how the four Quarrymen became the Fab Four of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
I believe in Mark Lewisohn’s Beatles biography “Tune In” (Volume1) he writes that Harlan Ellis said he shared a bed with John Lennon, but there was a girl between them. She was the inspiration for Polythene Pam. Of course the song wasn’t recorded until 1969 for the album “Abbey Road.”
NJ-I believe the incident you speak of may have occurred at Gambier Terrace!
In 1969, Lawrence Ferlinghetti recorded an album’s worth of material for the Beatles’ Zapple label. When Allen Klein took over Apple, he cancelled the Zapple label, and Ferlinghetti’s recordings were released on Harvest Records instead.
Thanks Doug for that info! Much appreciated!