Now and Then

In December 1980 I was renting a 8- by 10-foot enclosed front porch in an apartment on County Line Road in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. I’d found the listing in the local newspaper and didn’t know the woman I was renting from. She lived in the bigger room in the back. There was a kitchen, a dining room, and a tiny bathroom that we shared. I had a funky upright piano, a small double bed, and a desk with my stereo on it. I Listened to Super Tramp, The Tubes, Steely Dan, anything funky, anything Motown, and anything Beatles, absorbing whatever I could from all of it. I’d graduated from college earlier that year and was living on my own for the first time. Everything was a revelation.

            I’d just recorded my first demo, hoping to find work as a singer. I wish I had a copy of that tape, but it’s long gone. I hired session musicians that the studio owners recommended and recorded Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got a Hold on Me” Laura Nyro style, and Roberta Flacks’ “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” I’d just learned about over-dubbing vocal harmonies, so Roberta’s song was a giant wall of Bar Scott vocals by the time I was done. I’d fallen in love with the option to sing along with myself and wanted to do more and more of it.

            At the time, a 2-inch reel of tape with 15 minutes of recording time, cost about $200. Studio time was $150 an hour, and a single recording session took at least 3 hours, if not twice- or three-times that. It was all too expensive for anyone without a recording contract, but Tascam had just figured out how to make a 4-track cassette recorder so people like me could overdub at home for the cost of a cassette, about 5 bucks. It was the beginning of musicians taking control of their music from home. It was an exciting time. Intoxicating for me to say the least.

            I was sitting on the bed in that glassed-in porch outside Philadelphia when John Lennon was shot. What I remember most is the candle that was already flickering on the lid of my piano when I got the call. I sat there in the dark for a long time, disbelieving. I was only 22. More than anything, I couldn’t make sense of why anyone would want John Lennon dead.

            Last night, Brent sent me “Now and Then” the so- called last Beatles’ song that was released a few days ago. John had recorded a cassette demo of the song at home before he died. Just piano and voice. Within the last few years, AI and talented recording engineers have made it possible to separate John’s piano part from his vocal so the song could be finished and mixed properly. In the ‘90s, before George died, he, Paul and Ringo made their first and frustrated attempt at finishing the song. Thankfully, those tracks were saved and could be used in the version that we all get to hear now. I’ve listened to it over and over again today . One of the things that struck me right away is that George’s Eastern Indian influences seemed to have inspired John’s melody. See if you agree.

Here’s a link to the song:

Here’s a link to a short video describing what it took to finish the song with all four Beatles: