February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Instead of the famous “Lennon-McCartney” tag, the songs are now credited to “Paul McCartney and John Lennon.”
Naturally, this has left Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, simply raging at her husband’s one-time partner. And when Yoko’s mad, lawyers make plenty of money.
“The change is ridiculous, absurd and petty,” said her legal eagle, Peter Shuka.
“Paul and John made an agreement 40 years ago that they would share credit in this way,” he pointed out. “To change it now — well, John’s not here to argue.”
Of course, McCartney — whose actions give new meaning to his title as the “cute Beatle” — sees things a bit differently. Through his spokesperson, Geoff Baker, McCartney defended his actions.
Baker contends that Paul’s only concerned with setting the record straight. “This is not a divisive thing,” said the mouthpiece. “It’s not Lennon or McCartney.”
Huh?
“Even if Paul did 95 percent or more on these songs, he’s not asking that John’s name be taken off,” Baker explained. “He just doesn’t think it should be first.”
Since Lennon is not around to debate the point (and the album’s already been released stateside with the new credits, it seems to be a done deal. Which brings to mind one of Lennon’s later songs, dedicated to his one-time pal: “How Do You Sleep?”