This week because of Christmas I wanted to post something a little different. First is a cut by Edd "Kookie" Byrnes from the TV show 77 Sunset Strip put out in 1959. He was known for combing his hair and being what used to be called a hep cat on the show. I thought this hipper version of The Night Before Christmas might bring a smile to some of you jazz fans. In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. I am hoping you find this as inspiring as I do. Lennon's wit and wisdom shine here. He never talks down to the young boy but always treats him as an equal. Levitan asks way better questions than most of the hacks that usually interviewed The Beatles. It is my hope that this will contribute to Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men (and Women). Something that is sorely lacking in today's world as well as yesterday's world. Perhaps this holiday season, somehow, the human race will realize that we really are all in in it together .
