John Lennon’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, is worried about the Beatles’ legacy.
During a new interview on “CBS Sunday Morning,” Sean, 50, explained how he’s made it his mission to make sure future generations know the impact that his late dad, his mom Yoko Ono, and the band have had on music.
“Obviously the world is also the custodian of his legacy, I would say. I’m just doing my best to help make sure that the younger generation doesn’t forget about The Beatles and John and Yoko,” Sean said. “That’s how I look at it.”
When asked if he thinks it’s “possible” that the legacies will be forgotten about over time, Sean replied, “I do, actually. And I never did before.”
“My parents gave me so much that I think it’s the least I can do to try and support their legacy in my lifetime,” Sean continued. “I feel like I just owe it to them. It’s a personal thing.”
1965. Bettmann Archive
Sean added that he sees his parents’ legacy as “peace and love.”
“But it’s not just peace and love. It’s an attitude towards activism that is done with humor and love,” he said.
“I think the Beatles’ music, and John and Yoko’s legacy, is something important for the world to kind of cherish and be reminded of,” Sean further stated. “So, that’s how I see my job.”
The musician also explained what inspired him to team up with Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson to make their 2018 version of John and Yoko’s iconic song “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”
“I wanted to see if I could get that feeling of maybe it sounds like you’re hearing it again for the first time, or at least in a new context, in a way that you’d pay attention, as opposed to, ‘Oh, there it is on the radio again,’” he shared.
Later in the interview, Sean gave a rare update on his reclusive 92-year-old mother.
“She’s good. I mean, you know, she’s 92, so she’s slowed down a lot, and she’s retired,” Sean said. “That’s why I’m kind of trying to do the work that she used to do. That’s why I feel a lot of pressure, actually, to do my best, because she set a high standard for the way that she dealt with my dad’s music, and the Beatles stuff.”
“She’s always been very singular. And I think my dad was less so,” Sean continued. “You know, he had Paul to write with, and then he was hoping that my mom would kind of be a writing partner. And I just think it’s really funny that, you know, there’s probably only one person in the world who would turn down John Lennon as a writing partner, and that’s my mom, you know?”
Sean’s famous father was gunned down by Mark David Chapman in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980, ten years after the Beatles dramatically broke up. John was 40 years old.
George Harrison was the second Beatles star to die. He passed away of cancer in 2001 at age 58.
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles, are both still making music.
