The John Lennon Hour

"Beatles Brunch" host, Joe Johnson and our own Jude wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Holiday. And tonight, they're joining forces to play some Beatlesque Christmas music and give YOU a chance to wish Season's Greeting to your loved ones. You can call in and send your holiday wishes out to that special someone...and have it captured on the show archives forever! Think of something really special to say and go for it. Joe and Jude will be spinning the special holiday music of Alan Bernhoft, Rande Kessler, and Jack & Dale...Beatles fans all! They'll also be giving away copies of Seth Swirsky's "Beatles Stories," a Rande Kessler "Doors of Liverpool" poster, and a copy of Vol. 1 in The John Lennon Series, Shoulda Been There. Some Fun Tonight...er, Thursday night at 9pmET. Join them!

Beatles researcher and film maker, Seth Swirsky, has created something incredible...a film called "Beatles Stories" that was 5 years in the making. In this heartwarming, honest movie he captures the true tales of people who have met The Beatles, worked with them, and been their friends. Tales that have never (for the most part) before been told. It is a film of great historical importance and of great interest. And Jude is thrilled to have him as her special guest on The John Lennon Hour. Tonight YOU can call in and chat with Seth about his encounters with Sir Ben Kingsley, the beloved May Pang, Denny Laine, Joey Molland (Badfinger), Mark Hudson, Henry Winkler (the Fonz), Beach Boy Brian Wilson, Graham Nash, Norman "Hurricane" Smith, Art Garfunkel, Luci Baines Johnson, Nancy Lee Andrews, Fred Seaman, Jon Voight, and so many more. Or you can sit back and listen to the rare and gripping stories he uncovered during his exciting days collecting Beatles Stories. Call 646-668-2641 to visit with Seth live and in person!

Join Jude as she counts UP the best Beatles-themed gifts for the holidays 2014! Get the scoop on Beatles tours, books,hand-crafted jewelry, and well...EVERYTHING Fab Four! You'll hear from authors Jim Berkenstadt (The Beatle Who Vanished), Lanea Stagg (Recipe Records: A Tribute to The Beatles and a new book, Little Dog in the Sun), and Candy Leonard (Beatleness). And you'll meet artist Sharyn Herrmann who hand crafts gorgeous Beatles bracelets, luggage tags, necklaces, dog tags, and so much more! So many cool items for your holiday shopping! All here on Tuesday, December 2 for you.  

As a Thanksgiving evening treat for the whole family, actor/composer/singer/author Alan Bernhoft will re-enact his performance for John Lennon's Birthday Party show 2014. Playing the role of the incorrigable Mr. Lennon, Alan will treat you to 5 original songs including "Rockin' Little Baby" and "Imagine Christmas"! Your holiday night will be fun and magical as "John" takes the microphone from Jude once again and plays havoc in the studio, reading Lennon's original poetry/prose and quipping his way through another fun episode. Don't miss this one!

Energetic teen Dave Morrell met John Lennon via a radio show call-in, and the later they reconnected via Dave's extensive Beatles collection! When John gave Dave his very own "Butcher Cover" LP, the two became fast friends. Dave even became a staple in the Apple studios! These adventures and more are chronicled in Dave's new book, Horsedoggin', Vol. 1. Tonight Jude Southerland Kessler, author of The John Lennon Series, will interview Dave about his escapades with John Lennon. You'll also get a preview of Dave's upcoming volumes of Horsedoggin' and find out the meaning of this unusual title!  

A Pennsylvania institution, Beatledd has hosted the Beatledd Fab Four Hour from WRKC in Wilkes-Barre, PA for lo these many years! (We'll ask him how many!) And he's interviewed everyone in The Beatles's world including May Pang, Sid Bernstein, Gary Van Scyoc, Julia Baird and so many more!!! Ed's also talked with the great stars of the 1960's: Henry Winkler and Sally Kellerman. AND he's been instrumental in getting Beatles authors' books into the hands of readers...which we soooo appreciate!!! He's helped Dave Bedford of Liddypool, Lanea Stagg of Recipe Records, Judith Kristen of Once Upon a Time in Liverpool and me! We love Ed Raineri and you will, too. Call in to ask him your questions! He's a GREAT guy! 

John Lennon was never happy with his voice. He was constantly beggin George Martin to double track it or work wonders with it. And George accomadated him. But once John became a solo musician, he found new ways to "work magic" in his songs. He began to turn to catch phrases and tricky patterns of rhythm to hook the listener. We call these "ear worms." They're the lines in a song that you can't quite get out of your head, even when the song is long over. Tonight, join Jude and her very special guest, Dr. Kit O'Toole (Contributing Editor of BeatleFan Magazine and author of two upcoming books in 2015) as they discuss the gimmicks and techniques John Lennon used to make his songs so memorable! From "Power to the People" to "John Sinclair," we'll examine his most popular, clever, and contagious ear worms.

Boston's favorite son and radio personality, the one and only ChaChi Loprete joins Jude tonight to share wonderful memories from his many years as host of Breakfast with The Beatles! Having interviewed both Ringo and Paul and almost everyone in The Beatles' world, Cha Chi will share some of the highlights of his best, most interesting, and craziest radio shows!  

Tonight meet the creative genius behind The Fifth Beatle, the new graphic novel on the life of Brian Epstein. Winning award after award, this artistic rendering of the "life of Brian" is flying off the shelves because it's quick to read, lovely to look at, and a wonderful work of art to collect. Join me as we talk about the line Tiwary draws between fact and fiction...and as we discuss elements of the book that stray from the historical time line. You'll be able to call in and sing this author's praises...and ask him your questions! I'll be taking calls around 8:15 pm CT.

Author and musician, Anthony Robustelli takes Jude (and you!) "behind the scenes" of EVERY single Beatles song (both original numbers and cover tunes) performed on LP by the lads in 1962-1963. Giving us all the scoop about each track (in terms that anyone can understand and appreciate), Robustelli (who once opened for Paul McCartney and recorded with Julian Lennon!!!!) offers a new understanding of old favs. Hear "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" and "Little Child" like you've never heard them before. Discover the depths of John's talent with the harp and harmonica. Discuss George Harrison's ability on lead guitar. All this and more tonight. CALL in at 646-668-2641 to talk with Anthony about his new book I Want to Tell You: The Definitive Guide to the Music of The Beatles and to talk about any song from 1962-63!

Three of the stars of the L.A. Fest for Beatles Fans (coming up Oct. 10-12 at the LAX Marriott) will pop in to share exciting details of the upcoming event!! First, fun and joyous author Dee Elias will phone in LIVE FROM HER BOOK SIGNING to give us the scoop on her true story in Confessions on a Beatlemaniac! (Good Stuff!!!) Then the distinguished Candy Leonard will drop in to chat about her book, Beatleness, and she'll preview her presentations for the Fest. Finally, (drum rolllllllllllllllll.....) the one and only Mr. Mark Lapidos, Founder of the Fest for Beatles Fans,  will be on hand for a half hour to share SECRETS: why he's going back to L.A. after a 9-year absence, what special guests will be at the L.A. Fest that didn't participate in New York or Chicago, and what suprises are in store for us all! Woooohooo! To ask Mark your question, ring him up at 646-668-2641. In addition, I'm going to give you a sneak peek of the 3 presentations I'll be giving at the fest...shhhhhh! Don't tell!  

Beginning on 19 August, 1964, journalist Ivor Davis set off on a whirlwind trip with four boys from Liverpool and their brilliant manager, Brian Epstein. An integral part of The Beatles' American Tour, Davis experienced the good, the bad, and the lovely...and he's here this Thursday night at 9pm ET (8pm CT) to tell us all about it. In the last few weeks, I've dominated the conversation, asking most of the questions. But tonight YOU are the DJ! We will take your questions about what it was like to travel with John, Paul, George, and Ringo on that "eye of the hurricane" Beatlemania crazed tour that began in San Francisco and ended in history. We'll also be chatting with Ivor about his new book The Beatles and Me On Tour and about his upcoming appearance at The Los Angeles Fest for Beatles Fans.

One of the newest Beatles Fests, Beatles at the Ridge has won award after award and was proclaimed by USA TODAY to be "one of the top 10 BEST places in the world to learn about The Beatles!" This two-day Fest is this weekend, Sept. 19 and 20, in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. Tonight, Jude will interview the creator of the fest, Charles Snapp. You'll learn why the fest began, what it is all about, and what entertainment/education/fun Charles has planned for visitors this weekend. You'll also hear from Carrie Mae Snapp who met the Beatles when they came to Walnut Ridge in 1964! Her story is so wonderful!!!! You won't want to miss this! Beatles at the Ridge Fest features tons of live music, great food and games for kids, and an Authors & Artists Symposium with seminars all day on Saturday. The cost? FREE. Find out more tonight on this fun and lively interview.

Tonight meet every single author and artist who'll be participating in Beatles at The Ridge, Sept. 19-20 in Walnut Ridge, AR! Jude will interview the Authors: Lanea Stagg with her 3-book Recipe Records Series; Chuck Gunderson, author of the two-volume work, Some Fun Tonight; Anthony Robustelli, radio personality for BeatleARama Radio and author of I Want to Tell You: The Definitive Guide to the Music of The Beatles; Dr. Kit O'Toole, Contributing Editor of BeatleFan magazine and author of two new books in 2015 (one about The Beatles and one about Michael Jackson), and Dr. Kenneth Womack, author of The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four! AND...she'll also interview the ARTISTS: Rande Kessler whose cover of She Loves You for The John Lennon Series and his "Doors of Liverpool" art poster has received acclaim, and Enoch Doyle Jeter, whose 14 original lithographs (featured inShe Loves You) depicting the songs on With the Beatles has been the subject of shows all over the U.S. since February! Jude will also chat with Ken Orth whose "Meet the Beatles Look-Alikes" collection will be featured at the Fest. Can she possibly do this???? Wow! Join us and find out!

Jude interviews Dr. Kit O'Toole, Contributing Editor of BeatleFan magazine about her upcoming presentation at Beatles At The Ridge Fest, 19-20 September in Walnut Ridge, AR. Kit will be talking on Saturday (20 Sept) at the Fest about "The 10 Beatles' Musical Sounds that Changed the World." Tonight, she will give us sounds 11-15!! And no, it's not the opening chord of "Help" or the feedback at the beginning of "I Feel Fine." What, then, do you think it might be? Tune In (in homage to Mr. L) and find out! Kit is brilliant! One of our fav guests!