On March 1, 1975, John Lennon and Paul Simon appeared together at the 17th Annual Grammy Awards, presenting the award for Record of the Year for 1974. Olivia Newton-John, who was not present at the awards, would win the Grammy with producer John Farrar for “I Honestly Love You.” But it was the presentation banter between the two legends that seems most significant today. Joined at various points by Andy Williams and Art Garfunkel, the appearances and the jokes seem like a condensed snapshot of 1975 pop culture.
The four men were connected in a number of ways leading up to this encounter.
Andy Williams and His Connection to John Lennon
First, there is Lennon and Simon (perhaps both drunk?) trading jokes with crooner Andy Williams. While Williams may be less known today, if you were around in the 1970s, you knew him. He was well known for his recordings, The Andy Williams Show, “Moon River,” and his Christmas songs and TV specials. He also hosted the Grammy’s that year and in fact every year between 1971 and 1977.
Viewers would not only know Williams but would know that his former partner “Claudine” referred to in the somewhat risqué banter was his newly ex-wife Claudine Longet. Audience members probably also caught that the “three hits” he referred to from their partnership was their three children.
Although later in life Williams explained that he was a Republican, he also had been friends with the Kennedys. And he also was outspoken against the Nixon Administration’s efforts in the 1970s to deport John Lennon. So, the affection you see between Lennon and Williams is likely genuine.
John Lennon in Early 1975
As for Lennon, in early 1975, he was coming off his famous “Lost Weekend” period and separation from Yoko Ono that lasted from 1973 until early 1975. He was having some success working with other artists (Elton John and David Bowie).
Also, later in 1975 Lennon would release Rock ‘n’ Roll, his last album before his 1980 return with Double Fantasy. A the time of the Grammy’s, Yoko was pregnant. As later in the year on October 9, 1975, John’s 35th birthday, Yoko Ono gave birth to their son Sean Ono Lennon.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in 1975
Simon of course was connected to Art Garfunkel, who appears near the end of the clip. But he also had some mixed experience with Lennon. Simon and Garfunkel had broken up their partnership years earlier. Hence, the joking about whether they would reunite or whether Lennon would reunite (a reference to the 1970’s often-discussed rumors about the Beatles getting back together).
But in 1975 Simon and Garfunkel were doing some work together, although one might detect some tension in the onstage joking. Apparently, not long before this appearance, Simon and Garfunkel had reconciled to some extent when they visited John Lennon and Harry Nilsson during a recording session in 1974.
Simon and Lennon’s Relationship
Apparently, Simon and Lennon had some sort of disagreement during that Harry Nilsson recording session. According to different reports, either Simon walked out or Nilsson threw out both Simon and a drunk Lennon. Lennon also apparently called Simon some names at the time.
But as you see in the exchange, Lennon and Simon seem to have gotten over that riff. And after John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980, Simon referenced his sadness about the death in “The Late Great Johnny Ace,” a song regarding blues singer Johnny Ace who had died in 1954. “On a cold December evening/ I was walking through the Christmas tide/ When a stranger came up and asked me/ If I’d heard John Lennon had died/ And the two of us/ Went to this bar/ And we stayed to close the place/ And every song we played/ Was for the Late Great Johnny Ace.”
Before that tragedy, though, back in 1975 for one evening, the four talented artists came together for some fun.
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, which features guitar and keyboards from Jimmy Vivino of Conan O’Brien’s show, is available starting February 12, 2016.