John Lennon

Robert Hilburn was pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times for 35 years, from the psychedelic era to the emergence of the iPod. He witnessed many of rock 'n' roll's seminal moments and interviewed virtually every major pop figure of the period. All of this is chronicled in his memoir, "Corn Flakes with John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock 'n' Roll Life)," to be published this month. In this abridged excerpt, Hilburn (below left with Lennon in 1980) explores his relationship with Lennon after the Beatles' breakup and explains the book's title.

Hilburn, former pop music critic for the Los Angeles Times, is author of "Corn Flakes With John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock 'n' Roll Life)." An excerpt in Sunday Calendar recalled his relationship with Lennon after the Beatles' breakup. In today's abridged excerpt, he writes about Lennon's murder. -- In 1980, after 10 years at The Times, I was at a crossroads in my personal life. I loved my family, but I was also so obsessive about my work that I found myself devoting more and more time to it. I wanted to be everywhere there was a good story, and that meant I had to choose between that and being with the family on important days.

They were childhood chums. Then they drifted apart, lost touch completely, and only renewed their friendship decades later, when illness struck. Not so unusual, really. Except she is Lucy Vodden -- the girl who was the inspiration for the Beatles' 1967 classic "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" -- and he is Julian Lennon, the musician son of John Lennon.

Lucy Vodden, who provided the inspiration for the Beatles' classic song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," has died after a long battle with lupus. She was 46. Her death was announced Monday by St. Thomas' Hospital in London, where she had been treated for the chronic disease for more than five years, and by her husband, Ross Vodden. Britain's Press Association said she died Sept. 22. Hospital officials said they could not confirm the day of her death. Vodden's connection to the Beatles dates to her early days, when she made friends with schoolmate Julian Lennon, John Lennon's son. Julian Lennon, then 4 years old, came home from school with a drawing one day, showed it to his father, and said it was "Lucy in the sky with diamonds."

Seeking something fresh and exciting to complement its upcoming induction ceremony, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has gotten its fondest wish: the cooperation of 1999 inductee Bruce Springsteen in launching a new exhibit solely dedicated to the Boss. The hall on Friday announced plans to open the exhibit "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen" on April 1, three days before the hall holds its induction ceremonies in Cleveland. Featuring various memorabilia from Springsteen, the exhibit is expected to run through the spring of 2010.

Paul McCartney topped the star-studded turnout Tuesday in Hollywood for the unveiling of a Walk of Fame star for his former Fab Four bandmate George Harrison at a ceremony that also drew such celebrity friends and admirers as Tom Hanks, Tom Petty, Eric Idle, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, T Bone Burnett and Harrison's widow, Olivia, and their son, Dhani. "Hare Krishna" was all Dhani Harrison had to say following alternately touching and humorous tributes from his mother, Idle and Hanks as well as L.A. City Councilman Tom LeBonge.

A new John Lennon exhibit is particularly emotional for his widow, Yoko Ono. Besides Lennon's guitars, letters and other personal effects, it also includes a paper bag containing the bloody clothes from the night he was shot to death. Ono received the items from the medical examiner in December 1980, when the former Beatle was gunned down in New York City at age 40. "It was hard to include," Ono said. "And I thought it might be criticized as well." But ultimately, Ono thought it was important to let people see the effects of gun violence.

Yoko Ono is the rightful copyright holder of rare, intimate footage showing John Lennon and his family in London in 1970, a federal judge in Boston has ruled. U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel last week refused to reinstate a copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by a Lawrence, Mass.-based company against Lennon's widow and the broker who sold her the tapes. The 10 hours of footage was shot at Lennon's England estate in February 1970 -- before the Beatles broke up. It shows Lennon smoking marijuana and joking about putting LSD in President Nixon's tea.

Many people who were not born when the Beatles broke up are excited about a new video game that features their music. ("Meet (and Be) the Beatles," Aug. 30.) I was in high school when the band ruled the airwaves, and as a loyal Beatlemaniac, I studied my share of backward lyrics. But I eventually began to see the limitations of the band's message and members. Someone once said that "the Beatles were just a band that made it very, very big." His name was John Lennon. The band's outspoken leader also cautioned people to enjoy their music but not to appreciate it for more than it actually had to offer.

Former Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn writes in his new book "Corn Flakes With John Lennon (and Other Tales From a Rock 'n' Roll Life)" that after John Lennon's death in 1980, he focused on artists who carried on in Lennon's tradition, including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Kurt Cobain. But in the second half of the decade, the music began to drift and widespread piracy threatened to throw the recording industry into collapse. Looking for some answers about the future of rock, Hilburn sat down with Bono, a visionary from one generation, and Jack White, the most captivating musician from a newer generation.