Back in 1982, I asked the great pop song writer Marshall Crenshaw about how he enjoyed portraying John Lennon in the traveling production of "Beatlemania". His reply, and I paraphrase, was that if you can't play your own songs, you could do worse than the great Beatle.
One of Crenshaw's biggest secrets is that he is something of an American Lennon: for all his gentleness to women, there is an acidic edge to him. A restrained disdain for so many things, and it shows, it shows in concert for sure, and, I met him a number of times in the 80s, so it isn't an offshoot of chasing a popular success that is his right and which he never quite reached.
Rather, not unlike Lennon, he can be a pain in the neck.. And why shouldn't he?
For all of us who never got to see Crenshaw Is Lennon, we will get another chance. Marshall along with "Paul McCartney" Glen Burtnik and "Ringo Starr" Liberty Devito will be doing what the Beatles didn't manage… REUNITING for a gig at BB King's on Friday January 4th… And remember how you get all depressed after the holiday season is over, well, now you won't!!!
Here is the bio off BB King's plus a video of Marshall singing Lennon with Glen.
"Marshall Crenshaw has built up an impressive body of work over the course of his career, exhibiting fine craftsmanship in everything he's approached while always following his own singular muse. Currently the Golden Globe and Grammy-nominated songwriter is engaged in what he calls an "unorthodox recording project" – a subscription series involving vinyl and downloads. He can also be heard every Saturday night at 10PM as host of The Bottomless Pit on WFUV.