On March 4, 1966, during a wide-ranging interview by reporter Maureen Cleave for the London Evening Standard , John Lennon made a comment that went virtually unnoticed in England when the story was published by the paper. When the conversation turned to Christianity, Lennon now famously observed that “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink….We’re more popular than Jesus now.” In the context of the conversation, Lennon was clearly discussing waning Christianity during the time period, not their own popularity, per se.
The interview was forgotten until five month later when American teenybopper magazine DATEbook picked it up. In reporting the story, the magazine took the comment out of context and ran with the whittled down headline “We’re more popular than Jesus.” The article never did mention the context of the statement.
Reeling from the Beatlemania phenomenon that had swept through the United States, American conservatives were at a loss as to an effective reaction. They were desperate to undermine what they considered a dangerous threat to American morals and the white picket fences that were built to box people into a ridiculous standard the 1950s had burdened on American culture.
Seizing the opportunity, several disc jockeys in the Bible Belt began an outrage campaign, making a stink over the airwaves and vowing to never play their music again. Soon calls went out by the DJs to bring Beatles albums and paraphernalia to various locations around Birmingham, AL for a good old fashioned holy smokes bonfire.
The story gained traction, particularly in the South and when news of these incidents reached the Beatles, their manager Brian Epstein considered cancelling an upcoming tour of the States. Instead they chose to do some damage control. When they arrived in the US, Lennon apologized for the comment saying during an interview in Chicago “I’m not anti-God, anti-Christ or anti-religion. I was not saying we are greater or better. I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I’m sorry I said it, really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. From what I’ve read, or observed, Christianity just seems to be shrinking, to be losing contact.”
Although it did go some ways towards ameliorating the media, the tour was met with protests and demonstrations, including one organized by the KKK. The controversy eventually died down and the group went on to record one of the most successful albums of their career, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Now on to TOPS! (which is more popular than the Flying Spaghetti Monster)
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Top Comments March 4, 2016:
From northleft:
In Barbara Morrill’s diary Republican debate live thread last night, konving had a hilarious humdinger about Mexico deciding to pay for Trump's wall.
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From Eyesbright:
From our very own Tara the Antisocial Social Worker I’m submitting this marvelous comment found in Hunter’s diary Texas Republicans find craziest person in state, want to put her in charge of school textbooks.
Top Mojo March 3, 2016, courtesy of mik:
Top Pictures February 9, 2016, courtesy of jotter: