People often ask me what inspired me to be a musician: well, I must honestly saythat the biggest inspiration I ever had was listening to the music of the Immortal Beatles:McCartney's gift for melody, Lennon's wry lyrical wit, George Harrison's mysticism, Ringo's legendary drumming brought together a legacy that will never die. I remember hearing" Got to get you into my life" on an outside radio during a parade when i was a boy and I aked my brother, "Who is THAT?" Lonnie said"The beatles". I replied" Can you please buy me one of their records?" Next thing I know, he comes home with a double album set "The Beatles: Rock and Roll Music". I'm sure that it's out of print now but those records changed my life FOREVER. I would spend hours going over every riff, every vocal line, every song with a fine- tooth comb because I loved the music so much. I admit that Paul has always been my favorite but I have a great fondness for the genius of John Lennon. I wanted to play and sing and write my own material just like he, Paul, and George did. I eventually learned how to play guitar and piano because I wanted to play aalong witht he records. Evn though I had some training with a teacher, I am really mostly self-taught. I loved ohn's post-Beatle work too. Among my faves are "GIve Peace a Chance", "Working Class hero" and of course "Imagine". I still think that "Beautiful Boy", the song he wrote for his son, Sean, is one of the most moving pieces in music about the wonder of childhood. His legacy of songs and activism for peace in the world will never be forgotten and I am sure that he will remain as one of the great immortals of Popular music. Happy Birthday John and THANK YOU for the great music and the inspiration for becoming a musician in the first place.BKT