Three days before he was shot, John Lennon talked optimistically about his family and future, saying that he had "plenty of time" to accomplish some of his goals.
Lennon's final interview was released to The Associated Press by Rolling Stone on Wednesday, the 30th anniversary of the musician's death. The issue using the full interview will be on magazine stands Friday. Brief excerpts of Jonathan Cott's interview with Lennon were also released for a 1980 Rolling Stone cover story days after Lennon's death but this is the first time the entire interview has been published.
On his choices:
"I've selected to work with ... only two people: Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono. ... That ain't bad picking."
On critics who compared him unfavorably to Paul McCartney since the breakup of The Beatles.
"These critics with the illusions they've created about artists - it's like idol worship," he said. "They only like people when they're on their way up ... I cannot be on the way up again. What they want is dead heroes, like Sid Vicious and James Dean. I'm not interesting in being a dead (expletive) hero. .. So forget 'em, forget 'em."
An eerie sentence, to be sure. As a dead hero, three days later, Lennon gained recognition and credibility he never had while living.
