Get ready to hear a side of John Lennon you may have never heard before — the quietly envious one. According to longtime Lennon confidant Elliot Mintz, the former Beatle was “insanely jealous” of Paul McCartney’s stadium-filling success with Wings during the 1970s, even while taking a break from the limelight to raise his son Sean.

In a recent appearance on Billy Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast, Mintz pulled back the curtain on Lennon’s true feelings. Despite always speaking with affection about Paul, Lennon couldn’t help but feel overshadowed by his former bandmate’s chart-topping run. “He was jealous of the amount of attention and accolades,” Mintz revealed. “But have you heard ‘Silly Love Songs’?” Lennon would jab when reminded that he wasn’t recording or touring himself.
One moment in 1978 stands out. Paul and Linda McCartney visited John and Yoko in their New York apartment for Christmas. When Paul said, “I make music every day of my life,” Mintz couldn’t help but imagine a different outcome. “What if John had said, ‘Let’s jam a bit’? They could’ve changed the face of contemporary music — again.”
It’s one of those great what-ifs in rock history — a missed moment between two icons whose creative chemistry shaped a generation. 🎶
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