The Band John Lennon Considered the “Sons of the Beatles”

We can’t imagine anyone would turn their nose up at a Beatles comparison. The foursome was, undisputedly, one of the greatest bands of all time. So, if someone were to dub a band as next in line for that formidable throne, one would likely feel flattered. Unfortunately, not many bands earn that honor–even fewer were heralded as such by the Beatles themselves. According to John Lennon, Electric Light Orchestra are the “sons of the Beatles.” Find out why Lennon thought so highly of ELO, below.

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The Band John Lennon Considered the “Sons of the Beatles”

Many bands have taken a page or two from the Beatles’ book. Their influence knows no bounds. While many of those bands have been chalked up to imitation acts, ELO was the real deal–at least by Lennon’s standards.

Before founding ELO, Jeff Lynne bounced around several other bands. One outfit, The Idle Race, was invited to Abbey Road by the Beatles. There, he got to hear the masterful precision of The White Album. The experience was enough to reshape Lynne’s entire musical perspective. Thus, the experimental, futuristic ELO was born.

ELO was founded in 1970, forged from Lynne’s experience with the Beatles. Luckily for Lynne, it wasn’t just he who was fawning over the Fab Four, the Fab Four was fawning over him–particularly Lennon.

It’s not every day that a Beatle presents you as their progeny. Lynne and ELO received the baton from Lennon in the early ’70s. While appearing on a radio show, Lennon decided to send some praise Lynne’s way.

Lennon was particularly fond of “Showdown.” The song is a feat that makes use of the band’s multi-instrumentalism. Lennon thought the song didn’t receive its dues.

“‘Showdown’ I thought was a great record and I was expecting it to be No. 1 but I don’t think UA [United Artists] got their fingers out and pushed it,” Lennon said. “It’s a nice group – I call them ‘sons of Beatles’ – although they’re doing things we never did, obviously. But I remember a statement they made when they first formed was to carry on from where the Beatles left off with ‘Walrus,’ and they certainly did.”

It’s certainly high praise. Check out the song below. Do you think Lennon was right to call ELO the “sons of the Beatles?”

(Photo by Steve Morley/Redferns)