Join the ‘Revolution'

By Kathleen Barran / The Citizen

Friday, February 8, 2008 11:36 PM EST

Professor Terry Hamblin will explore the Beatles' impact on and reflection of life in the '60s at the Cayuga Museum of History and Art this weekend.
Titled, “You Say You Want a Revolution,” a lyric from 1968 Beatles' tune “Revolution,” Hamblin's lecture includes a mutlimedia presentation highlighting the quartet's impact on political, cultural, and social issues of that era, beginning with the release “Rubber Soul” in 1965.

Hamblin chose “Revolution” as his theme because he believes the Beatles created a revolution on a number of levels. He shows a video of the Beatles' first arrival in the United States and says just looking at how they contrast visually with the Americans covering them in the news creates a look of the triumph of youth in the '60s.

Biographical backgrounds of each Beatle and their early musical stylings are included in the power point presentation.

Hamblin addresses John Lennon's music and lyrics, calling it a “hybrid of all the styles in the era: rock, rhythm and blues, folk music, British skiffle, and country music.” Lennon wanted “Revolution” released as a single, Hamlin said, but Paul McCartney thought it wouldn't sell so it was on the B-side of “Hey, Jude.”

“It really was Lennon who was the main force behind the group,” Hamblin said.

“Imagine,” Lennon's last song, is an expression of his utopian vision.

“Is Lennon's desire for a world based on peace and love achievable, or is it just a utopian vison?” Hamblin will ask his audience to ponder this basic question.

“Lennon was conflicted because, while some of his work was utopian, he wasn't ready to give up the trappings,” Hamblin said. “His legacy is being inspirational.”

Later issues addressed in Beatles' music include the Vietnam War, the Summer of Love, and student protests in the '60s.

Dr. Hamblin will explore the music and lyrics of the Beatles and examine their relationship to the political and social turmoil of the 1960s.

The question and answer portion of Hamblin's presentation is fun for Hamblin because he says most of his audience includes people who were young in the '60s, many of whom share their own stories about the Beatles. A few have had personal contact with the performers.

“Lennon is a hero to me because he stood for a cause that people believed in,” Hamlin said. “I wanted to examine the culture and politics of the '60s.”

A continuing high interest in the Beatles is evident from the large number of hits on Hamblin's Web site since he began that lecture series.

He has a Ph.D. in United States History from Stony Brook University and teaches history and economics at SUNY Delhi.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net

If you go

What: “You Say You Want a Revolution?”

When: 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9

Where: Cayuga Museum of History and Art, 203 Genesee St., Auburn

Cost: Free

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