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Rock's Unexplored Stage Pose: Haughty, Defiant Gum-Chewing!
While watching the video that kicks off our recent Amon Düül thread, I noticed singer/guitarist Johanes Weinzirl furiously chewing gum in a haughty, defiant manner reminiscent of this guy:
About 20 seconds into the intro for "All You Need Is Love" you first see John Lennon working his gum into shape. From that point on Lennon's gum chewing becomes as important to this live performance as his specs, his headphone adjustments, and his omniscient head nods.
Don't think The Rutles didn't pay attention to this detail.
Follow up:
What's interesting in that "All You Need Is Love" clip is how Paul McCartney, who shows no signs of gum chewing in the first 1:44 of this clip* seems to be working his own stick of gum at the end of the chorus, coming out of a segment where he mimics a horn line, right at the 1:45 mark. Is he really chewing gum at this point in the song, or is he threatened by the power of Lennon's haughty, defiant gum chewing? Competition played a large role in the band leaders' legendary dynamic. At 2:17, Paul's clearly acting as if he's chewing gum, but with the camera pointing right into his mouth, there's no sign of actual gum. I've watched this 2-second stretch at least a dozen times, frame by frame and magnifying the shadowed view inside his mouth, and I don't see a snatch of pink stuff in there. As the song enters its grand finale chorus, Paul's "chewing" up a storm. However, for all the effort he puts into his mock gum chewing, McCartney never finishes the move by slightly throwing his head back and looking down his nose at his adoring audience. George Harrison and Ringo Starr, always true to themselves, do not attempt to follow Lennon's lead.
The haughty, defiant gum chewing of Lennon would mark his rare '70s public performances.
Along with watching other clips from this Madison Square Garden performance I was watching clips of his appearances on the Mike Douglas Show. I'm sure you've seen him play a "Memphis" with Chuck Berry. Then I went back and watched Lennon singing the Berry-influenced "Come Together" at this MSG show, and it occurred to me: the steady phrasing of Chuck Berry's music perfectly supports gum chewing! This may explain something about why John identified so strongly with Berry's music.
I don't know how you feel about haughty, defiant gum-chewing as a stage device. I think it's great, but as the master proves, when a song requires a little humility, John keeps his head down. Check out the stretch from 2:17 through 2:25, when he's clearly forcing his chin down, to avoid the cockiness that usually serves him so well. Despite his restraint, there's no way to imagine this performance without the rapid bursts of gum chewing.
A few other thoughts come to mind:
- Are there other singers beside Lennon and the Amon Düül guy who have struck this pose effectively?
- Have you ever tried chewing gum on stage?
- How much of the gum-chewing thing is tied into calming the nerves from the speed or coke the singer took before taking the stage? What other benefits could gum chewing while singing provide?
- Has anyone ever blown a bubble while singing?
I look forward to your thoughts.
*Alexmagic, using superior digital technology, disputes this claim.
8 comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxcHxdVje0g
Watch again at the one minute mark as the camera pans out from John, bringing Paul – not singing in this segment – clearly doing something that resembles the chewing of gum. He could be counting off a beat here, I suppose, but at 1:07, before he begins to sing again, there is what can only be a definite chewing motion as he readjusts the gum so it won’t come flying out.
I hold that there is more than enough visual evidence that both Lennon and McCartney begin the performance with gum in a coordinated move. Perhaps Harrison asked if he could also have some gum, but was told that there were only two sticks available and they would find some gum for him to chew later. In any case, while Lennon is clearly the band’s master gum-chewer and is far more advanced at gum than any of his bandmates would become, I offer the possibility that McCartney is, in fact, Chewing Rhythm during this performance.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hfPgj4bviKY
And I also believe that many of these instances are gum-free! They're just zooming along chewing nothing, or their tongues, cheeks, imaginary cud, whatever. Lennon, in particular, looks like he's speeding his head off. And with that association, even if completely erroneous, no one ever looks cool being mastered by their drug.
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