John Lennon says "More popular than Jesus." (March 4th, 1966)
Lennon, while being interviewed for the London Evening Standard by a friend made a flippant comment that would eventually become one of his most unforgettable:
"Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink.... I don't know what will go first, rock 'n' roll or Christianity. We're more popular than Jesus now. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
Despite its inflammatory nature, the piece ran to little fanfare until five months later when an American teen rag caught wind of the remarks and put part of it on the cover of its current issue.
A firestorm of protest erupted across the American South and Midwest and conservative groups staged public burnings of Beatles records and memorabilia.
In a fitting response to the inane outcry, the Beatles allegedly retorted, "They've got to buy them first before they burn 'em."
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