Shelly Goldstein, chanteuse and Beatles historian extraordinaire, writes to correct the story I alluded to of John Lennon getting thrown out of a Smothers Brothers performance…
You must check with me on your John Lennon arcana.
At the famous Troubadour incident (during the "Lost Weekend" of Lennon's life in late '73 til early '75 when he and Yoko separated and he lived with May Pang) Lennon was never "thrown out" of the place. He was drinking his beverage of choice at the time, Brandy Alexanders, which tasted like milkshakes to him, but packed a dangerous punch. It was a big important show for the brothers and by time they hit the stage, Lennon was shitfaced. He was with Pang and, I believe Harry Nilsson, no slouch himself in the carousing depatment.
Lennon heckled during the show; not to be mean, just because he was so wasted. At one point he went into the women's loo (toilet in 'Murrican) and came out with a kotex pad on his head. These things happen to rock stars on a bender.
The waitress tried to get him to quiet down so the Bros Smos could get through their now chaotic show. Lennon looked shocked at her reprimand and said, "Do you know who I am?"
She replied, "You're an asshole with a Kotex on your head."
Lennon later felt horrible about the whole thing, sent a massive apology to Dick and Tom, which I don't believe was ever accepted. It was a horrible, embarrassing night that Lennon felt awful to have caused. But he was never thrown out.
Well, he should have been. Actually, following our trend here of fact-checking anecdotes — or at least seeing how many different versions there are out there, I just did an Internet search for various permutations of the words, "Lennon," "Troubador," "Smothers" and "Kotex" and found a wide array of reports: Lennon was tossed out, he wasn't tossed out, it happened there, it happened at another restaurant after they left the Troubador…one even said it was a Tampax, not a Kotex. I, of course, believe Shelly. But it's amazing how many different ways this story is told.