Around 1966, John seemed to start taking life more seriously.
As his lyrics grew more thoughtful and insightful, so did his statements to the press.
Now John was also becoming known as the "controversial Beatle".
By the end of the 1960s, all of The Beatles had come out against the war in VietNam but John
and his new wife Yoko Ono became even more outspoken in the early 1970s and
many conservative men with political power like Richard Nixon and J. Edgar Hoover
saw John Lennon's radical leftist peace activism as a subversive, communist-influenced force.
John and Yoko spoke up for the rights of women, protested the Vietnam War,
called for the release of imprisoned Black Panther Angela Davis and "White Panther" John Sinclair,
and demanded that Britain "leave Ireland for the Irish,"
all on one album alone,
Some Time in New York City!
The fact that Lennon's musical career with The Beatles gave him influence over American youth
concerned many officials in the Nixon White House, since his fame would make him a powerful draw
at politically charged anti-Nixon concerts and rallies before the 1972 election.
Give Peace a Chance and
Imagine became anti-war anthems.
Not surprisingly, the highly paranoid Nixon Administration (working through the FBI)
eventually targeted Lennon for deportation. Determined to remain in the country he had grown to love,
John fought long and hard for permanent residency status.
On July 27, 1976 Judge Ira Fieldsteel officially handed John his "green card".
The U.S. vs John Lennon soundtrack on CD includes 21 of John Lennon's most revolutionary songs including two never-before-released
tracks (a live version of Attica State and an instrumental version of
How Do You Sleep) and extensive liner notes written by Yoko Ono Lennon.