Anybody Here Seen My Old Friend John?

Less than five years after John F. Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963, the country lost Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy to the bullets of assassins in 1968. Later that year, in tribute to the fallen men, Dion released the song, “Abraham, Martin, and John,” which became a hit in a country in shock and mourning.

The song, written by Dick Holler, has been performed by a number of artists, but nobody has matched Dion’s moving version. In the video below, he performs the song on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. [June 2014

  • RFK (and Aeschylus) on MLK Assassination
  • Lou Reed Inducting Dion Into Rock Hall
  • Song of the Day: Dion’s “Sanctuary”
  • Dion’s Lost “Kickin’ Child” (Album Review)
  • Valentine’s Day and Two Love Lessons
  • Dion: “New York Is My Home”
  • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)