As the European editor of Rolling Stone, Jonathan Cott spent his time interviewing legendary musicians like Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend. But in 1968, he finally got the opportunity to meet his hero, John Lennon. Cott was nervous.
"He said, 'There's nothing to be nervous about,'" Cott recalls. "'It's going to be OK, and we're doing it together, and that's what really matters.'"
Cott forged a working relationship and friendship with Lennon, and with Yoko Ono, that would span more than two decades. He sat in on recording sessions for The Beatles' White Album, and was the last journalist to interview Lennon — just three days before Lennon died.
Cott's new book, Days That I'll Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, chronicles his years in the couple's company. He spoke with NPR's Jacki Lyden about being in the studio with The Beatles and the depth of Lennon and Ono's relationship.