Classic Rock Imagines, Short Stories, and One-Shots

A New Kind of Music (1920s Beatles Request)

Knock Knock Knock.

Alice stood up from the couch and walked over to the door. Looking through the window, she could see her best friend, John Lennon, standing outside. Smiling to herself, she opened the door to greet him. 

"Hi, John!"

At the sight of her, John grinned and ran up to her, taking her hands after practically knocking her over.

"Alice! I'm so glad you're home. I need to show you something!"

Alice laughed at his enthusiasm. 

"Alright, just let me grab my shoes," she said, before turning around and grabbing a pair of black flats. Slipping them on her feet, she turned back to John, who grabbed her hand and rushed out of the house and onto the street. 

After running for a few minutes, John finally turned into the driveway of a small cottage, dragging Alice behind him. Throwing open the door to his home, he sat Alice down on a chair and ran over to his record player.

"I got this new record today," he said, putting a record onto the player and placing the needle gently on top of it. "And I need you to listen to it."

Alice nodded and listened intently as a beautiful melody made its way into her ears. It featured a vocalist, with the rhythm being made by a saxophone, a piano, and a few drums.

As the song came to a close, Alice looked back up at John. His face was lit up, and he was swaying back and forth to the dying melody. He looked back at her.

"What did you think?" he asked. Alice nodded in approval.

"It's very nice," she said. "But why did you want me to listen to it so badly?"

"Because I'm going to start a band!" John exclaimed. "A band that plays music exactly like this! A few of my buddies have already joined, but we still can't find a singer."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Alice asked.

"We want you to be the singer," John replied. Alice crossed her arms and looked at him with one eyebrow raised. 

"You want ME. To sing like THAT?" 

"Well, sure! I've heard you sing; you're bloody brilliant!"

Alice smiled at him, pleased with his compliment. 

"So, will you do it?" John asked hopefully. Alice thought it over for a second. Finally, she sighed.

"I suppose I could try," she told him. 

John jumped around the room in delight, thanking her over and over again. 

"You won't regret this," he promised. "Now, come on! We have to practice for our gig next week!"

***

A week later, Alice stood backstage at a small club, waiting to perform with the rest of her band. The other four members soon joined her, their instruments in their hands. John was holding his alto saxophone. He and Paul, the string bass player, looked at each other in excitement. 

"This is it, mates," John said, turning back to the rest of the group.

"Our first gig!" the drummer, Ringo, exclaimed.

"We may never get another chance to do this," the pianist, George, told them.

"Oh, don't be such a Doubting Donna," Paul said. "If we play well, we'll certainly get another gig."

"And we'll definitely do well, since we have Alice," John said, turning to Alice with a smile. 

The other three band members looked at her as well, giving her looks of encouragement. Alice, however, was beginning to grow extremely nervous. John must have noticed, for he put an arm around her shoulders. 

"Don't worry," he said. "You'll do great!"

"But there's so many people," Alice countered. "If I screw up--"

"You won't screw up," John assured her. "Tell you what, you just look at me the whole time. You sing just fine in front of me, don't you?"

Alice nodded in response.

"Then just imagine that I'm the only one listening, okay?"

Alice nodded once again, and then it was time for the group to begin their performance. The band got into their positions, with Alice at the front of the stage. Then, George began the first song with a piano solo. When Alice's cue came along, she took a deep breath and turned to John. Then she began to sing. 

All of me
Why not take all of me
Can't you see
I'm no good without you

Take my lips
I want to lose them
Take my arms
I'll never use them

Your goodbye

Left me with eyes that cry
How can I go on dear without you

You took the part
That once was my heart
So why not take all of me

As John took over with his sax solo, Alice smiled. She found that she enjoyed this "performing" thing. Looking toward the audience, she continued the song.

***

A half an hour later, Alice and the rest of her band exited the stage. The boys all crowded around her, congratulating her on her performance. Alice thanked them, and then went to put her microphone away.  

As she walked back to join the group, Alice felt a hand on her wrist. Turning around, she saw John standing there, looking at her with pride in his eyes. 

"I told you you could do it," he said. Alice smiled at him.

"So you did," she said. "Thank you for having faith in me." She then kissed him on the cheek and walked off to find the other three group members, leaving John standing where she left him, staring after her in disbelief.

________________________

Hello again!

I hope you liked this request! I have never written anything like this, so I hope I did okay!

As always, thank you for reading voting, commenting, and all that jazz! (ha, that's funny... since this story is about jazz... okay, I'll leave now :D)