Prompt: This week’s contest answer is a song sung by John Lennon.
Answer: LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS
Correct entries: 725

40th anniversary of John Lennon’s tragic death last week. Which song of his were we looking for? The grid-spanning 14-letter themers were:

19-A: [American Heart Association recommendations] = LOW SODIUM DIETS
34-A: [Fail to follow through on a promise, e.g.] = LET SOMEONE DOWN
47-A: [Soldier Field and the Shedd Aquarium are on it] = LAKE SHORE DRIVE. Chicago’s great road, which of course hugs Lake Michigan.

Those all have the initials LSD, the drug which may or may not have inspired Lennon’s trippy masterpiece. But wait, there’s more! Note the clue at 61-Across: [___ row (area of this grid that illustrates the song title)] = TOP. And our top row’s trio are:

1-A: [He and Barbra hit #1 with “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”] = NEIL *Diamond*
5-A: [“Chicago” and “Shanghai Noon” actress] = *Lucy* LIU
8-A: [First name of the author of “Guns, Germs and Steel”] = JARED *Diamond*

So you might say that those three populating the top of the grid are also “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” Groan or standing ovation? Groaning ovation? I’ll take it. I listened to two dozen cover versions for this post and this was the best:

LB800 writes:

Thanks for the Lennon tribute today. I was very emotional on the 8th. The shock and sadness are still so fresh 40 years later. I think you are probably too young to remember. When I went on my Beatles Pilgrimage to England last year we started in Liverpool. The first day we went to the Double Fantasy exhibit at the Museum of Liverpool. As we approached the space I could hear Imagine playing and I started crying; impossible to control in that moment. At the back of the area was a wall you couldn’t see at first and when I turned the corner there was a framed picture of him surrounded by thousands of post it notes. It destroyed me. I saw pretty much every Beatles site in Liverpool and London – private tours in both locations as well as The National Trust tour of John and Paul’s childhood homes. They only take 10 at a time. Mind blowing.

And on a happier note, LB800 also sends along some pics from her 2016 trip to Perth, where she saw most of the animals in last week’s grid. That’s her in the red, and I’m sure you can spot the…

KOALA:

KANGAROO:

and WOMBAT:

Sorry Ringo, no dingo! Fun pics, thanks for sending.

THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:

This week’s contest answer is what you’ll be after solving this meta (I hope).