John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon (October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980), rose to fame as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the legendary 1960s rock group, The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist and author. His first marriage was to his teenage sweetheart, Cynthia Powell, but he later left her for the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. He had always disliked his middle name and soon after his second marriage changed it to Ono. (His mother had named him after Winston Churchill.)
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2 Beatles career 3 Solo career 4 Assassination and memorial 5 Biographies and Books 6 Discography 7 External Links |
Early life
John Lennon's childhood years were struck with tragedy. He lived with his parents in Liverpool until his father, Fred Lennon, walked out on the family. His mother, Julia, then decided that she was unable to care for John as well as she should and so gave him to her sister, Mimi, who resided nearby at 251 Menlove Avenue. Although John lived apart from his mother he still kept in contact with her through regular visits, and during this time she was responsible for introducing her son to a lifelong interest in music by teaching him how to play the banjo. John's life was to change dramatically soon after his 16th birthday when his mother was killed after she was struck by a car which was being driven by a drunken off-duty police officer. (The young Lennon unfortunately witnessed this event and it had a profound influence on some of his later songs). His Aunt Mimi was able to get him accepted into the Liverpool College of Art by showing them some of his drawings, and it was there that he met his future wife, Cynthia Powell. However, John steadily grew to hate the conformity of art school and like many young men of his age became increasingly interested in Rock 'n' Roll music and American singers like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. Eventually, in the late 1950s, Lennon formed his own skiffle group called The Quarry Men, which later became The Silver Beetles and soon afterwards got shortened to The Beatles.
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John Lennon often spoke his mind. On March 4, 1966, in an interview for the London Evening Standard with Maureen Cleave, he made the following statement:
Beatles career
The statement was part of a two-page interview that went virtually unnoticed in Britain. In July of that year, Lennon's words were reprinted in the United States fan magazine Datebook, leading to a backlash by conservative religious groups mainly in the rural South and Midwest states. Radio stations banned the group's recordings, and their albums and other products were burned and destroyed. Spain and the Vatican denounced Lennon's words, and South Africa banned Beatles music from the radio. On August 11, 1966, Lennon held a press conference in Chicago in order to address the growing furor. He told reporters "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I was not knocking it. I was not saying we are greater or better."
Solo career
Of the four former Beatles, Lennon had perhaps the most varied recording career, often reflecting the vicissitudes of his personality. While he was still a Beatle, Lennon and Ono recorded three albums of experimental and difficult electronic music, Two Virgins, Life With The Lions, and Wedding Album. His first 'solo' album of popular music was Live Peace In Toronto, recorded in 1969 (prior to the breakup of the Beatles) at the Rock 'n' Roll Festival in Toronto with a Plastic Ono Band including Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann. He also recorded three singles in his initial solo phase, the anti-war anthem "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" (about his struggles with heroin) and "Instant Karma".
Following the Beatles' split in 1970, he released the Plastic Ono Band album, a raw, honest record, heavily influenced by Arthur Janov's Primal therapy, which Lennon had undergone previously. This was followed by Imagine , his most successful solo album, which dealt with some of the same themes. The title track is a lovely song which has become an anthem for world harmony, but Lennon himself was later dismissive of it, claiming he had "sugar coated" his message. Certainly there is irony in Lennon, a prodigious shopper, urging his fans to imagine life with "no possessions."
Perhaps in reaction, his next album, Sometime In New York City, was loud, raucous, and explicitly political, with songs about prison riots, racial and sexual relations, the British role in the sectarian troubles in Northern Ireland, and his own problems in obtaining a United States Green Card. Two more albums of personal songs, Mind Games and Walls And Bridges, and one of cover versions of rock and roll songs of his youth, came before 1975 when, following a fourteen-month split from Ono, he retired to concentrate on his family life.
The retirement lasted until 1980, when he and Ono produced Double Fantasy, practically a concept album dealing with their relationship.
Lennon's son with Cynthia, Julian Lennon, enjoys a notable recording career of his own, as does his son with Yoko, Sean Lennon.
Assassination and memorial
On the night of December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot dead by Mark David Chapman, in front of his apartment building, The Dakota, in New York City. Lennon's limousine pulled up to the building at 10:50 p.m. Chapman was standing nearby as Ono and Lennon got out of the car. As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon!" and fired five shots just as Lennon was turning around. Four of the bullets struck Lennon in the back. He yelled "I'm shot, I'm shot," and ran a few steps towards the building before collapsing. Lennon remained conscious as paramedics arrived, but died of cardiac arrest in the hospital after losing most of his blood.
Chapman made no attempt to flee. He paced on the sidewalk reading The Catcher in the Rye until police arrived. He surrendered immediately and told the police he had acted alone.
Millions of Beatles fans had thought of John Lennon almost as a second father, an older brother, or a son. His murder touched off emotional outpourings of grief around the world - some fans reportedly committed suicide upon hearing the news and it ended the hopes of millions that the Beatles would someday reunite and stage one last world tour.
In a vicious kind of irony, the two Beatles most committed to pacifism were both brutally attacked; George Harrison was stabbed by an intruder in his home two decades later.
The Strawberry Fields Memorial was constructed in Central Park, across the street from the Dakota building in memory of Lennon. It has become something of a shrine to Lennon, all the Beatles, and the cultural memory of the 1960s.
In March, 2002, his native city, Liverpool, honoured his memory by renaming their airport "Liverpool John Lennon Airport", and adopting as its motto a line from his song "Imagine", "Above us only sky".
Lennon is included in the top 10 of the 2002 "100 Greatest Britons" poll sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public. The BBC History Magazine comments: "Generational influence is immense".
Biographies and Books
Numerous biographies of John Lennon have been published. Notable among these are The Lives of John Lennon by Albert Goldman and Lennon:The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman.
John Lennon wrote two books himself: A Spaniard in the Works, and John Lennon: In his own write.
Discography
External Links
