John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, later John Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was best known as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist for The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist, actor, and author. As half of the legendary Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, he heavily influenced the development of rock music, leading it towards more serious and political messages. He is recognized as one of the musical icons of the century, and his songs (such as "Imagine" and "Strawberry Fields Forever") are frequently ranked among the best songs of the 20th century. In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time. The British public voted Lennon into 8th place.

Early years

John Winston Lennon was born on the evening of 9 October, 1940. Both of his parents had musical background and experience, though neither pursued it seriously. Lennon lived with his parents in Liverpool until his father Fred Lennon, a merchant seaman, walked out on the family. His mother, Julia, then decided that she was unable to care for John and so gave him to her sister Mimi. Lennon lived with Mimi at Mendips throughout his childhood and adolescence.

Around adolescence, Lennon developed severe myopia and was obliged to wear glasses in order to see clearly. During his early Beatle career, Lennon wore contacts or prescription sunglasses, but later donned his trademark, round "granny-glasses" in late 1966. Although John lived apart from his mother he still kept in contact with her through regular visits, and during this time Julia was responsible for introducing her son to a lifelong interest in music by teaching him how to play the banjo. On July 15th, 1958 – when John was 17 – his mother was killed after she was struck by a car driven by a drunken off-duty police officer. This event influenced many of his later songs, and was also one of the factors that cemented his friendship with Paul McCartney, who had lost his own mother to breast cancer at the age of 14 in 1956. Later, in 1968, Lennon wrote songs entitled "Julia", "My Mummy's Dead" and "Mother" in honour of his mother as well as naming his firstborn son after her.

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 Johnny and the Moondogs, followed by The Silver Beetles (a tribute to Buddy Holly's Crickets) and soon afterwards was shortened to The Beatles.

He married Cynthia in 1962 after she became pregnant with his child, Julian.

Role in the Beatles

As a member of The Beatles, Lennon had a profound influence on rock and roll and in expanding the genre's boundaries during the 1960s. He is widely considered, along with fellow-writing partner Paul McCartney, as one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians of the 20th century. Of the two, Lennon is generally viewed as the better lyricist, while McCartney is seen as the more accomplished composer. Though overly simplistic, this assessment does have some merit. Many of the songs credited to Lennon-McCartney, but actually written by Lennon, are more developed, introspective pieces — often in the first person — and deal with more personal issues. Lennon's songs are also often the more lyrical, due to his love of word play, double meaning, and strange words. His most surreal pieces of songwriting, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I Am the Walrus", are fine examples of his unique style. Lennon's partnership in songwriting with McCartney many times involved him in complementing and counterbalancing McCartney's upbeat, positive outlook with the other side of the coin, as one of their songs, "Getting Better" demonstrates:

McCartney: I have to admit it's gettin' better, just a little better all the time.

Lennon: It couldn't get much worse!

John Lennon often spoke his mind freely and the press was used to querrying him on a wide range of subjects. On March 4, 1966, in an interview for the London Evening Standard with Maureen Cleave who was a friend of his, the subject of religion came up. Lennon made an off the cuff remark about how religion was becoming less of a factor in the lives of young people. The article was printed and nothing came of it, until five months later when a Teen magazine reprinted the words "I don't know what will go first — Rock and Roll or Christianity" right on the front cover, completely out of context.

A firestorm of protests swelled from the southern US as conservative religious groups throughout the bible belt organised public beatles protests where records and memorabilia would be thrown into large bonfires. Radio stations banned beatles music and concert venues cancelled performances. Even the Vatican got involved with a public denouncement of Lennon's comments. On August 11, 1966, the Beatles held a press conference in Chicago in order to address the growing furor.

"John: "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. but I just happened to be talking to a friend and I used the words "Beatles" as a remote thing, not as what I think – as Beatles, as those other Beatles like other people see us. I just said "they" are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way which is the wrong way."

"Reporter: "Some teenagers have repeated your statements – "I like the Beatles more than Jesus Christ." What do you think about that?"

"John: "Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."

"Reporter: "But are you prepared to apologize?"

"John (thinking that he just had): "I wasn't saying whatever they're saying I was saying. I'm sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologize if that will make you happy. I still don't know quite what I've done. I've tried to tell you what I did do but if you want me to apologize, if that will make you happy, then OK, I'm sorry."

The Vatican accepted his apology. and the furor eventually died down, but constant Beatlemania, mobs, crazed teenagers, and now a press ready to tear them to pieces over any out of context quote was too much to handle. The Beatles soon decided to stop touring, and indeed, other than the famous "Rooftop Performance" never performed live again. From this point onward the beatles were a studio band {perhaps the first ever}, allowing Lennon and the rest of the Beatles to fully explore their artistic heights in a way they never could before. Free from the problem of having to only compose music they could recreate live on stage, they were free to explore the technological limits of music and create truly unique and original sounds never attempted before.

On November 9, 1966, after their final tour ended and right after he had wrapped up filming a minor role in the film How I Won The War, Lennon visited an art exhibit of Yoko Ono's at the Indica art gallery in London. Lennon began his love affair with Ono in 1968 after returning from India and revealed the fact to his estranged wife Cynthia. Cynthia Lennon filed for divorce later that year, while Lennon and Ono from then on were inseparable in public and private, as well as during Beatles recording sessions. The press was extremely unkind to Yoko, posting a series of unflattering articles about her, one even going so far as to call her "ugly". This infuriated John, who had a very strong sense of justice and a natural instinct to fight for the oppressed. He rallied around Yoko and began to announce that she was his new partner, that there was no John and Yoko, but that they were one person, JohnAndYoko. These developments led to friction with the other members of the group, and heightened the tension during the 1968 White Album sessions.

Casual folklore has often placed blame on Ono as the major or sole cause of the group's fracture. In reality the four Beatles had been growing apart almost immediately after the death of their manager Brian Epstein in 1967. Brian had been the glue which had held them all together; in his absence (together with the influence of drugs, outside friends, alternate collaborating partners, and marriages/relationships), the Beatles' interpersonal relationships simply disintegrated.

At the end of 1968, Lennon and Ono performed as Dirty Mac on The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus.

During his last two years as member of The Beatles, Lennon spent much of his time with Yoko on public displays protesting the Vietnam War. He sent back the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) he received from Queen Elizabeth II During the height of Beatlemania "in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing and support of America in Vietnam", as well as "'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts". On March 20 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married in Gibraltar, and spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam in a "Bed-In" for peace. John and Yoko followed up their honeymoon with another "Bed-In" for peace this time held in Montreal. During the second "Bed-In" the couple recorded "Give Peace a Chance" which would go on to became an international anthem for the peace movement. They were mainly patronized as a couple of eccentrics by the media yet they did a great deal for the peace movement as well as other pet causes, such as women's liberation and racial harmony. As with the "Bed-In" campaign, John and Yoko usually advocated their causes with whimsical demonstrations, such as Bagism, first introduced during a Vienna press conference. Shortly after, John changed his middle name from Winston to Ono to show his "oneness" with Yoko. Lennon wrote "The Ballad of John and Yoko" about his marriage and the subsequent press it generated.

The failed Get Back/Let It Be recording/filming sessions did nothing to improve relations within the band. After both John and Yoko were injured in the summer of 1969 in a car accident in Scotland, Lennon arranged for Yoko to be constantly with him in the studio (including having a full-sized bed rolled in) as he worked on the The Beatles' last album, Abbey Road. While the group managed to hang together to produce one last superior musical work, soon thereafter business issues related to Apple Corps came between them.

Lennon decided to quit the Beatles but was talked out of saying anything publically. Phil Spector's involvement in trying to revive the Let It Be material then drove a further wedge between Lennon (who supported Spector) and McCartney (who opposed him). Though the split would only become legal some time later, Lennon and McCartney's partnership had come to a bitter and definite end. McCartney soon made a press announcement, declaring he had quit the Beatles, and promoting his new solo record. The Beatles were done.

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, Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No. 2: 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. It remains to this day one of the most brutally personal musical works ever made by anybody. The centerpiece is "God", in which he lists all the things he does not believe in, ending with "Beatles". Lennon continued this effort to demythologise the Beatles with a long, confrontational interview published in Rolling Stone magazine.

This was followed in 1971 by Imagine, his most successful solo album, which alternates in tone between dreaminess and anger. The title track is a lovely song which has become an anthem for world harmony, and was matched in image by Lennon's "white period" (white clothes, white piano, white room ...).

Perhaps in reaction, his next album, Some Time 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. This record is generally seen as the nadir of Lennon's career, full of heavy-handed and simplistic messaging unredeemed by much artistic value. On 30 August 1972 Lennon and his backing Elephant's Memory Band staged two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York; it was to be his last full-length concert appearance. Lennon and Ono also did a week-long guest co-host stint on the Mike Douglas Show, in an appearance that showed Lennon's wit and humour still intact.

Lennon rebounded somewhat in 1973 with Mind Games, which featured a strong title tune and some vague mumblings about a concept called "Nutopia". His most striking song of that year was the wry "I'm the Greatest", which he wrote for Ringo Starr's very successful Ringo album.

During 1974 Lennon's personal life fell into disrepair when Yoko literally kicked John out of the house. A temporary move to Los Angeles started off John's infamous "long weekend", which actually lasted closer to fourteen months and involved nightly drinking binges and many public incidents. During this period Lennon also had an extramarital affair with Ono's former secretary May Pang.

Despite the chaos, Lennon managed to put together a reasonably well-received album, Walls And Bridges, which featured a collaboration with Elton John on the up-tempo number one hit "Whatever Gets You Through the Night". Another top ten hit from the album was the Beatlesque reverie "#9 Dream". Lennon capped the year by making a surprise guest appearance at an Elton John concert in Madison Square Garden where they performed "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Whatever Gets You Through the Night", and "I Saw Her Standing There" together. It was to be his last ever concert appearance.

The following year Lennon released the Rock 'n' Roll album of cover versions of old rock and roll songs of his youth. This project was complicated by Phil Spector's involvement as producer and by several legal battles; the result received generally negative reviews, though it yielded a lauded cover of "Stand By Me" (considered by some as one of the best covers ever). At this point Yoko was pregnant with what would be their first child, and Lennon — saddened by the fact that due to Beatlemania he had never gotten to experience fatherhood with his first son Julian — retired from music and dedicated himself to family life. This was made easier in 1976 when his U.S. immigration status was finally resolved favourably, after a years-long battle started by the Nixon administration that included a politically-motivated FBI investigation involving surveillance, wiretaps, and agents literally following Lennon around as he travelled.

Lennon's retirement lasted until 1980 when John, for the first time in five years, picked up his guitar again. At first only curious to see if he could still write music, he found music rushing to him like a dam breaking. He felt refreshed and full of ideas, completely reinvigorated by the experiences of fatherhood and the long break from the business. On a trip to the islands down in the southern US he wrote an impressive amount of material and began thinking about a new album. For this comeback, he and Ono produced Double Fantasy, a concept album dealing with their relationship. The name came from a flower Lennon saw at an exposition; he liked the name, and thought it was a perfect description of his marraige to Yoko. "(Just Like) Starting Over" began climbing the singles charts.... and a brand new world tour began to be discussed. Lennon also commenced work on Milk and Honey which he would unfortunately, leave unfinished due to his murder It was some time before Ono could bring herself to complete it.

Murder

On the morning of December 8, 1980, in New York City, deranged fan Mark David Chapman met Lennon as he left for the recording studio and got his copy of Double Fantasy autographed. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted the doorman and passers-by.

Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment from recording Ono's single "Walking On Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota. Yoko got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Yoko went in, Lennon got out of the car, and saw Chapman waiting in the shadows. Recognizing him from many hours earlier, Lennon was instantly aware that something was not quite right. He gave Chapman a long, hard stare, but went on through the entrance to the Datoka.

As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out to him, "Mr. Lennon". He then produced a revolver and assumed what witnesses called a "combat stance", firing five shots into Lennon's back and shoulder as he turned around. One of the bullets pierced his aorta, resulting in a mortal wound. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."

Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman waiting calmly outside, reading a copy of JD Salinger's novel, "The Catcher in the Rye". He had dropped his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which had been kicked aside by doorman Jose Perdomo. The doorman screamed at Chapman, "Do you know what you've done?" to which Chapman replied calmly, "I just shot John Lennon."

Unable to wait for an ambulance, two officers transported Lennon to the hospital in the back of their squad car. One of the officers asked Lennon if he knew who he was. Lennon's reply is reported to have been "Yeah", or "I'm John Lennon of the Beatles", or simply a nod of the head before he passed out. Despite extensive resuscitative efforts in the hospital, Lennon had lost over 80% of his blood volume and died of shock. Millions would receive the news that night from Howard Cosell, commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football.

Memorial

A crowd gathered outside the Dakota the night of Lennon's death. Ono sent word that their singing kept her awake and asked that they re-convene in Central Park the following Sunday, for ten minutes of silent prayer (see also the 1980 Central Park Vigil – Tribute to John Lennon). Her request for a silent gathering was honoured all over the world.

A special commemorative issue of Rolling Stone magazine released shortly after the murder featured as its cover a photo taken the morning of the shooting by Annie Leibovitz showing a nude Lennon in an embryonic pose kissing a fully clothed Ono.

The Strawberry Fields Memorial was constructed in Central Park across the street from the Dakota, in memory of Lennon. When George Harrison died in 2001, people congregated on the "Imagine" mosaic circle in Strawberry Fields.

In 1988, Warner Bros. produced a documentary film, Imagine: John Lennon (sanctioned in part by Yoko Ono). The movie was a biography of the former Beatle, featuring interviews, rarely seen musical material, and narration by Lennon himself (formed from interviews and tapes recorded by Lennon). It also introduced "Real Love", one of the last songs composed by Lennon, in an early demo (a later demo would form the basis for the version rehashed by The Beatles for The Beatles Anthology). The following year, at an auction of Beatles memorabilia, Lennon's jukebox was sold at Christie's for 2,500 pounds. The Mellotron that Lennon used to record, amongst other songs, Strawberry Fields Forever, is currently owned by Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails.

Specially selected radio stations aired a syndicated series called The Lost Lennon Tapes in 1990. Hosted by Lennon publicist Elliot Mintz, the show spotlighted raw sessions from throughout Lennon's career with and without The Beatles, including rare material never released to the public. During the America: A Tribute to Heroes concert on September 21, 2001, Neil Young sang "Imagine". An avowed devotee of Lennon, Young's performance is considered one of the highlights of his lengthy career.

In October 2000 John Lennon Museum was opened in Ono's hometown Saitama, Japan to preserve knowledge of his works and career. In March, 2002, his native city, Liverpool, honored 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". In the same year, Lennon was voted 8th by the British public in the "100 Greatest Britons" poll run by the BBC. BBC History Magazine commented that his "generational influence is immense."

In 2004 Madonna paid tribute to Lennon by singing a cover of the song "Imagine" during her anti-war themed "Re-Invention World Tour."

In 2005, a musical titled "Lennon" was shown for the first time in San Fransico. It recevied a very lackluster response from theater critics and Beatles fans alike.

Lennon's son with Cynthia, Julian Lennon, enjoys a notable recording career of his own, as does his son with Yoko, Sean Lennon.

Throughout his solo career, Lennon appeared on his own albums (as well as those of other artists like Elton John) under such pseudonyms as Dr. Winston O'Boogie, Mel Torrment, and The Reverend Fred Gherkin.

Discography

For a detailed discography, see: John Lennon Discography

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 three books himself: A Spaniard in the Works, John Lennon: In his own write, and Skywriting by Word of Mouth. A personal sketchbook with Lennon's familiar cartoons illustrating definitions of Japanese words, Ai, was published posthumously.

Trivia

• Some people believe that Lennon's murder was actually a political assassination, although this idea is often dismissed as a conspiracy theory
  • The Assassination of John Lennon
  • Dead Silence in the Brain
  • Rethinking John Lennon's Assassination — A new book by David Sharp that looks at a different angle of the murder.
• Heavy metal musician Dimebag Darrell was murdered in 2004 on the anniversary of Lennon's death.
• Though Lennon was usually a vocal campaigner for peace, he may have supported the IRA. Records leaked from MI5 and the FBI in 2000 reportedly showed a £175,000 donation to the IRA during the early 1970s. He is known to have identified with and spoken in favour of the Irish civil rights movement, especially during his Some Time In New York City-era fling with radical-militant politics.
• Lennon's friend, musician Klaus Voorman, did the artwork for The Beatles Revolver LP. In addition to performing with Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, Voorman also performed with George Harrison and Manfred Mann.

External links

• Imagine was covered on America: A Tribute to Heroes by Neil Young.
• John Lennon fan site
• The Liverpool Lennons website
• Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide profile on John Lennon
• John Lennon Dreamsite — Celebrates Lennon's ideals of peace, love and freedom. Offers pictures from the Imagine Your Are exhibit at Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome by Fiorella Dorotea Gentile
• FBI file on John Lennon
• Famous quotations by John Lennon