JOHN LENNON: BIOGRAPHY, MUSIC, DEATH - ARTE - 2024

John Lennon (1940 - 1980) was a British musician, composer, artist and actor. He rose to fame for being part of the rock group The Beatles, one of the most influential popular music bands of the 20th century. He served as a rhythm guitarist in The Beatles, a musical group where he was one of the main singers along with Paul McCartney.

After his first attempts at forming a band, he met Paul McCartney, then George Harrison, and finally Ringo Starr. The Liverpool Four, as they were known, had unprecedented worldwide success during the 1960s. However, the group ended its days in 1969. After disintegration, each of the musicians took an independent path.

John Lennon at a press conference, 1964, by Vern Barchard / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Lennon tried to forge a solo career, in addition he became involved with the pacifism of which he became a recognized symbol for his music. He spent the last years of his life dedicated to his family and was assassinated in New York in 1980.

Biography

Early years

John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. His mother was Julia Stanley and his father Alfred Lennon, a merchant sailor who remained an absent figure throughout the boy's life.

In February 1944, Alfred disappeared from his job. At that moment, he stopped sending money to his family for several months. Then he returned, but Julia did not accept him again, since she had already started a relationship with another man from whom she was expecting a daughter.

In the first years of his life Lennon had lived with his mother, but that same year his aunt Mimi Smith reported Julia to Social Services, for neglecting the boy. So John's mother voluntarily awarded custody of the little boy to his sister.

From that moment Lennon went to live with his uncles Mimi and George Smith, who had not had children. They were very interested in providing the youth with a healthy environment for their upbringing to unfold.

Even though he grew up in another home, Lennon and his mother were close.

Musical instinct

John Lennon's mother was one of the main promoters of his love for music. She taught him to play the banjo from an early age and stimulated in the boy the artistic streak that he naturally possessed.

Julia began a relationship with a man named Bobby Dykings and had two daughters with him. On one occasion, Afred Lennon visited her son again, tried to kidnap him and take him to New Zealand, but the boy's mother prevented that from happening.

During John's adolescence, his bond with Julia deepened, especially as she allowed him to express his musical talent, something that was frowned upon by Mimi. In fact, Julia gifted John his first guitar in 1956.

Another of Julia's great contributions to her son's life was showing him the records of Elvis Presley, one of the most revolutionary artists of the time.

John's musical vocation seemed to be innate, since from a young age he managed to play beautiful melodies on a harmonica that was given to him. Mimi considered music a waste of time for John.

One day his aunt pronounced a phrase that became famous, since it marked the singer; He told her that it was all very well that he liked music, but that he could never make a living from it.

Rebellious teenager

John was educated in the Anglican religion, began his studies at Dovedale Elementary. In 1955 his uncle George passed away, he had been a father figure to Lennon from very early on and his loss marked him negatively.

The kid continued his high school education at Quarry Bank High School. At that time he had a temperament considered pleasant. In fact, his cartoons that featured people from the school environment were popular.

However, he progressively became a troublesome boy. He had no interest in making the slightest effort to improve his academic performance and, in fact, he failed his final exams.

With the help of his aunt, Lennon managed to enter the Liverpool College of Art to train as an art teacher. But this was in vain because he also failed to take an interest in classical art training.

Also, on July 15, 1958, Julia Stanley was run over. After a failed visit to Mimi's house with the intention of seeing John, who was not there, Lennon's mother decided to return home accompanied by a friend of her son who witnessed the accident.

First group and musical beginnings

When he was about 15 years old, in September 1956, John Lennon decided to form a musical band with his friends. The first group he created was named The Quarry Men in reference to the name of the high school he attended.

Their focus at the time was rock and roll and skiffle, since they had several improvised instruments, which guided the band in that direction.

On July 6, 1957, Lennon's fate turned upside down: he met Paul McCartney, who became his running partner. Although the boy was two years younger than him, Lennon asked him to join the band.

The group's first line-up consisted of Lennon on lead singer and guitar, Eric Griffiths on guitar as well, Pete Shotton on washboard (percussion), Len Garry on kettle bass, Colin Hanton on drums and Rod Davis on banjo..

Shortly after Shotton decided to leave the band and Davis was replaced by McCartney with another guitar. In late 1957 Garry also made up his mind to leave The Quarry Men.

Lennon and McCartney

Although Mimi was not pleased to see John mingling with underprivileged youths, her nephew did not let this matter become an impediment to strengthening his friendship with the other young musicians.

For his part, Paul's father viewed Lennon as a troublesome young man. He put that factor aside and allowed all the young people to gather at his house so they could rehearse the band's songs.

McCartney was the one who introduced Lennon to a neighbor of his who was very talented with the guitar and could be in charge of giving the group a more professional sound: George Harrison. When Harrison came in, Griffiths came out.

After Julia's death, Lennon and McCartney became much closer, and their collaborations began to bear fruit with songs with great potential.

At that time the formation of The Quarry Men had been formed by Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison and, finally, Colin Hanton.

the Beatles

Briefly included in The Quarry Men a boy named John Lowe, who played the piano, but due to the lack of said instrument where they used to play, he decided to retire. Hanton also had a problem with McCartney, which prompted him to leave the group.

John was studying at the Art School with Stuart Sutcliffe, who after buying an electric bass was included in the band.

After trying different names, the boys decided to stick with The Beatles for their musical group. They stopped experimenting with the skiffle and focused specifically on rock and roll.

In 1960 they got a contract to play in Hamburg for 48 nights, in order to travel they recruited drummer Pete Best. That experience was repeated in 1961 and 1962, there Sutcliffe met a girl and decided to leave the band to settle in the city.

Since they lost their bassist, Paul McCartney filled that space within the group.

In 1961, while playing at The Carvern, a Liverpool club where they performed frequently, they met Brian Epstein, who became their manager and was popularly nicknamed "the fifth beatle."

Final training

Epstein had connections within the music industry, since he owned a famous record store. Lennon and his colleagues signed a contract with Epstein in January 1962, but renegotiated it in October of the same year.

With the last agreement it was concluded that the manager would receive between 10 and 25% of the profits. In August 1962 Pete Best was fired, since the producer did not like his musical work. Since then the fourth member joined the band: Ringo Starr. In this way, the definitive lineup of the group The Beatles was formed.

Lennon's academic life was never his priority, nor did it improve at all during the early years of his music career. His fellow student and girlfriend, Cyntia Powell, helped him study, also provided him with the necessary instruments and materials for the exams.

But none of the young woman's efforts made Lennon stop failing his exams, which led to his expulsion from the School of Art before finishing his degree.

Towards world fame

The Beatles released their first single in October 1962. That work was called "Love Me Do" and managed to reach number 17 on the British charts. The song was included in his first album: Please Please Me, recorded in February 1963.

While on the rise to international stardom, Lennon learned that his girlfriend had become pregnant with their first child.

When they heard the news, in August 1962, the future parents decided to get married. However, both the union and the pregnancy remained a secret so as not to affect the perception of the fans about Lennon.

On April 8, 1963, Julian Lennon was born, John was on tour and met his son three days later.

He was starting the phenomenon of beatlemania in Britain, so Lennon's private life had become of public interest, as it happened with the other members of the group.

In any case, the true rise to the international level occurred when the four from Liverpool made their first trip to the United States. There they appeared on a television show hosted by Ed Sullivan.

From there they became global icons and obtained contracts to make films, mass concerts, books and musical works.

The golden years

In 1965 the four members of The Beatles were named members of the Order of the British Empire. That was one of the top honors the four musicians received in recognition of their contributions to the arts.

During 1966 Lennon made a comment in an interview that caused a stir: He claimed that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. In the United States, that event was a source of scandal and offense for conservatives.

For the group, those years were considered as steps towards musical maturity and featured works such as Rubber Soul or Revolver. Those albums had a huge positive impact on both audiences and music critics.

In November 1966 The Beatles entered the recording studio again to produce an album that turned the music industry upside down: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

With that production they were able to experiment with new techniques for recording, as well as editing. They also made use of different musical styles and instruments that they had never used in their pieces.

The result was the release of singles like "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane," which boasted a technical and musical complexity never before seen in popular music.

Beginning of the end

An event marked the beginning of the collapse of the relationship between the musicians and the cohesion of the group: the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27, 1967.

The music entrepreneur had an overdose of barbiturates that, mixed with alcohol, proved fatal. At that time Lennon and his companions were in Wales practicing meditation with the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

They all deeply mourned the loss of the man who handled the corporate aspects of their group.

The first project the Liverpool four undertook without Epstein was Magic Mystery Tour, a television movie in which McCartney took control of production. The film was unsuccessful, but the soundtrack did.

In November 1966, Lennon had met a Japanese-born visual artist named Yoko Ono, related to the Avant Garde stream.

The singer began to provide financing for her projects and to exchange correspondence with her frequently.

Ono and Lennon began a relationship in 1968, although he was still married to Powell. When his wife found out about the affair that the musician was having, she filed for divorce.

Separation from The Beatles

During 1968 the entire band traveled to India. There they dedicated themselves to meditating and composing numerous songs, many of which were part of the double album entitled The Beatles.

The cracks that existed in the relationship became more forceful during that trip.

Despite that, they founded a corporation with which they thought they could gain creative and economic freedom. Apple Corps was the name of that venture, one of its most famous subsidiaries was Apple Records.

Lennon, Harrison and Starr decided to appoint Allen Klein as Apple's chief executive. The debut of this new stage for the four from Liverpool was the single “Revolution”.

At the same time Lennon began to push for Ono to be present on the recordings, something that went against the unspoken rule of not allowing girlfriends or wives in the studio.

John Lennon had his second marriage on March 20, 1969. His new wife was the Japanese-born artist Yoko Ono, and the union was celebrated in Gibraltar. From that moment on, his collaborations with Ono intensified, as did his activism for peace and his drug use.

In September 1969 Lennon decided to part ways with The Beatles, but they agreed to keep it a secret in order to get a better royalty deal for their songs.

After the beatles

Although Lennon was the first to separate from the group, Paul McCartney was the one who announced that he was leaving The Beatles in 1970, at the same time that he published his first solo work.

The other members of the band rejected that action which was considered a betrayal. Before finally breaking up, the relationship between Lennon and McCartney had deteriorated to an almost irreconcilable point.

So Starr and Harrison acquired a bit of freedom within the group, but many of their ideas continued to be rejected.

In April 1969 the British artist changed his name to John Ono Lennon. At that time he also created the Plastic Ono Band together with his wife, in which they both used to participate together with guest artists such as Eric Clapton, Alan White or Keith Moon.

His first solo work after The Beatles was John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band. That album was released in 1970 and included a piece called "Mother."

On the subject Lennon let the feelings of his childhood flow, probably refreshed by the primal therapy of Arthur Janov.

Also during this period Lennon began to show greater interest in political activism and protests for peace.

America

As of 1971 the Lennon-Ono couple settled in New York. Once settled there, they became very close to the radical North American left. Since then, the propaganda that the musician promoted against the Vietnam War has increased.

He also used to charge against the figure of President Nixon, so the administration of this assumed the objective of expelling Lennon from the United States.

With the publication of his album Some Time in New York City Lennon received terrible reviews. The audience was also uninterested in that material and the ex-beatle began to be perceived as an old and tasteless revolutionary idealist.

The lost weekend

The marital problems that Lennon and Ono had ended up causing them to separate in 1973. The singer's wife herself suggested to her employee May Pang that she start a romantic relationship with Lennon.

The new couple left New York for Los Angeles, California, in October. There Lennon was collaborating on a musical work by Harry Nilsson as a producer.

The British musician's alcohol problems were in a serious state and he was once again showing aggressive behavior, especially against his new partner. Many think that in that period, Lennon was also dealing with depression.

May Pang was the one who coordinated the details so that Lennon and his son Julian would see each other again, since the artist had about four years without maintaining contact with the boy. That is one of the times that the eldest son of the former beatle remembers his father with more affection.

Lennon, too, met Paul McCartney once more around this time, and they even had a short, impromptu recording session.

Although Lennon later wanted to downplay his relationship with May Pang, he privately admitted that those were some of the happiest years of his life, as well as some of the most musically productive.

Reconciliation with Ono

In May 1974 May Pang and John Lennon returned to New York, at that time the singer was sober and began working on Walls and Bridges.

That album included the collaboration with Elton John: "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night", which reached number 1 on the Billboards.

At that time Lennon also collaborated with David Bowie on "Fame," the first hit the latter had in the United States. Also together with Elton John he performed the version of one of his most famous pieces "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds".

Lennon accompanied Elton John on stage on November 28, 1974 at Madison Square Garden. Among the audience was Yoko Ono, with whom the musician agreed to meet months later, in January 1975.

Since they met again, the couple decided to amend their relationship. Lennon disappeared from May Pang's life for a few days until they met again at the dentist, who informed him that he had settled the differences with his wife.

Ono claimed that he owed his reconciliation largely to Paul McCartney, who was the one who made them see that their relationship could still be saved from divorce.

Retirement

The second son of the British singer was born on October 9, 1975 and they named him Sean Lennon. From that moment on John became a man of home and devoted his time to caring for his son.

For the next five years Lennon stopped working in the music industry to dedicate himself to caring for his family.

His relationship with his eldest son, Julian, suffered after Lennon himself claimed in an interview that unlike Sean, his firstborn had not been planned.

He added that this is what happens to most people, but that he still wanted it.

Last years

After an absence of five years John Lennon returned to the artistic plane with his single "(Just Like) Starting Over" in October 1980. A month later what became his last album in life was released: Double Fantasy.

Lennon seemed calmer and more comfortable with his lifestyle, but the album was not well received.

When the musician returned to artistic life, he expressed that he had been surprised in his years away from the stage by the criticism he had received.

He considered that the simple fact of voluntarily wanting to dedicate time to his personal life was perceived in a worse way than death by the public.

Murder

John Lennon was assassinated on December 8, 1980 in front of the Dakota Building in New York City. The attacker named Mark David Chapman shot the English-born musician four times in the back.

Around 5 pm on the same day, Lennon had put his signature on the copy of Double Fantasy owned by the man who hours later took his life.

Yoko Ono and Lennon were returning home around 10:50 pm when the attack occurred. The musician was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, but arrived dead at the assistance center at 11:00 pm.

Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to between 20 years and life in prison.

After his death

The artist's widow, Yoko Ono, announced that there would be no funeral for Lennon. She also asked the world to pray for her and dedicate all the love that she had also given each day.

The musician's remains were cremated and scattered in New York's Central Park.

His latest single, as well as “Imagine” and the album Double Fantasy reached the top of the charts in both his native UK and the United States of America.

Lennon's final work also won the Grammy for Best Album and the 1981 Brit Award.

George Harrison issued a press release lamenting Lennon's murder. For his part, Paul McCartney offended many by making a short statement to the press saying "It's a shame, isn't it?"

McCartney then excused himself by saying that he did not want to be rude, but could not adequately articulate his feelings about his friend's death.

Vigils were held in his honor around the world and on December 14, 1980, 30,000 people gathered in Liverpool and 250,000 in New York to offer ten minutes of silence in honor of the British musician.

At least three fans around the world are believed to have committed suicide after hearing the news of John Lennon's murder.

References

1. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. John Lennon. Available at: en.wikipedia.org.
2. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2020. John Lennon - Biography, Songs, Death, & Facts. Available at: britannica.com.
3. Biographics. 2020. John Lennon: The Troubled Beatle. Available at: biographics.org.
4. Harry, Bill (2000). The John Lennon Encyclopedia. Virgin.
5. Norman, Philip (2008). John Lennon: The Life. Ecco.