In the Life of John Lennon John Lennon was a gifted and talented artist, so unique and phenomenal that millions of American youths followed him and the Beatles during the 1960’s. Even after the Beatles disbanded, his fan base continued to follow him. John was an extraordinary composer and wrote hundreds of songs by himself and with his fellow Beatle’s band member, Paul McCartney. While John is primarily known for his singing, he also staged peace demonstrations in hopes to impact the day’s youth and change world governments. His artistic accomplishments also included drawing cartoons and writing poetry. Because he was so controversial at times, some people were scared or hated him. Unfortunately, John suffered an untimely death, but his legend will always live on. John Winston Lennon was born on October 9th, 1940 to the sound of bombs hitting Liverpool, England. World War II was crashing in when John was arriving in the world. His middle name Winston was chosen after Winston Churchill, …show more content…
the Prime Minister of England (Partridge 4). When John was still a baby, his father was arrested and spent 18 months in jail for stealing alcohol on a ship. He told his wife Julia that she could go enjoy herself. She did, and she had another child with another man and decided to put the baby girl up for adoption. By the time John was five, his mother, while still married to his father, began living in a small apartment with another man named Bobby Dykins. The apartment was so tiny that John had to sleep in the same bed as Bobby and Julia. When John's Aunt Mimi heard about their living conditions, she called social services and John was placed in her custody (Partridge 8). John grew up reading books, drawing, writing poetry, and listening to music. Even though he enjoyed reading and writing, he lacked interest in school (Partridge 10-11). John liked to be in control and he was known to bully other students; he was frequently in fist fights (Partridge 13). He and his best friend, Peter Sissons, often skipped school together and pranked fellow students and teachers (Partridge 14). Several times he was caned while attending Quarry Bank School for Boys for lying about his actions. John and Peter chose a delinquent path by shoplifting and smoking tobacco with their other friends (Partridge 20). John was fascinated by Elvis Presley, and so were many other boys his age at the time. Elvis was his source of inspiration to become a musician (Partridge 24). He and his school friends quickly formed a group called the Quarrymen named after their high school. The Quarrymen played skiffle, a type of music that is similar to jazz or folk and consists of a banjo, washboard, and a guitar. John's mother Julia taught him how to play the banjo (Partridge 31). Soon Quarrymen became what John loved doing most in life. One of the member's mothers booked them for a festival called the Garden Fete in October 1957, where he would end up meeting his future Beatle’s band member, Paul McCartney. Paul was impressed by John's singing and wanted to grab his attention after the group’s performance so started playing his guitar. John at first thought Paul, age 15, was too young, but because Paul knew more chords than he did on the guitar, he invited him into the band (Partridge 38). Immediately after Paul joined the band, John and Paul began writing songs together under the label Lennon-McCartney. By March 1958, Paul's friend George Harrison joined the band after performing the song "Raunchy" for them. It was a very tough and complicated piece so John thought George would be good enough to be in his band (Partridge 50). Julia died on July 15, 1958, when she was struck by a police officer’s car. The officer had been driving while being intoxicated, but was later found not guilty and was acquitted. As a means to deal with the loss of his mother, John started drinking and was frequently intoxicated (Partridge 56-57). In August 1960, the band changed its name to The Beetles after watching the film The Wild One, and later realized that they had accidentally named their group after the girls' gang The Beetles in that movie. They changed the second 'e' in Beetles to an 'a', because John thought 'beat' would correlate better to the music industry (Partridge 65). At this time the band only consisted of John, Paul, and George, but because of a gig they were going to attend in Hamburg, Germany, they were required by contract to be a five-man band. They added Pete Best as their drummer, and Stuart Sutcliffe who played guitar. In Hamburg, they played at the strip-club Indra, and then moved to a larger club called Kaiserkeller. Stuart eventually quit the band after he suffered a severe beating one night that left him with brain-damage (Partridge 67, 74). During the Beatles performance back home at the cavern they met their soon-to-be new manager Brian Epstein. In August 1962, Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best as the drummer. Ringo's former band Rory Storm and the Hurricanes had reached notoriety in Liverpool, England. And it was felt by John and Paul that Ringo would make the group stronger so they asked their manager Brian to let Pete go (Partridge 82, 85). John married Cynthia Powell, his girlfriend of four years, in August 1962, after learning she was pregnant with his child. They kept their marriage a secret because they felt fans would disapprove of him being married. Cynthia gave birth to a son, and they named him Julian after John's mother (Partridge 88). John missed Julian's birth as he and the Beatles were on tour in England and Europe. Eventually, by the end of 1963, press discovered the truth about John’s and Cynthia’s secret marriage. With the truth being out Cynthia accompanied John for the Beatles’ first US tour in February 1964. The Beatles began their US winter tour, by first appearing on the Ed Sullivan show on three consecutive Sundays in a row singing several of their hit songs. During concerts, fans were so excited that they could not even hear themselves play; the fans would scream, faint, and were very emotional (“Imagine: John Lennon”). The Beatles stayed on top of the charts for several years, releasing 27 studio albums and over 335 songs over their time together. Twenty-one of their albums made it to the top-63 billboard hits, including 14 at number-one. They also had 61 top-100 billboard singles with 20 making it to number-one (mybeatles.net). Controversy followed John, especially in March 1966, when John stated in an interview, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. We're more popular than Jesus now." (Partridge 119). This did not react well with teens in the southern part of the United States, they burned of Beatles records and memorabilia, and radio stations banned their songs. In addition, the band’s use of LSD made the news (Partridge 128). The Beatles decided to take a break from tour due to the Vietnam War.
John returned home to Cynthia and Julian, but did not make it a point to spend much time with them. Because Cynthia chose to no longer to join him on tour after their 1964 tour, the couple has spent much time apart and Julian did not get to see his father very often. A couple months later, John met Yoko, who he would later wed, at her art gallery (Partridge 125-126). Then in August 1967, after finishing the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, their manager Brian Epstein tragically died of an overdose of pills. With the loss of Brian, the group had a more difficult time handling conflict between its band members. John was deeply saddened by Brian’s death; he began meditating and desiring to find peace. In May 1968, Cynthia found out about John's romantic relationship with Yoko; heartbroken, she left and never returned. The two would divorce the following year. In the summer of 1968, Yoko and John started
to make Avant-Garde films and wrote a couple of songs together (Partridge 144). The year 1969 was a turbulent one for John and the Beatles. Their last live performance together was on January 30, 1969 on the rooftop of their recording building. John, madly in love with Yoko, continued to bring her to the studio for everyone to hear her opinion. She and John were using heroin those days, and were not able to remain focused. Paul tried his best to lead the band, but it was not working out (Partridge 147). John and Yoko married on March 20, 1969, and John legally changed his middle name to Winston Ono for Yoko because she had to change her name (Partridge 153-154). On their honeymoon, they hosted a bed-in for seven days to protests the war (Partridge 1). During that rough time, many peace demonstrations were going on against the war and Yoko and John staged a few demonstrations. John returned his Member of the British Empire medal that he received from the queen as part of a protest against the British government (Partridge 156). In July, John and Yoko formed the Plastic Ono Band and released the well- received song "Give Peace a Chance" in July. Because of the continuing differences of opinion and band members wanting to move and separate directions, the Beatles officially disbanded on September 29, 1969. During the 1970's, John continued to successfully write and sing songs on his own. A few of his solo top hits include: "Imagine", "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", and "(Just Like) Starting Over" (biography.com).In 1973, John and Yoko separated due to John's infidelity. He refers to that time period as his "Lost Weekend". John and Yoko reconciled in 1975 and their son Sean was born in October of that year. No longer under contract, John took the next five years off from the music circuit and spent his time raising Sean and being a "house-husband". During an interview in December 1980, he was asked about his relationship with Paul. He said, “Paul’s like a brother. We've gotten all past that."(Hilburn 3). Fans continued to hope that the Beatles would get back together, but that day would never happen, because on December 8th, 1980, John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark David Chapman, an obsessed fan (Greenburg 24). A comment made about John after his death which explains what most people thought about him was “John Lennon was born with a gift for music and comedy that would carry him further than he ever dreamed possible” (Norman 3). He inspired so many people and to have him die by someone assassinating him was just tragic and sadness spread across the world.
“He helped shape the agenda of the sixties – socially and politically, no less than musically” (“John Lennon”). John Lennon was extremely influential to the world during his lifetime, and mainly during the sixties. He fueled many movements with his strong willed beliefs in peace and happiness. The actions and music of John Lennon drastically altered how many people viewed the world around them during the sixties and throughout his entire life.
John Lennon, The founding member of the Beatles and unofficial king of the hippies said in his final interview,
America’s defenses were breached and hysteria gripped the nation. The invasion had begun. However, the sounds of sirens did not fill the streets to warn against nuclear attacks, nor were there warnings to stay indoors. Instead the youth of America rushed into the streets of New York and welcomed the invaders with loud screams and insane fanaticism. The invaders were The Beatles and the members were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. One of the biggest and influential bands to change the face of music as we know it took the world by storm by introducing new sound, new fashion, and a new way of approaching music. The Beatles have etched a name for themselves and stand in history as one of the greatest bands of all time. However there is a reason why they are regarded so highly and have become the big name that they are today. I never once listened to The Beatles and I didn’t get into music until I was twelve years old, yet at the age of nine I knew who they were. The Beatles are almost a household name in western cultures and that is because of the profound effect they brought upon society at the time. With help from their musical influences, experiences, and being present at the right place at the right time, The Beatles ascended into fame. It is because of factors like their influences, their experiences as a band, their management, and their arrival at the right time that made their takeover that much more successful and influential.
Many people from the 1900’s contributed to the evolution of the history of rock and roll. However, Jimi Hendrix was the rock legend who changed the way music was made and he raised the bar for the rest of the music industry. Jimi was born in 1942, in Seattle, Washington, he had a difficult childhood, being raised by a young mom who had Jimi at seventeen and a dad who eventually left and started another family, he was often left living with relatives. He only saw his mom a few times before she eventually died in 1958. In many ways, music has become a sanctuary for Jimi since he grew up not having much.
John Winston Lennon was born October 9, 1940, in Liverpool England. In the mid 1950’s he formed his first band, The Quarrymen, while still in high school. He met Paul McCartney in 1957 and invited him to join the group. Eventually, the two formed the most successful songwriting team in history and the most influential band in modern pop music…. The Beatles! (1)
The features and boundaries of pilgrimage have been debated by scholars (Badone and Roseman 2004a, Cohen 1992, Eade and Sallnow 1991, Morinis 1992, Reader and Walter 1993; Timothy and Olson 2006). Although this paper cannot evaluate Strawberry Fields as a place of pilgrimage in the absence of fieldwork, Kruse (2003) suggested the possibility. In light of this possibility, and the centrality of the ethos of peace activism to Lennon memorials, the definition of pilgrimage formulated by Alan Morinis (1992, 4), may be appropriate: “the pilgrimage is a journey undertaken by a person in quest of a place or a state that he or she believes to embody a valued ideal.” This definition of pilgrimage is suitable for understanding the motivation of participants to attend memorial events because, as demonstrated in this paper, many participants come to celebrate Lennon in the context of his peace activism.
John Lennon was a famous musician in the mid 1900’s. John’s full name is John Winston Ono Lennon (John Lennon Biography). He was born on October 9, 1940 in England. John died due to a gun shot when he was only 40 years old. He married twice, and had a child with each of his wives. John Lennon was a legend first found with the Beatles, and then he became a very popular solo artist.
Throughout the course of history there has been many remarkable people that have created an impact on the world. But what is hero? Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or lots of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a ripple of hope.” Meaning a true hero is someone who can stand up for an idea, or can help eliminate the unfair treatment in which the rights of a person are ignored; and everytime gives people the faith that everything is going to be okay after all. John Lennon is a good example of a hero based on Robert F. Kennedy's description of a hero. John lennon is a hero because he peacefully fought against war through his fame and music, promoting peace and inspiring many people.
Bob Dylan was considered one of the greatest influences on popular culture of all time, and though influential, Bob Dylan’s rise to idol status in popular culture was more brought about by historical factors, his life was affected by many historical events including, The Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination and the civil rights movement, to name a few. His songs became known as protest songs, despite Bob Dylan’s apparent lack of understanding for the meanings the public attached to his writing.
John Lennon’s effect on the world was brilliant and his legacy still lives on. All throughout his time he accomplished many things, and definitely made the world a better place. With the music, the peaceful things he did, and everything in between. His message was peace, love, and happiness. Lennon was brilliant and deserves more credit than what he gets. He left an impact that changed the world.
John Lennon was born on October 9th 1940 in Liverpool, England 1. His father left the family to sail the seas before Lennon’s earliest childhood memory and his mother was taken away by a car accident when he was 18 2. A year after his mother’s death, the Vietnam War took place, which is The United State’s longest military dispute ever. The world famous band, The Beatles, debut on 1961 not long after the start of the war and through this band, Lennon was able to demonstrate his feelings to the people across the world. "Revolution," performed by The Beatles, was created in 1968, when the anti-war demonstration was on the move. After the separation of The Beatles in 1969, Lennon composed the song "Imagine" (1971) 3. This song proves that Lennon is a Peace-Loving-Atheist and a "Voluntarist" 4 that believes in the scheme that people’s ideas can change social reality; however simultaneously admits that there are constantly wars going on in the world. As a result, he could be a mixture of all four, Realist, Liberal, Marxist and Constructivist. On December 8th 1980, approximately five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Lennon was assassinated by Mark Chapman 5. It is not for certain that the word assassination could be used on a singer, song writer who also published books. However there is no doubt about the fact that Lennon touched many people’s hearts around the world and maybe was even praised as an almighty figure.
During the time of the Vietnam War and Nixon administration the society was in a state of anger and unrest. John Lennon took a stand against the government and society by writing music and performing physical acts of protest. He did these separately and alongside his wife Yoko Ono. Immediately, he was faced with a deportation scandal, and many were rallying for change on his behalf. His long-term impact is shown even to this day, through his song “Imagine” and other political songs that were screaming for someone to take a stand.
The Beatles wrote hundreds of songs throughout their long career and many of which had the same main ideas in them. Those two ideas seem to standout in most of their songs, and they are the ideas of peace and love. They were so passionate about these two ideas especially world peace, that they became avid participants and leaders in the anti-war movement, against the War in Vietnam. It seemed strange ...
However, it was not only the personality that made him popular but also the qualities that he and The Beatles promoted. Qualities like, for instance, friendship, openness and love – all qualities that were and still remain “important things to cel-ebrate”
The song “Imagine” by John Lennon, was the best selling single of his career, selling over 1.6 million copies and was released in 1971. It states that we should live in peace and harmony. That we should all be equal, and live in one big country to stop wars about land and that we should live in the present instead of thinking about the future. These ideas have been thrown around and agreed with, but no one ever tries to anything about it. Except for the glorious nation of Canada.