Biography of John Lennon

Photo by Kill Gil

John Winston Lennon (born on 9 October 1940), in Liverpool. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were one of the most successful songwriting teams of the 20th century.

He was half of “The Beatles”. He wrote dozens of hit tunes, ranging from “Help!” and “Ticket to Ride” to “Penny Lane” and “Let It Be.” He wrote and co-wrote nearly all of their hits songs, sang lead on many songs. The Beatles had become a worldwide phenomenon.

Early life

Lennon grew up with his aunt Mimi and uncle George in a house called Mendips. He had little contact with his father Alf but kept in close contact with his mother Julia. She shared a love of Elvis Presley’s music with his son and taught him to play the banjo. In 1957 she bought John his first guitar.

Career

In 1957, he met Paul McCartney and they bonded and began writing songs together at McCartney’s home. Lennon completed his first song “Hello Little Girl”, which became a hit instantly.

After Lennon met a guitarist player George Harrison, he proposed him join the group which he accepted. After Paul’s solo song, the group releases their first single, “Love Me Do”, which gave them the real worldwide popularity. Their success looked unstoppable.

The Beatles broke up in 1970, and Lennon followed with a solo career marked by uneven recordings and public pleas for world peace. After a break in a career that lasted for 5 years, John Lennon released an album “Double Fantasy” with Yoko in 1980. Lennon was shot to death outside his New York home by a schizophrenic fan Mark David Chapman.

With The Beatles, he released almost 25 albums and these are the most known: Let It Be, Yellow Submarine, Revolver, Yesterday and Today, Help, A Hard Day’s Night, The Beatles’ Long Tall Sally and Please Please Me.

Albums as a solo artist: Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (with Yoko Ono) (1968), Wedding Album (with Yoko Ono) (1969), John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), Imagine (1971), Some Time in New York City (with Yoko Ono) (1972), Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974), Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975), Double Fantasy (with Yoko Ono) (1980) and Milk and Honey (with Yoko Ono) (1984).
John also appeared in these movies: The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (2012), All Together Now (2008), I Met The Walrus (2007), The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006) and a Hard Day’s Night (2000).

Personal Life

When he was accepted into the Liverpool College of Art, he met Cynthia Powell, who became his first wife. After she became pregnant with their son Julian, they married.

His son Julian Lennon is also a singer and musician. When he was still married he met his new wife Yoko Ono who was a major influence on his post-Beatles career. Yoko gave him a son Sean Ono Lennon. John Lennon published two illustrated books of poetry in the mid-1960s: “In His Own Write” and “A Spaniard in the Works”.