John Lennon is a popular British singer, songwriter, musician and artist. He is called the genius of the XNUMXth century. During his short life, he managed to influence the course of world history, and in particular music.
The childhood and youth of the singer
John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool. The boy did not have time to enjoy a quiet family life. Soon after the birth of little Lennon, his father was taken to the front, and his mother met another man and married him.
At the age of 4, the mother sent her son to her own sister, Mimi Smith. The aunt had no children of her own, and she tried to replace John's own mother. Lennon said:
“As a child, I hardly saw my mother. She arranged her personal life, so I became a burden to her. Mom visited me. Over time, we became good friends. I did not know mother's love ... ".
Lennon had a high IQ. Despite this, the boy studied poorly at school. John talked about how school education puts him in certain limits, and he wanted to go beyond the generally accepted boundaries.
Lennon began to reveal his creative potential in childhood. He sang in the choir, painted, published his own magazine. Aunt often said that he would be useful, and she was not mistaken in her predictions.
The creative path of John Lennon
England, 1950s. The country was literally booming rock and roll. Almost every third teenager dreamed of his own team. Lennon did not stay away from this movement. He became the founder of The Quarrymen.
A year later, another member joined the team. He was the youngest of all, but, despite this, he was excellent at playing the guitar. It was Paul McCartney, who soon brought George Harrison, who studied with him.
Meanwhile, John Lennon graduated from a comprehensive school. He flunked all his exams. The only educational institution that agreed to accept John for training was the Liverpool College of Art.
John Lennon himself did not understand why he entered art college. The young man spent almost all his free time in the company of Paul, George and Stuart Sutcliffe.
John met young people in college and kindly invited them to become part of The Quarrymen. The guys played bass in the band. Soon the musicians changed the name of the group to Long Johnny and Silver Beetles, and later shortened it to the last word, changed one letter to include a pun in the name. From now on, they performed as The Beatles.
John Lennon's participation in The Beatles
Since the early 1960s, John Lennon has completely immersed himself in the world of music. The new team not only created cover versions of popular songs, but also wrote their own compositions.
In Liverpool, the Beatles were already famous. Soon the team went to Hamburg. The guys played in nightclubs, gradually winning the hearts of demanding music lovers.
Musicians from The Beatles followed the fashion - leather jackets, cowboy boots and hair like Presley. The kids felt like they were on horseback. But everything changed after Brian Epstein became their manager in 1961.
The manager recommended that the guys change their image, because what the guys were wearing was irrelevant. Soon the musicians appeared before the fans in strict and concise costumes. Such an image suited them. On stage, The Beatles behaved with restraint and professionalism.
The musicians released their debut single Love Me D. In the same period of time, the band's discography was replenished with the first full-length album, Please Please Me. From that moment on, Beatlemania began in the UK.
The presentation of the track I Want to Hold Your Hand made The Beatles a real idol. The United States of America, and then the whole world, was "covered with a wave" of Beatlemania. John Lennon said, "Today we are more popular than Jesus."
The start of The Beatles touring
The next years the musicians spent on a big tour. John Lennon admitted that life on suitcases exhausted him, and he dreamed of an elementary sleep or a calm breakfast without "rush".
In the late 1960s, when John, Paul, George and Ringo stopped touring and focused on recording and writing new tracks, Lennon's interest in the band began to gradually decline. At first, the musician refused the role of leader. Then he stopped working on the group's repertoire, transferring this function to McCartney.
In the past, the band members have worked together on songwriting. The team has expanded its discography with several more records. The celebrities then announced that they were disbanding the group.
The Beatles disbanded in the early 1970s. However, Lennon said that over the past two years the group was uncomfortable due to constant conflicts.
Solo career of artist John Lennon
Lennon's first solo album was released in 1968. The collection was called Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins. Interestingly, his wife Yoko Ono also worked on the recording of the collection.
Lennon wrote his debut album in just one night. It was a musical psychedelic experiment. If you are counting on enjoying lyrical compositions, then it was not there. The collection includes a fragmentary set of sounds - screams, groans. Compilations Wedding Album and Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions were created in a similar style.
The first album to contain songs was the 1970 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band compilation. The next album, Imagine, repeated the overwhelming success of The Beatles' compilations. Interestingly, the first track from this collection is still included in the list of anti-political and anti-religious hymns.
The composition was included in the list of "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", according to journalists and readers of Rolling Stone magazine. Lennon's solo career is marked by the release of 5 studio albums and several live discs.
John Lennon: creativity
The musician is famous not only as a songwriter and singer. John Lennon managed to star in several films that are considered classics today: A Hard Day's Evening, Help!, Magical Mystery Journey and So Be It.
No less striking work was the role in the military comedy How I Won the War. In the movie, John played the role of Gripweed. The films "Dynamite Chicken" and the drama "Fire in the Water" deserve attention. Together with the talented Yoko Ono, Lennon shot several films. In film works, John touched on acute political and social topics.
In addition, the celebrity wrote three books: “I write as it is written”, “Spaniard in the wheel”, “Oral inscription”. Each book contains elements of black humor, intentional grammatical errors, puns and puns.
Personal life of John Lennon
John Lennon's first wife was Cynthia Powell. The couple signed in 1962. A year later, the first-born son Julian Lennon was born in the family. This marriage soon broke up.
The fact that the family broke up, Lennon partly blames himself. At that time, he was just very popular, he always disappeared on tour and practically did not live at home. Cynthia wanted a more relaxed lifestyle. The woman filed for divorce. John Lennon did not fight for his family. He had other plans for life.
In 1966, fate brought John together with a Japanese avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. A few years later, the young people had an affair, and they became inseparable. Then they legalized their relationship.
The lovers dedicated the composition The Ballad of Johnand Yoko to their wedding. In October 1975, the first child was born in the family. After the birth of his son, John officially announced that he was leaving the stage. He practically stopped writing music and touring.
Interesting facts about John Lennon
- The musician was born during the bombing of Liverpool by German aircraft.
- Young John led a notorious gang of hooligans in Liverpool. The guys kept the whole microdistrict in fear.
- At 23, the musician became a millionaire.
- Lennon wrote lyrics for musical compositions, and also wrote prose and poetry.
- In addition to his active creative work, Lennon was also known as a political activist. He expressed his opinion not only in songs, but also often the star went to rallies.
Assassination of John Lennon
After a 5-year break, the musician presented the album Double Fantasy. In 1980, John gave an interview to journalists at the Hit Factory recording studio in New York. After the interview, Lennon signed autographs for his fans, including signing his own record, as requested by a young man named Mark Chapman.
Mark Chapman became Lennon's killer. When John and Yoko returned home, the young man shot the celebrity 5 times in the back. A few minutes later, Lennon was hospitalized. The man could not be saved. He died from massive blood loss.
John Lennon's body was cremated. Yoko Ono's ashes were scattered in New York's Central Park, Strawberry Fields.
The killer was arrested on the spot. Mark Chapman was serving a life sentence. The motive for the crime was banal - Mark wanted to become as popular as John Lennon.
