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John Lennon...John Winston Lennon was born, on Oct. 9,1940, to Fred and Julia Lennon in a maternity hospital on Oxford Street, while Liverpool was under intense bombing by the Nazis. His father hardly spent any time at home because he was a steward on an ocean liner. At the age of 3 his parents divorced and he was sent to live with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George. His mother allowed this because she felt that they could offer John a more stable life. In 1946 Fred came to take John on a short holiday to the nearby resort of Blackpool, where he made plans to migrate to New Zealand. Unfortunately for him, Julia foiled his plans and took John back to his Aunt's house. Despite the fact that he lived with his Aunt, his mother was always close by. |
John was a very disruptive child in school and seemed more interested in learning pop music
than getting an education. Both his mother and Aunt influenced his musical beginnings. Mimi
bought him his first guitar although she believed he would never make any money at it. His mom
taught him how to play "That'll be the Day" on the banjo. John did not like school and hated the
discipline and teachers who abused him. He was constantly being blamed for everything. During
school John's best friend was Pete Shotton. They stole toys in shops, broke windows, and threw
stones at trains together. Unfortunately John suffered two tragic deaths during his childhood. At the
age of 15 his Uncle George died. When he was 17 his mother was hit and killed by a off duty police officer,
who was probably drunk.
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The headmaster, although he considered John to be the worst student ever, was convinced
by Mimi to write a letter of recommendation for John to attend Liverpool Art College because of his drawings. John
loved to play the role of the gang leader. In 1955 he started the Blackjacks. They were a skiffle band, inspired by
skiffle songs such as "Come Go With Me" and "Worried Man Blues." The name only lasted a week and was
replaced by the name The Quarrymen, which was taken from the name of their school called Quarry Bank. The
band consisted of John on guitar and singing, Colin Hanton on drums, Eric Griffith on guitar, Pete Shotton on
wash board, Rod Davis on banjo, and Bill Smith on tea chest. It was on July 6, 1957 at Woolton Parish Church,
where John met Paul for the first time. The Quarrymen were playing a gig there. The journey to becoming the
Beatles was on its way (see FAB Four History for more info).
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In 1962, John married his girlfriend Cynthia Powell because she was pregnant. Their son,
Julian, was born in 1963. However happy they seemed, in 1966 John met Yoko Ono at a
gallery in London. John soon left Cynthia for Yoko. The two married in 1969 and together
put on art exhibitions, created albums, films, and were regularly active in their pursuit for
world peace. Following their wedding, they conducted a "Bed-In For Peace." They produced
many albums including Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins, The Wedding Album, Life
With the Lions, Plastic Ono Band- Live Peace in Toronto 1969. They also released hit singles
such as Give Peace A Chance, Imagine, Mind Games, Happy Xmas (The War is Over), and "Whatever
Gets You Through The Night." John had spent over a year in political activism, and was avoiding being
deported by the United States where he had been living since 1971. This is due to his involvement in a
demonstration in New York to boycott British exports. He became regarded as a undesirable alien. The
conviction of drugs in 1968 was cited on his deportation order. He was not deported because of his appeal in March of 1973.
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Although their marriage seemed ideal, John and Yoko began to experience marital difficulties.
They were separated for over a year. During which Lennon produced "Whatever Gets You Through
The Night," which Elton John played on. In return he made Lennon promise to appear on stage with
him if it topped the US charts. Sure enough it did, and John made a surprise appearance at Elton's
Madison Square Garden show. Yoko was in the audience and they were reunited within a few weeks. Their
son, Sean Ono Lennon, was born Oct. 9,1975. For the next 5 years John disappeared from the spotlight
as he vowed to be the role model father. In 1980, he returned from exile stating that during the time he
had not been merely twiddling his thumbs, but he learned how to cook. He soon released a new record, "Starting
Over", followed by "Double Fantasy", which sold more after his death.On Dec. 8, 1980, Mark David Chapman, a 25 year old security guard from Hawaii saw John and asked for an autograph on Double Fantasy. John gave him one and Yoko even took a picture of the two together. After a 5 hour recording session that same day, they were walking home, when at 10:49 PM John heard Mark say "Oh, Mr. Lennon?" and he began to turn around. He pulled out a .38 revolver from his coat and fired 5 shots into John's arms and back. In less than 2 minutes the police arrived and the ambulance 30 seconds later. John Lennon died of massive blood loss. A memorial was placed in Central park called Strawberry Fields. Since his death, Yoko Ono has made it possible the release of a series of albums such as "Milk and Honey", "Menlove Avenue", and "John Lennon Live in New York City." |
Tanya M. Brethour
Copyright 1998 All Rights Reserved
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