As a member of i of the well-nigh influential and successful stone bands of all fourth dimension, John Lennon is widely regarded as a musical genius. The Beatles were constantly in the public center, merely Lennon himself was a bit of an enigma. Capable of enormous acts of kindness, he was equally petty and cruel at times.
His life and career ended far too soon, but he left the earth with a host of written and recorded musical masterpieces. Let's accept a wait at a few things you might not know about this famous Beatle.
A Career Launched in a Weird Music Genre
As a teenager in Liverpool, Lennon was a singer and guitarist in a skiffle ring called the Quarrymen. Skiffle was a musical craze that had British teenagers dancing in the 1950s. Derived from jazz and swing, the genre is largely forgotten today, but it was huge in England at ane time, cheers to skiffle star Lonnie Donegan.
The band, consisting of students at Quarry Bank High Schoolhouse, took its name from a line in the schoolhouse song. The 15-twelvemonth-old Lennon was the atomic number 82 vocalist by default. A young Paul McCartney attended the band's second performance and somewhen joined the group, followed by George Harrison a twelvemonth later on.
Fifty-fifty before the Beatles officially called it quits, Lennon and Yoko Ono were quite prolific musically. The duo recorded more than than a dozen records in a four-year period that started in 1968. Lennon's early solo records produced several international top ten hits, including "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," "Give Peace a Chance," "Instant Karma!" and "Imagine."
E'er the rebel — and always ready to push button musical boundaries and offend sensibilities — John worked with Yoko to make a trio of avant-garde records that confused Beatles' fans and confounded critics. Several famous musicians lent their talents to these recordings.
So Much More Than a Rhythm Guitarist
Lennon was mostly known as a rhythm guitarist, but his female parent, Julia, also taught him to play the banjo when he was a teenager. He learned to play the harmonica from a bus driver while he was traveling to visit a cousin in Scotland, and the harmonica was featured heavily on early Beatles' recordings.
Lennon played a six-string bass guitar on several Beatles' songs and played a Mellotron keyboard on "Strawberry Fields Forever." He wrote many songs on the piano, including one of his most-loved hits, "Imagine." The McCartney-Lennon song "I Desire to Agree Your Hand" resulted from a jam the two had on a pianoforte.
Taking a Shot at a Former Bandmate in Vocal
Lennon wrote a song that appeared on his 1971 solo anthology Imagine that took a direct jab at his former friend, collaborator and bandmate, Paul McCartney. The song "How Exercise Y'all Sleep" features the line, "The only matter you done was yesterday. And since you're gone, you lot're just another twenty-four hours."
The sting was made greater by George Harrison playing guitar on the song. Some say Lennon was disappointed in his former friend's watered-down mail service-Beatles output, although it was more probable in retaliation to McCartney's dig at John and Yoko on his album Ram that soured things.
Tossed from a Nightclub for Bad Behavior
In 1973, while Lennon was recording his Mind Games anthology, he and Yoko agreed to a separation that ended up lasting 18 months. Lennon lived in Los Angeles but also spent time in New York City. He drank heavily and spent a lot of time with a woman named May Pang, who had worked equally a personal banana to John and Yoko.
During his time in exile from his marriage, John and vocalizer-songwriter Harry Nilsson partied hard. The pair's drunken escapades fabricated headlines and got them kicked out of The Troubadour nightclub for heckling the Smothers Brothers one-act act.
Collaborations with Some of the Biggest Names in Music
Throughout his mail-Beatles career, Lennon collaborated with some pretty big names in popular music. In addition to playing with two other Beatles — Harrison and Starr — on recordings, he worked with stars like Elton John, who provided backing vocals and played pianoforte on "Whatever Gets Y'all Thru the Night."
Lennon also co-wrote "Fame" with David Bowie. The song was Bowie's first number one striking in the U.Southward. Even improve, Lennon also played guitar and sang backup vocals on the vocal, credited under the pseudonym Dr. Winston O'Boogie.
Calumniating to More Just Women
Rumors of Lennon's abusive tendencies toward women followed him throughout his life. In his song "Jealous Guy," he seemed to admit his past behavior, blaming it on his insecurities. However, Lennon didn't actually discriminate when it came to bad treatment. His bitter wit and sarcasm left many victims bleeding throughout his career, including Paul McCartney.
George Harrison played guitar on some of Lennon's albums and recordings. In return, Lennon agreed to play at a concert Harrison was organizing in 1971 chosen Concert for Bangladesh. However, Harrison's refusal to let Yoko Ono perform prompted Lennon to pull out, reportedly subsequently a very heated argument.
A Threat on Both Sides of the Atlantic
Similar many musicians and actors in the late '60s and early '70s, Lennon was a song critic of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. This resulted in President Richard Nixon's repeated attempts to accept him deported back to England. Additionally, the FBI had almost 300 pages of files on Lennon.
Some of the documents were released subsequently his death through a Freedom of Information Act request. They revealed that the British authorities likewise considered Lennon a threat. Other files included information on his daily activities, interest in anti-war efforts, transcripts from TV shows he appeared on and data obtained from informants.
Imagine a Lennon Not Raised in England
John'due south father, Alfred Lennon, was a merchant seaman who was away for much of John's life. He supported the family for a while past sending checks to John'southward mother, Julia. Alfred went AWOL when John was just 4 years old.
He returned six months afterwards, gear up to assume his fatherly function, merely past that betoken, Julia was pregnant with some other man's infant. Julia's sister eventually assumed custody of John. At one point, Alfred planned to accept John with him to New Zealand. They got as far as Blackpool before he was confronted by Julia and her new boyfriend.
Exploration of Other Creative Outlets
Lennon showed his inventiveness at an early age. His uncle encouraged him to write and draw, and he nerveless poems, stories and drawings in a notebook he titled the Daily Howl. His classmates take said that Lennon created the book to amuse his friends.
As an adult who had enjoyed monster success as a fellow member of the Beatles, Lennon was encouraged to publish a book of his writings. His volume In His Ain Write was released in 1964. Similar to his high school piece of work, it contained nonsensical stories and drawings. The following year, Lennon published a similar book titled A Spaniard in the Works.
A Band Reunion 40 Years Later
The year 2009 saw a revival of Plastic Ono Band, formed by John and Yoko more than than 40 years prior to that date. John and Yoko's son, Sean, was a member of the new version. The band released an album that twelvemonth titled Don't Finish Me!, followed past a total-length LP called Between My Head and the Sky.
In 2010, the band played a concert with Eric Clapton, who played in a supergroup with John and Yoko called The Dirty Mac in the tardily 1960s. (Small-scale world, right?) The band also collaborated with The Flaming Lips to release an album aptly titled The Flaming Lips with Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band.
The Son Who Inspired 3 Huge Hits
Julian Lennon — John'due south more than famous son with his first wife, Cynthia — is a songwriter and musician. When he was still a child, he was actually the inspiration for 3 Beatles' songs.
"Lucy in the Heaven with Diamonds" was allegedly the name of a drawing Julian drew in nursery school. "Hey Jude" started as a lullaby of sorts that Paul McCartney sang to Julian to comfort him and get him to become to slumber. "Good Night" is a lullaby John wrote for Julian. The recorded version appeared on the "White Album," with Ringo Starr providing vocals and music provided by an orchestra.
1 Spiked Cup of Coffee Changed Everything
It's no hush-hush that Lennon and the rest of the Beatles experimented with drugs. They were introduced to marijuana by folk vocaliser Bob Dylan, but John's first experience with the psychedelic drug LSD was not his option.
His first LSD trip occurred because someone dosed him without even telling him. During a dark of partying in London in the mid-1960s, dentist John Riley put the drug in John's coffee. This inverse the form of music forever, as the drug had a huge effect on the band'due south music going forward.
A License to Bulldoze a Little Chip Late
Lennon refused to wear spectacles for much of his adult life, which probably contributed to his reputation as a bad driver. He really didn't learn to drive until much afterwards than his Beatle counterparts. He was 24 years erstwhile when he got his license.
Lennon drove for less than v years. Afterward crashing his Aston-Martin in 1969 on a trip to Scotland, Lennon gave up the driver'south seat. Yoko, Julian and Yoko's daughter, Kyoko, were passengers at the time. The wreckage of the automobile was put on display on the grounds of John and Yoko's home in England.
Remember "Fan" Is Merely Short for "Fanatic"
Mark David Chapman wasn't but John Lennon'southward assassin — he was reportedly a fan who started equally a huge Beatles fan. Cheers to a religious conversion and obvious mental illness, Chapman felt compelled to kill his idol. He planned the murder for months in advance and carried it out on December 8, 1980.
Lennon signed a copy of the Double Fantasy album for Chapman on the twenty-four hour period of his murder. Chapman returned to The Dakota, where Lennon lived in New York City, and shot him 4 times in the back. Lennon was pronounced expressionless afterwards being rushed to Roosevelt Infirmary in NYC.
No Simple Sit-in for John and Yoko
John and Yoko were ardent peace activists and two of the most visible protesters confronting the war in Vietnam. In 1969, the couple staged a bed-in for peace that lasted ii weeks. The protests took place in hotels in Amsterdam in the netherlands and in Montreal, Canada.
The idea was inspired by the existing concept of a sit-in, where protesters remained seated in protestation until forcibly removed. Regime didn't endeavor to physically remove the couple from their bed, only they even so received a lot of publicity and attention for their cause.
I Drug Too Many
The breakup of the Beatles may have had more to practise with drugs than anything else. Throughout the tardily 1960s, the Beatles experimented with drugs, and they aren't shy almost talking about the influence marijuana and LSD had on their music. Withal, John and Yoko's use of heroin did some real impairment to their mental wellness and artistic output.
For one matter, heroin added to Lennon's volatile mood swings, which made him even more hard. The pair quit the drug common cold turkey, which resulted in the harrowing experience documented in Lennon's song of the same proper noun.
An Astrological Prediction of the Shooting
John Lennon and Yoko Ono in one case hired a psychic to advise them on various matters, including financial and business decisions. While they certainly could afford to pay for about annihilation, whether they received sound advice that was worth the coin is a thing of much debate.
The couple was very spiritual and believed in astrology as well. Allegedly, an astrologist once warned Lennon that he would exist shot on an isle. This prophecy prompted John and Yoko to cancel a planned visit to the Greek islands in 1969. Eleven years later on, John was killed on the island of Manhattan. Coincidence or prophecy?
The Less Traveled Path to Better Poly peptide
The Beatles oft seemed strangely connected, and they followed each other down various spiritual paths. This was true for private spiritualism every bit well as for experimentation with mind-altering drugs like LSD. One path John didn't have, however, was that of vegetarianism.
George Harrison was the start to forsake fauna flesh in 1965 for spiritual reasons. When Ringo Starr became a vegetarian, it was about his health. Paul McCartney was too an avid proponent of the vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, Paul's wife, Linda, had her own line of healthy vegetarian food products at one point. John remained a committed meat-eater to the end.
Moodiness That Could Turn to Violence in a Flash
John was prone to mood swings — some of them violent. Early on in the Beatles career, he severely vanquish a disc jockey and friend of the band, Bob Wooler, considering Wooler insinuated at a party that John was gay. Their managing director, Brian Epstein, was gay and reportedly had a trounce on Lennon. Lennon allegedly took advantage of Epstein's feelings, but despite the rumors, in that location was never a human relationship.
In a case of extreme overreaction and homophobia, John crush upwards Wooler at his own 21st birthday party. Fortunately, he realized he was almost to kill his friend and regained control.
A Singer with Self-Esteem Bug
Although he was ane of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time, John hated the sound of his own voice. He was insecure in many means, and that insecurity extended to his voice talent. He allegedly once asked legendary producer George Martin (regarding his vocals), "Can't you smother it with love apple ketchup or something?"
He was always looking for means to alter his voice on recordings. On the vocal "I Am the Walrus," he wanted his vocals to audio as though they were being transmitted from the moon, much to his bandmates' distress downwardly hither on Earth.
Not a Fan of Any of the Beatles' Albums
John Lennon'due south dislike of his ain singing phonation didn't terminate at live performances. He reportedly disliked all the Beatles' albums — all of them. He supposedly confided to producer George Martin that he wished he could re-record all the Beatles' records. It's not clear whether it was due to his well-documented insecurity, his perfectionist nature or elementary humility (unlikely).
It'due south difficult to believe that Lennon could be then disquisitional of his astonishing body of work. Millions of fans disagree that he sucks, merely the fact that he questioned his own talent made John relatable to many.
Going Out with a Whimper, Not a Bang
The last time the legendary songwriting duo of Lennon and McCartney exchanged words was in 1976. Paul showed up at John'southward apartment building in New York City, guitar in mitt. He gave no accelerate warning of his arrival, and John reportedly turned his ex-bandmate abroad.
He claimed at the time that Paul had gotten into the habit of simply popping by, and he needed more advance notice. Paul left NYC for Dallas the following mean solar day to prepare with Wings for another leg of their U.S. tour. The two stayed in bear upon until John's death but never met in person once more.
The Lennon Ring You've Never Heard Of
John was once a member of the short-lived supergroup called The Dirty Mac. The name was a play on Fleetwood Mac, a hugely popular group in the U.Chiliad. in the 1960s (and futurity superstars in the U.S. in the 1970s). He assembled the ring in 1968 to play "The Rolling Stones Rock and Gyre Circus" TV special.
Members included Keith Richards of the Stones on bass, Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on drums, Eric Clapton of Cream on atomic number 82 guitar and himself on rhythm guitar and singing. He introduced the band members during the bear witness, calling himself Winston Leg-Thigh.
Iconic Imagery That Always Comes to Mind
In terms of physical appearance, John Lennon is probably best remembered for his wireframe "granny" glasses. He was nearsighted simply reluctant to wearable glasses for most of his life. He was cast in the office of Musketeer Gripweed in the 1967 British motion picture How I Won the War, and his grapheme wore the signature glasses.
John continued to wearable them, fifty-fifty after the movie wrapped. A blood-stained pair of his spectacles appeared on the cover of Yoko's album Season of Drinking glass. She also shared a photo of the glasses on Twitter in 2013 to protest gun violence.
A Mundane Beginning to an Extraordinary Human relationship
According to his ain accounting, John outset met Yoko Ono on November 9, 1966, at an art show held at the Indica Gallery in London. He said he was embarrassed to attend considering of his fame as a Beatle, but that patently didn't stop him.
He claims he was won over by the gifted artist while viewing one of the pieces in the exhibit. To appreciate the piece, he had to climb up a ladder to view it with a magnifying drinking glass. What was it? The discussion "yes" written in tiny messages on the ceiling.
Playing Children'south Games on the Route
In improver to Heed Games, John too reportedly enjoyed playing board games, Monopoly in item. When the Beatles were together, he packed the popular real manor game for them to play on the road.
John coerced band members to play the game on planes and in hotel rooms and seemed to be obsessed with buying the Boardwalk and Park Identify properties. Whether the game was just a simple diversion from life on the road or his obsession held some deeper pregnant, nosotros volition never know. Information technology remains an interesting fact near a very complex person.
A Stone 'northward' Roll Bad Male child with a Religious Start
John Lennon had a well-earned reputation as a rock 'n' curl bad boy. He worked hard, played hard and was never really like the clean-cut prototype the early on version of the Beatles tried to project. Ironically, the rebel did become his start in music as a choir boy.
Not only was he a choir boy at St. Peter'south Church in Liverpool, England, but he was also a member of the Allerton Boy Scout Troop. Despite these early on affiliations, John spent much of his life in opposition to conformity and organized anything (religion, in particular), but he had to commencement somewhere.
A Almost Miss on the Longed for Phase Reunion
During the kickoff flavour of Saturday Night Live, creator Lorne Michaels made a plea on alive television for the Beatles to become back together on the show. He offered the relatively small amount of $three,000 for the Beatles to play three songs on the show.
John and Paul happened to be hanging out together in NYC on that Sabbatum night in 1975, and they were tempted to take him up on his offer. It would have only taken a brusque cab ride to attain the studio and make rock 'n' ringlet history, but they ultimately decided against it.
Posing for a Legend for a Final Good day
John Lennon appeared on the comprehend of the kickoff outcome of Rolling Rock mag in 1968. He continued to be featured on the cover and inside the pages on a regular basis over the adjacent 13 years until his death.
Photographer Annie Liebovitz photographed John for some other embrace just hours before he was shot to death in front of his apartment building. She asked both John and Yoko to pose nude as they had years earlier when promoting their Two Virgins album. Yoko declined but John accepted in what turned out to be the memorable cover of the January 22, 1981 issue.
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