Biography
Biography
John Lennon didn't invent it rock and roll, nor did he embody it as toweringly as figures like Elvis Presley and Little Richard, but he did more than anyone else to shake it up, move it forward and instill it with a conscience. As the most daring and outspoken of the four Beatles, he helped shape the agenda of the Sixties - socially and politically, no less than musically. As a solo artist, he made music that alternately disturbed and soothed, provoked and sought community. As a human being, he served as an exemplar of honesty in his art and life. As Jann Wenner wrote in the foreword to a collection of writings entitled The Ballad of John and Yoko, "Of the many things that will be long remembered about John Lennon - his genius as a musician and singer, his wit and literary swiftness, his social intuition and leadership - among the most haunting was the stark, unembarrassed commitment of his life, his work and his undernourished frame to truth, to peace and to humanity."  
Lennon was born in 1940 during the Nazi bombing of Britain and given the middle name Winston, after prime minister Churchill (he would later change his middle name to Ono). Knowing firsthand the horror of a world at war and living through the era of Vietnam's senseless carnage as well, Lennon came to embrace and embody pacifism via such classics of the Beatles era as "All You Need Is Love" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." Yet he also had a countervailing dark side that found expression in pained outcries that dated as far back as "Help." This unvarnished aspect of the Lennon persona reached a fevered pitch with the drug-withdrawal blues of "Cold Turkey," a 1969 single released under the name Plastic Ono Band.  

Although Lennon was a complicated man, he chose at this juncture to simplify his art in order to figure out his life, erasing the boundaries between the two. As he explained it, he started trying "to shave off all imagery, pretensions of poetry, illusions of grandeur...Just say what it is, simple English, make it rhyme and put a backbeat on it, and express yourself as simply [and] straightforwardly as possible." His most fully realized statement as a solo artist was 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band. Lennon's first solo album, it followed several avant-garde sound collages recorded toward the end of the Beatles era with his wife and collaborator, Yoko Ono. The raw, confessional nature of Plastic Ono Band reflected the primal-scream therapy that Lennon and Ono had been undergoing with psychologist Arthur Janov.  

There were, in fact, numerous facets to Lennon's character captured in the ongoing diary of his life in song. Many of his post-Beatles compositions - "Imagine," "Mind Games," "Instant Karma," and "Give Peace a Chance" - have rightfully become anthems, flaunting tough-minded realism, cosmic epiphany, hard-won idealism and visionary utopianism in equal measure. For all of the unvarnished genius of Lennon's recordings, however, much of what lingers in the public memory goes beyond musical legacy. Rather, it has to do with leading by example. The relationship between John and Yoko endured challenges from within and without to became one of the most touching and celebrated of 20th-century romances. They were gallantly foolish in undertaking performance art pieces - bed-ins, happenings, full-page ads declaring "War Is Over!" - to spread their message of peace. During the early Seventies Lennon fought the U.S. government to avoid deportation - a campaign of harassment by Nixon-era conservatives that was overturned by the courts in 1975 - and came to love his adopted city of New York.  

Then there were those five quiet years when Lennon chose to lay low and raise their son, Sean Ono Lennon (both Sean and Lennon's son from his previous marriage, Julian, are musicians). Simply by stepping back and "watching the wheels" from the sidelines, John Lennon made a statement about priorities that said more than words and music. His eventual return to the recording scene in 1980 after that lengthy hiatus - his last album of original songs had been 1974's Walls and Bridges - was one of the more eagerly anticipated musical events of the year. The album Double Fantasy, jointly credited to John Lennon/Yoko Ono, was released in November, 1980. On December 8, a brilliant life came to an untimely end when Lennon was fatally shot by a deranged fan outside his New York City apartment upon returning from a recording session.      
Go to the end of this page for a Timeline of John Lennon's Life
John Lennon is born at Oxford Street Maternity Hospital in Liverpool, England, to Julia Stanley and Alfred Lennon.  
Timeline
October 9 , 1940
Julia, separated from Alfred, entrusts her son, John Lennon, to the care of her sister, Mary Elizabeth Stanley Smith, "Aunt Mimi."
1945
1957
Aunt Mimi buys John Lennon a guitar at Frank Hessy's music store. His incessant playing prompts her to say, "The guitar's all very well as a hobby, John, but you'll never make a living out of it." John forms his first group, the Quarrymen.
John Lennon meets Paul McCartney at the Woolton Parish Church in Liverpool during a performance by John's group the Quarrymen. Impressed by Paul's ability to tune a guitar and by his knowledge of song lyrics, John asks him to join the group.
July 6 , 1957
February 1 , 1958
Paul McCartney introduces George Harrison to the Quarrymen at a basement teen club called the Morgue. George joins the group.
August 1 , 1960
The Beatles make their debut in Hamburg, West Germany, with Stu Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums.
January 1 , 1961
The Beatles make their debut at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.
November 1 , 1961
Local record store manager Brian Epstein is introduced to the Beatles. He soon signs a contract to manage them.
Stu Sutcliffe dies of a brain hemorrhage. Paul McCartney switches to bass.
April 10 , 1962
June 1 , 1962
The Beatles audition for George Martin at Parlophone/EMI Records. He agrees to sign the group, but insists that Pete Best be replaced. Within months, Richard "Ringo" Starkey joins the group.
August 23 , 1962
John Lennon marries Cynthia Powell.
September 4-11 , 1962
The Beatles record their first sessions at EMI Studios in London, with George Martin as producer.
John Charles Julian Lennon is born to John and Cynthia Lennon at Sefton General Hospital in Liverpool.
April 8 , 1963
February 7 , 1964
The Beatles begin their first U.S. tour at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C.
March 23 , 1964
John Lennon's first book, In His Own Write, is published and becomes an instant best-seller.
July 6 , 1964
The world premiere of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night takes place in London.
John Lennon composes "Help!" the title song for the Beatles' second film. He later confides that the lyrics are a cry for help and a clue to the confusion and despondency he feels.


John Lennon's second book, A Spaniard in the Works, is published.


The Beatles play in front of almost 60,000 fans at Shea Stadium in New York City.


The Beatles are awarded England's prestigious MBE (Members of the Order of the British Empire). John comments, "I thought you had to drive tanks and win wars to get the MBE."


London's Evening Standard publishes an interview with John Lennon in which he states that the Beatles are "more popular than Jesus now." The comment provokes several protests, including the burning of Beatles records.


John Lennon's comments (made in March) on the state of Christianity spark protests in the U.S. on the eve of the Beatles' 1966 American tour.


After their concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, the Beatles declare this to be their final concert tour.


John Lennon makes his first appearance away from the Beatles in the role of Private Gripweed in Richard Lester's film How I Won the War. He writes "Strawberry Fields Forever" during the filming.


Yoko Ono and John Lennon meet at a preview of her art show, Exhibition #2, at Indica Gallery in London.


Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is released in Britain.


John Lennon writes "I Am the Walrus" while under the influence of LSD. He also anonymously sponsors Yoko Ono's Half a Wind Show (subtitled Yoko Plus Me) at London's Lisson Gallery.


Apple Corps, Ltd. begins operating in London. It is the Beatles' attempt to take control of their own creative and economic destiny. Later that month, John invites Yoko to his house in Weybridge. They make experimental tapes all night.


John Lennon and Yoko Ono exhibit their first official joint venture at the Arts Lab in London. Soon after, they plant acorns outside Coventry Cathedral as a conceptual "living arts sculpture."


John Lennon moves out of his house in Weybridge. He and Yoko Ono move into Ringo Starr's apartment in Montague Square.


July 1, 1968John Lennon holds his first art exhibition, entitled You Are Here-To Yoko from John, with Love.


October 18, 1968John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested and charged with possession of cannabis.


November 1, 1968John Lennon pleads guilty to marijuana possession charges. He pays a nominal fine but insists that the drugs were planted by police.


November 8, 1968A divorce is granted to John and Cynthia Lennon.


November 11, 1968John Lennon and Yoko Ono release their first album together, Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins. The cover, a full-frontal shot of them naked, is banned.


DECEMBER 11-12, 1968 The Rolling Stones film the Rock and Roll Circus, with guests Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Jethro Tull and the Who.


January 30, 1969 The Beatles make their last performance as a group on the roof of the Apple building during the filming of Let It Be.


March 20, 1969John Lennon and Yoko Ono marry in Gibraltar.


MARCH 25-31, 1969John Lennon and Yoko Ono celebrate their marriage by hosting a "bed-in" - their "commercial for peace" - at the Amsterdam Hilton.


April 22, 1969John officially changes his name to John Ono Lennon.


MAY 26 - JUNE 2, 1969John Lennon and Yoko Ono conduct a bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. They record "Give Peace a Chance," with Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary and others.


June 4, 1969"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is released.


July 26, 1969"Give Peace a Chance," recorded by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band, enters the charts.


August 1, 1969John Lennon and Yoko Ono move to Tittenhurst Park, a 400-acre estate in Ascot.


September 1, 1969John Lennon returns his MBE. He says it is to protest the British government's involvement in Biafra, its support of the U.S. in Vietnam and the poor chart performance of his latest single, "Cold Turkey."


September 12, 1969John Lennon appears at the Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival concert, accompanied by Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Yoko. The Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto is released in December.


SEPTEMBER 13. 1969At the insistence of the Doors' Jim Morrison, a Gene Vincent fan, Vincent played at the Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival, sharing the festival bill with John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis.


December 16, 1969"War Is Over! If You Want It!" billboards go up in 11 cities around the world, as a Christmas message from John Lennon and Yoko Ono.


January 26, 1970John Lennon and Phil Spector write and record "Instant Karma."


June 6, 1971John Lennon & Yoko Ono jam with Frank Zappa at the Fillmore East in New York City, recorded for subsequent release on the Plastic Ono Band album Sometime in New York City.


July 1, 1971John Lennon records Imagine in his studio at Tittenhurst. The title track is inspired by a message in Yoko Ono's book Grapefruit.


November 1, 1971John Lennon appears at a benefit concert at the Apollo Theater for the families of inmates at Attica Prison.


January 1, 1972The staff of the U.S. Senate Internal Security Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee prepares a memo about John Lennon's involvement with such radicals as Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman and Rennie Davis.


February 4, 1972Senator Strom Thurmond suggests in a secret memo to Attorney General John Mitchell that John Lennon be deported.


FEBRUARY - MARCH 1972John Lennon's U.S. non-immigrant visa expires. An extension is granted then revoked. Deportation proceedings begin, marking the start of John's four-year battle to remain in the U.S.


June 12, 1972Some Time in New York City by John Lennon is released.


April 1, 1973John Lennon and Yoko Ono purchase an apartment at the Dakota on Central Park West and West 72nd Street in New York.


FALL 1973John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin an 18-month separation.


November 1, 1973John Lennon's Mind Games is released.


August 1, 1974John Lennon records the Walls and Bridges album, writing 10 of the songs in a single week.


November 28, 1974John Lennon makes his final concert appearance, with Elton John at Madison Square Garden.


January 2, 1975John and Yoko are reunited. The Beatles' final dissolution takes place in London.


October 9, 1975Sean Taro Ono Lennon is born at New York Hospital on John's 35th birthday.


July 26, 1976John Lennon's application to remain in the U.S. as a permanent resident is approved at a special hearing.


1977 - 1979The majority of John Lennon's time is spent as a "househusband" - taking care of Sean - while Yoko handles the family's business affairs.


June 1, 1980John Lennon takes a sailing trip to Bermuda. There, he begins writing songs again. October 23, 1980John Lennon's first new single, "(Just Like) Starting Over," is released.


November 23, 1980John Lennon's Double Fantasy album is released.


December 8, 1980John Lennon is shot by a deranged assailant as he and Yoko return to the Dakota after a recording session. He is pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital.


December 21, 1980(Just Like) Starting Over (John Lennon) was a hit.             


July 6 , 1964
June 24 , 1964
August 15 , 1965
October 26 , 1965
March 1 , 1966
July 31 , 1966
August 29 , 1966
September/October , 1966
November 9 , 1966
June 1 , 1967
September 1 , 1967
May 1 , 1968
May 1968 - June 15 , 1968
Summer 1968