25 Facts About John Lennon You Must Know
1- He Discovered Later That He Was Suffering From Dyslexia
A widely misunderstood condition, dyslexia does not simply mean that you cannot read, or that words appear to be upside down or backwards. It also has NOTHING to do with lack of intelligence. It is not even as rare as we would think. Approximately 20% of the overall population experiences some sort of difficulty due to dyslexia. Most of the cases are, like John Lennon’s, undiagnosed.Dyslexics have a slightly different brain structure than most other people do. The right side of their brain is more developed (and therefore physically larger) than the average person. This means that they have trouble identifying certain sounds and symbols on a two dimensional plane (letters and numbers). They have trouble remembering things through rote memory (phone numbers and addresses), and are terrible at spelling and elementary math.This also means that their visual-spatial skills and their logic and reasoning skills are far superior than the average person. Dyslexics are usually artistic, highly intuitive, extremely curious, innovative thinkers with great people skills. Sadly, because reading and writing on paper has been such an important skill to succeed in school, their teachers and peers have for years incorrectly labeled dyslexics as lazy or stupid.Even though his aunt Mimi raised him, John Lennon occasionally spent time with his biological mother Julia, who taught him how to play the banjo and the piano. Fortunately Julia never made him read sheet music; otherwise little John would have been frustrated to no end by his inability to read the symbols and probably would have quit his musical aspirations early on in life.Dyslexics are extremely gifted in the arts, but because of their inability to decode certain symbols on a page, such as letters, numbers and musical notes they have to learn the music by memory. When they do, they are able to produce beautifully structured pieces of music along with very creative lyrics. But they do need to make sense out of it before they can memorize, as rote repetition does not work for dyslexics. Lennon spent most of his time as a boy listening to Buddy Holly and Elvis on the radio, and because memorizing other people’s lyrics was so difficult, he would simply make up his own words to the music: the mark of true dyslexic creativity.
2- The Harmonica Was The First Instrument John Learned To Play
“It doesn’t matter how long my hair is or what color my skin is or whether I’m a woman or a man.”The answer is himself. John Lennon was given a harmonica first by a lodger at his home in Mendips named Harold Phillips and then again later by his uncle George (Smith) when he was still a child. John played it from time to time and after his uncle’s death from a liver hemorrhage in June 1955, he began to learn more on the instrument on his own. John didn’t start to develop his technique more seriously until 1962 after meeting up with Delbert McClinton. And, of course, John plays harmonica on many of the early Beatles recordings including the follow up singles after “Love Me Do” (“Please Please Me” and “From Me To You.”).
3- John Lennon sometimes liked to sleep in an old coffin.
He sometimes slept in a coffin: According to Allan Williams, an early manager for the Beatles, John liked to sleep in an old coffin. Williams had the old coffin on the premises of his coffee bar “The Jacaranda”. As a gag, John would frequently nap in it.
4- His Last Photo Shows Him Signing A Copy Of Double Fantasy To His Killer Mark David Chapman
Mark David Chapman (born May 10, 1955) is an American prison inmate who murdered John Lennon on December 8, 1980. Chapman shot Lennon outside The Dakota apartment building in New York City. Chapman fired at Lennon five times, hitting him four times in the back. Chapman later remained at the crime scene reading J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye until the police arrived and arrested him. Chapman repeatedly said that the novel was his statement.
5-The B-52’s Were his Favorite Band Of All Time
John Lennon heard this song playing in a Bermuda disco in 1979. It reminded him of Yoko Ono’s music so much that it inspired him to return to the recording studio after a 5 year retirement. The B52s’ guitarist Keith Strickland recalled to Q magazine that at the end of the song, “Cindy does this scream that was inspired by Yoko Ono. John heard it in some club in the Bahamas, and the story goes that he calls up Yoko and says, Get the axe out – they’re ready for us again! Yoko has said that she and John were listening to us in the weeks before he died.” (This interview is available at Rock’s Backpages).Yoko confirmed the story in her 2013 Songfacts interview. She recalled: “Listening to the B-52’s, John said he realized that my time had come. So he could record an album by making me an equal partner and we won’t get flack like we used to up to then.”
6-He Disliked His Own Singing Voice And Was Dissatisfied With All The Beatles’ Records
Ray Coleman’s biography of Lennon explains:John was genuinely bashful about his voice. I remember telling him how muchI liked it on one particular track, “You Can’t Do That,” and he was astonished that anyone should single out his vocal work for any praise.”You really mean it?” he asked incredulously. “I can’t say I ever likedhearing myself.”And the following quote from George Martin is also in the biography:”John had an inborn dislike of his own voice which I could never understand,as it was one of the best voices I’ve head. He was always saying to me, ‘Do something with my voice! You know, put something on it. Smother it with tomato ketchup or something. Make it different.’…As long as it wasn’t his natural voice coming through, he was reasonably happy. But he’dalways want his voices to get special treatment.”So your hypothesis would appear to be dead on….Michael
7-The Location Of His Cremated Remains Is Unknown
Lennon was extremely fearful of the practice of cremation, and despite this, Yoko chose to burn the Beatle. I’m sure she was aware of his feelings, because he had once wrote against the practice in a song. According to the documentary, “The Real John Lennon,” none of his family in England were consulted about what to do with his remains. In fact, in his Will, only his son Sean is mentioned, nothing is said about Julian. Former assistant, Frederic Seaman, against Yoko’s wishes, wrote an excellent book about John Lennon entitled, “The Last Days Of John Lennon.” In it he said, that MacDougal who was present at the cremation, said that John’s face was serene and calm up until it was time to go into the oven. Then suddenly it turned into a “pained, macabre grin,” “they” say due to rigor mortis. There are conflicting stories as to what happened to his ashes. Some say Yoko scattered him on Strawberry Fields, others say she still has them
8-He Loved Cats, He Has Owned As Many As Six At A Time
9-He Was Hurt And Began To Eat Much Less After A Reporter Labeled Him “The Fat Beatle.”
Hi foreversometimes,I agree he looked much too thin in some of those pictures from the late 70s/1980. I’ve read that he had a problem with his weight after a reporter described him as the ‘fat Beatle’ in 1965 (though he was never fat in my opinion, just slightly overweight for a while). But obviously that comment upset him and made him feel self-conscious about his appearance. I know that after he met Yoko they followed a macrobiotic diet, which is mostly rice, vegetables etc so that’s probably one of the reasons he was so thin. I agree with you that he looked better when he was a bit heavier – I think he looked great in 65-66!
10- Lennon Would Drink 20 To 30 Cups Of Tea Or Coffee Every Day
“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.”
11-He Was The One Who Collected Beatles Memorabilia. One Of His Favorite Pieces Was A Set Of Beatles Dolls Given To Him By Elton John
Lennon was an enthusiastic supporter of the Beatlefest conventions that began springing up in the mid-’70s, often sending assistants to the events to procure interesting artifacts. May Pang attended the very first Beatlefest, where she ran into Jurgen Vollmer, an old friend of Lennon’s who had taken striking photographs of The Beatles during their Hamburg days. Lennon used one of the photos for the cover of his 1975 album, Rock ‘n’ Roll. Another of Lennon’s prized possessions was a set of Beatles dolls given to him by Elton John.
12-Lennon Was Also A Boy Scout
Yes, John Lennon, the great rock ‘n roll rebel and iconoclast, started his singing career as a choir boy at St. Peter’s church and was a member of the 3rd Allerton Boy Scout troop. Legendary singer-songwriter John Lennon was the founder member of the band named, “Beatles”. Beatles is a band that obstructed the popular music scenario like no other band before. Not only was he an exceptional artist, but he was also a fascinating human being.Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool. He grew up in a working-class family. From his parents’ divorce to his aunt’s death, Lennon had a traumatic childhood. But true excellence cannot be exiled and he proved just that.However singer, composer, musician, writer or actor whatever profession Lennon took on, he showed true originality. But we all know that anyway. What you didn’t know is that this legend was once a boy scout!Yes, John Lennon, the irreplaceable rock ‘n roll insurgent and individualist, started his music career as a choir boy. St. Peter’s was the neighborhood church and Lennon voluntarily worked as a boy scout and a choir boy there. To be exact, he was a member of the 3rd Allerton Boy Scout troop.Surprisingly, Lennon did start from the scratch. Here’s to a truly remarkable example!
14-All The Beatles Eventually Became Full-Time Vegetarians Except For John
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15-He Was The Only Beatle Who Didn’t Become A Full-Time Vegetarian
“If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliché that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”
16- Monopoly Was One Of His Favorite Games
17-Without His Glasses, He Was Almost Blind
o we’ve all heard how John Lennon without his glasses moved around in the land of Monet—how his famous tough-looking stage persona was actually him peering out into the crowd, hoping he’d see the incoming bottle or fist just in time to avoid it—but this photograph made me smile. Beatle John blinks down at that thing like he’s 85. “Is this bloody ‘Watch Your Step’?”A slight disability like that (perhaps the disability is being too vain to wear your specs!) often pushes people into their imagination. From there, it’s a short step to full-blown creative pursuits. And bad vision isn’t all bad; I still remember the day I was walking down the street and saw a beautiful little bird leaning against the gutter, almost as if he were sitting in a chair watching the titanic cars whiz by. Then I looked again, and it was a wadded-up napkin.
18-“All You Need Is Love” Is The Best Lyric He Ever Wrote
19-On November 9, 1967, He Appeared On The First Ever Cover Of Rolling Stone Magazine
20-He Was The Last Beatle To Learn How To Drive
“Happiness is just how you feel when you don’t feel miserable.”
21- John Had Said Several Times That He’d Rather Have Been A Member Of Monty Python Than The Beatles
22-He Was Expelled From School For Misbehaviour At Age 5
“The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that’s making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?”
23- Yoko Ono, His Wife, Didn’t Know John Was A Beatle When They First Met
“Love is the answer, and you know that for sure; Love is a flower, you’ve got to let it grow.”
24-John And Yoko Had A Psychic On Their Staff To Advise Them On Business Deals
“Everything is clearer when you’re in love.”
25-Bob Dylan Was The person Who Introduced Marijuana To Lennon And The Rest Of The Beatles
The mid-to-late ’60s saw the Beatles morphing from mop-topped pop stars into Nehru jacket-wearing mystics — a transformation that may have started on Aug. 28, 1964, when Bob Dylan introduced the Fab Four to the joys of smoking marijuana.The Beatles Bible looks back on the event, which took place in the band’s suite at the Delmonico Hotel in New York, with a series of quotes from people who were there, including Beatles associate Peter Brown, John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney.Read More: 51 Years Ago: Bob Dylan Introduces the Beatles to Marijuana | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bob-dylan-introduces-beatles-to-marijuana/?trackback=tsmclip
sources: http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/who-gave-john-his-first-harmonica/
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/documenting-john-lennons-love-for-cats-20120113
