He was born on an autumn day under the shadows of the bombardment. He dragged millions after him with his music and anti-war discourse and he left this life tragically with a bullet from an insane fan’s gun. John Lennon born on 09 October 1940 in Liverpool was the legendary solo signer of the Beatles and a great talent who brought a different dimension to the music around the world. In addition to his musician identity, the artist attracted attention with his activist identity and he had countless achievements in his 40 years of a short life.
An Escape from Tough Youth Music
When his parents were separated when he was just four years old, John Lennon started to live with his aunt Mimi. Although he frequently saw his mother, he only saw his father a few times until his adulthood. But this painful period might the main factor for the Lennon legend to born. The guitar that was given as a gift from his mother when he was 15 years old was a turning point for both John Lennon and the music industry. Although his aunt was not happy about his interest in music, Lennon was constantly playing the guitar in the house veranda. Mimi said to her nephew that although playing the guitar is something really nice, he can never make real money out of it.
Meeting with Paul McCartney
On 06 July 1957 in a church meeting, he met with Paul McCartney, the other legend of the Beatles. In those days, John Lennon had a music band called “The Quarrymen” but the band was not effective as the band members were conflicting. Paul and John were a good team when they first met. While they were getting together almost every day, they worked on new compositions in Paul’s home and played music for hours. In the meantime, Lennon was accepted to Liverpool School of Art on October 1957 even though he was commonly referred as a naughty student by his teachers.
Unexpected Tragedy
In 1958, another breaking point occurred in John’s life. His mother Julia was killed in a car accident involving inactive police. This unexpected accident had a deep effect on John. Although John suspected that the police was drunk, this doubt that was never questioned harmed his views on authority and police. Now, he was tougher and more different than he was before.
In the same year, Paul McCartney introduced him to George Harrison who was only 15 years old. Harrison who was first rejected by Lennon because of his young age was later accepted to The Quarrymen group. The trio frequently gathered together to make new songs but Lennon’s interest in school was insufficient during these crazy works. He was suspended from the university in the third year. In the meantime, The Quarrymen name was evolved to Silver Beatles in 1960. In 1961, drummer Ringo Starr was accepted to the band.
A New Music
In 1962, Lennon married to his girlfriend Cynthia Lennon whom he met in the college and had a stormy relationship. The main reason for marriage was the fact that Cynthia was pregnant. Although the Beatles was not a popular band in those years, they had a serious fanbase in Liverpool and this marriage was kept as a secret on the request on band’s manager Brian Epstein. The couple named their child born in 1963 Julia which was Lennon’s mother’s name. Of course, they continued their musical work without interruption. “Love Me Do”, the first single of the Beatles was released in 1962 but the years of work showed some results in 1963. The Beatles turned the British music lists upside down with “Please Please Me” album and the band were known as the best music group around the world.
An End of An Era
The achievements of the group were interrupted by traversal discourses. For example, in a 1966 interview, Lennon said the Beatles is more popular than Jesus which caused him to be subjected to threats of the most famous American racist organization Klu Klux Klan and they even prevented the Beatles songs to be played on the radio. The band’s manager Epstein’s death in 1967 from overdose was an important turning point for the Beatles. Paul McCartney took over the representation of the band in this period but certain disagreements between the band members emerged in the same period. John Lennon who divorced his wife in 1968 married to his girlfriend Yoko Ono in 1969 but the existence of Ono started to create discomfort among other members of the Beatles. John Lennon left the band in 1969 and decided to continue his musical career with this wife.
The World Is After a New Imagination
His life had its ups and downs in the following years. He attracted attention as he expressed the attitude of America was incorrect in the War of Vietnam and due to his anti-war discourse. He was frequently threatened to be deported from the US where he lived with his wife Yoko Ono. Such that he was expressed as a national threat in the Nixon period. The most important personal breakthrough of Lennon as “Imagine” song in 1971. The song that made millions of people to imagine a world without nations, heaven or hell was successful as one of the top 100 most played songs of the 20th century.
A Full-Time Father
John Lennon and Yoko Ono who was forced to deal with deportation broke up in 1973 as they were unable to overcome their problems. Lennon moved to Los Angeles and started a new adventure with May Pang that will last for about 1.5 years but when it was 1974, he was back again with Yoko Ono. The couple had a son called Sean in 1975 and Lennon gave a break to music to take care of his son as he promised to Yoko Ono. Until making that decision, they released hit albums such as Mind Games (1973), Walls and Bridges (1974) and Rock ‘n’ Roll (1975) and collaborated with names like David Bowie, Elton John.
Untimely Goodbye
After being away from music for the five years, John Lennon was back to music on September 1980 with “(Just Like) Starting Over” single. He was killed in a gun attack on 08 December 1980 in front of his house in New York two months after this song was released. Mark David Chapman who committed the murder was a Beatles fan with mental problems and Lennon signed his latest album for him just a few hours earlier. The early farewell of Lennon when he was only 40 years old was unbelievable and horrifying that no one wanted to accept this for a long time. John Lennon broke sales records after his death and he is still one of the artists that guide the world. Lennon who summarized life in Imagine with “There is no world to kill for and there is no world to die for” by advising millions of people to “imagine” had a brutal end. However, this legacy left by Lennon is proof that this extraordinary person who celebrated his 79th years of age this year will continue to be the lives of hundreds and thousands of people.
