John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon was an English musician and peace activist best known for his role as co-lead singer and rhythm guitarist of The Beatles. Born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England, John spent most of his childhood with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George Smith. They supported his aspiration to become a musician and bought him a harmonica when he was young. John's mother, Julia, occasionally came over to his house and gave John piano and banjo lessons. Julia later bought John his first guitar, which he would practice on for hours a day, hoping to soon find a band to perform in.

Lennon circa 1970

Lennon soon formed The Beatles when he was 20, and, after a few line-up changes, the band solidified as John, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The Beatles' first #1 hit, "Please Please Me" was written by John. Although this song gave The Beatles some success and critical acclaim, their popularity would skyrocket in the next few years with John and Paul in charge. Over the next couple of years, The Beatles would release a string of successful albums, each peaking at #1 n the Billboard Charts for at least 9 weeks. By the time their sixth studio album had been released, The Beatles (and John Lennon) were already household names, and everyone knew about them.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

1966-1969 saw the release of the four most famous albums by The Beatles: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The White Album, and Abbey Road. John wrote some of the most famous music of all-time and created innovative sound techniques never heard before that time. For this, John has been labeled a musical genius by many critics. In 1970, The Beatles broke up, and John began a career as a solo artist. He wrote some of his most famous songs as a solo artist.

Songs that John wrote such as "Give Peace A Chance", "Imagine", and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" became peace anthems all over the world for many people. People sang these songs at protests against the Vietnam war in hope to promote peace and sing against the war. John thought his superstar status would help people join him against the war. Lennon used his songs to convinced the 18 year olds who could now vote that the war is wrong, and peace is right. In addition to making anti-war anthems, John also participated in many anti-war rallies to speak out against the war.

Peaceful Lennon

John was a very good man who made the most out of his life. He revolutionized the way popular music sounds today, and spoke for what he believed in. In addition to being an extremely influential and important individual, John couldn't have been a nicer man, either. He had a massive impact on millions of people's lives, and continues to do so to this day.

Heroic Awards

* 1977 BRIT Awards - Outstanding contribution to music during the past 25 years
* 1983 BRIT Awards - Outstanding contribution to music
* 1991 Grammy Awards - Lifetime Achievement Award