Lennon, John

John Winston Ono Lennon (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was best known as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the English music group The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, peace activist, artist, actor and author. more...

As half of the legendary Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, he heavily influenced the development of rock music, leading it towards more advanced multi-layered arrangements, mature lyrical sentiments, and musical eclecticism.

He is recognised as one of the greatest music icons of the 20th century and many of his songs, such as "Imagine", "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "In My Life", are often ranked among the best songs in popular music history. In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time, and the British public voted Lennon into 8th place.

Youth

Lennon was born John Winston Lennon in Liverpool, on 9 October 1940. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds and experience, though neither pursued music seriously. Lennon lived with his parents in Liverpool until his father Alfred (nicknamed Alf, and later "Freddy"), a merchant seaman, walked out on the family when John was five years old (Lennon later met with his father during his musical career). His mother Julia (under pressure from the local authorities) decided that she was unable to care for her son, and so gave him to her sister Mimi. Throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence, Lennon lived with his aunt Mimi and her husband George at Mendips, 251 Menlove Avenue, Liverpool.

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