John Lennon
Musician, songwriter and activist
John Lennon was an English musician and songwriter who founded the Beatles. He also wrote books and campaigned for peace.
1 summary 22 min of listening
British Born 1940 in Liverpool Maternity Hospital, United Kingdom Died 1980
About John Lennon
John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940. As a teenager he took part in the skiffle craze and formed the Quarrymen in 1956. The group became the Beatles in 1960, and his songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney became one of the most successful in history. In the mid-1960s Lennon wrote two collections of nonsense writings and line drawings, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. Also in 1969, he and his second wife, the artist Yoko Ono, launched the Plastic Ono Band, and he left the Beatles for a solo career. His solo work included the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and the song "Imagine". After settling in New York City in 1971, he spoke out against the Vietnam War, and the Nixon administration spent about three years trying to deport him. He returned to music in 1980 with Double Fantasy. He was shot and killed in December of that year.