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John Lennon

Agrupamento de Ribeira de PenaNúcleo de Cerva

Index Introduction … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 3Childhood and adolescence… … … … … … … … … 4The Quarrymen … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5The Beatles … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. 6Solo Career … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 7Personal relationships … … … … … … … … … … … 9 Cynthia Lennon… … … … … … …... 9 Death … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 11John´s Discography … … … … … … … … … … … 12 Some lyrics of songs by John Lennon …14Documentaries and Movies … … … … … … … … ... 17Further Reading … … … … … … … … … … … … ...18Conclusion… … … … … … … … … … … … … … ..19

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Bibliography … … … … … … … … … … … … … …20

Introduction

This work arose under discipline of English.This paper aims at making known the life of John Lennon, a great English pop singer who was too part of  the band the Beatles. I really admire this singer, and that's why decided to undertake this work on it.

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Childhood and adolescence

John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England, only son of Alf Lennon and Julia Lennon (whose maiden name was Stanley). His baptismal name was in honor of paternal grandfather John Jack Lennon, and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill at the time. His father, Alf Lennon, worked in the merchant navy during World War II and often sent money to his wife and child who lived at 9 Newcastle Road in Liverpool. The money stopped coming when Alf defected. The house that John Lennon lived during his childhood in Liverpool with his Aunt Mimi in Men love Avenue cited it. After being heavily criticized by the Stanley family about to be married and live in sin Bobby Dykins, and considerable pressure from her sister Mary Mimi Smith (who has twice contacted the Social Service of Liverpool John complaining about having to sleep in the same bed that the couple Bobby and Julia) Julia left the child care Mimi. In 1946, Alfred visited the home of Aunt Mimi and took John to Blackpoll SECRETARY planned to immigrate to New Zealand with the boy. After failing in his attempt, Alfred dropped the boy with Julia and John has not contacted until the start of Beatle mania, when they met again. Julia picked up again and took John to his house by registering it in a local school, but a few weeks after she returned to Aunt Mimi. Julia later with John has bought her first guitar. As John had difficulty learning chords, Julia taught using a banjo and a ukulele that were simpler tools.

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The Quarrymen

A student at Quarry Bank School in Liverpool named JOHN LENNON decided to form a group in 1957 which laid the foundation to what waste become the most famous rock band of all time. John's original name was "The Blackjacks". However, this name only lasted a week and John used the school name as inspiration for the later name "The Quarry Men" in March 1957. John sang and played guitar, Colin Hanton played drums, Eric Griffiths on guitar, Pete Shotton on washboard, Rod Davis on banjo and Bill Smith on bass. Bill was soon replaced by Ivan Vaughan. On July 6, 1957, Ivan Vaughan invited PAUL MCCARTNEY to see their gig at The Woolton Parish Church Fete. The fifteen-year-old McCartney was introduced to sixteen-year-old Lennon and a unique song writing partnership began. The line-up of The Quarry Men increased to seven with Paul on guitar and vocals, John Lowe on piano and GEORGE HARRISON on guitar and vocals. Soon Griffiths and another member would leave, leaving a five-piece band. The group appeared at several local talent contests but had very few gigs. 

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The Beatles

John Lennon, James Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Richard Starkey (also known as Ringo Starr) were born during the 1940s in Liverpool, England. During the post war period, Liverpool was a dingy depressed town and money was scarce. Two decades later, these four men born into working class obscurity would take the world by storm in a phenomenon our culture refers to as Beatlemania.

John Lennon met Paul McCartney when they were both performing in Skiffle Groups, which were homespun bands that played a combination of folk, rock and jazz. John was in a group called The Quarrymen, which later became John and the Quarrymen. Paul introduced John to George Harrison, who was two years younger but showed extraordinary talent. John, Paul and George, with the addition of John's Friend from art college, Stu Sutcliffe and a guitarist named Pete Best, set out to work in German clubs, where musicians were able to make a paltry living playing strip clubs and low end establishments. Ringo was performing in many of the same establishments with the group Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

During their time in Germany, Stu Sutcliffe decided to return to his first love, art, and a new love, a woman he had met in Germany named Astrid. Stu later died of a brain hemorrhage, which some suspect was due to his previous involvement in a club fight. The remaining members, now called "The Silver Beatles" returned to Liverpool, where John dealt with feelings of failure and a pregnant girlfriend, whom he reluctantly married. Their luck changed when a young record storeowner, named Brian Epstein, noticed the Beatles and thought they had something unique. After convincing the Beatles to clean up their tough image, they traded leather jackets for matching suits as Brian peddled their records from label to label with no success. Epstein never gave up on the Beatles and his business savvy, combined with the Beatles raw talent finally began to pay off.

Many of the groups from England, dubbed The Mersey Sound, were featured in Mersey Beat Magazine and played on the radio. The Beatles kept plugging away at fame.

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Solo Career

Following The Beatles' break-up in 1970, Lennon and Ono went through primal therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov in Los Angeles, California. Designed to release emotional pain from early childhood, the therapy entailed two half-days a week with Janov for four months; he had wanted to treat the couple for longer, but they felt no need to continue and returned to London. Lennon's emotional debut solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970), was received with high praise. Critic Greil Marcus remarked, "John's singing in the last verse of 'God' may be the finest in all of rock." The album featured the songs "Mother", in which Lennon confronted his feelings of childhood rejection, and the Dylanesque "Working Class Hero", a bitter attack against the bourgeois social system which, due to the lyric "you're still fucking peasants", fell afoul of broadcasters. The same year, Tariq Ali's revolutionary political views, expressed when he interviewed Lennon, inspired the singer to write "Power to the People". Lennon also became involved with Ali during a protest against magazine’s prosecution for alleged obscenity. Lennon denounced the proceedings as "disgusting fascism", and he and Ono (as Elastic Oz Band) released the single "God Save us/Do the Oz" and joined marches in support of the magazine.

With Lennon's next album, Imagine (1971), critical response was more guarded. Rolling Stone reported that "it contains a substantial portion of good music" but warned of the possibility that "his posturing will soon seem not merely dull but irrelevant". The album's title track would become an anthem for anti-war movements, while another, "How Do You Sleep?", was a musical attack on McCartney in response to lyrics from Ram that Lennon felt, and McCartney later confirmed, were directed at him and Ono. However, Lennon softened his stance in the mid-70s and said he had written "How Do You Sleep?" about himself. He

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said in 1980: "I used my resentment against Paul ... to create a song ... not a terrible vicious horrible vendetta ... I used my resentment and withdrawing from Paul and The Beatles, and the relationship with Paul, to write 'How Do You Sleep'. I don't really go 'round with those thoughts in my head all the time".

Lennon and Ono moved to New York in August 1971, and in December released "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". To advertise the single, they paid for billboards in 12 cities around the world which declared, in the national language, "WAR IS OVER—IF YOU WANT IT". The new year saw the Nixon Administration take what it called a "strategic counter-measure" against Lennon's anti-war propaganda, embarking on what would be a four-year attempt to deport him: embroiled in a continuing legal battle, he was denied permanent residency in the US until 1976.

Recorded as a collaboration with Ono and with backing from the New York band Elephant's Memory, Some Time in New York City was released in 1972. Containing songs about women's rights, race relations, Britain's role in Northern Ireland, and Lennon's problems obtaining a green card,[103] the album was poorly received—unlistenable, according to one critic. "Woman Is the Nigger of the World", released as a US single from the album the same year, was televised on 11 May, on The Dick Cavett Show. Many radio stations refused to broadcast the song because of the word "nigger". Lennon and Ono gave two benefit concerts with Elephant's Memory and guests in New York in aid of patients at the Willow brook State School mental facility. Staged at Madison Square Garden on 30 August 1972, they were his last full-length concert appearances.

Personal relationships8

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Cynthia Lennon

Lennon and Cynthia Powell met in 1957 as fellow students at the Liverpool College of Art. Although being scared of Lennon's attitude and appearance, she heard that he was obsessed with French actress Brigitte Bardot, so dyed her hair blonde. Lennon asked her out, but when she said that she was engaged, he replied, "I didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did I?”. She often accompanied him to Quarrymen gigs and travelled to Hamburg with McCartney's girlfriend at the time to visit him. Lennon, jealous by nature, eventually grew possessive and often terrified Powell with his anger and physical violence. Lennon later said that until he met Ono, he had never questioned his chauvinistic attitude to women. The Beatles' song "Getting Better", he said, told his own story, "I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically—any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn't express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women. That is why I am always on about peace"

Recalling his reaction in July 1962 on learning that Cynthia was

pregnant, Lennon said, "There's only one thing for it Cyan. We'll have

to get married."The couple was married on 23 August at the Mount

Pleasant Register Office in Liverpool. His marriage began just as

Beatlemania took hold across the UK. He performed on the evening of

his wedding day, and would continue to do so almost daily from then

on. Epstein, fearing that fans would be alienated by the idea of a

married Beatle, asked the Lennons to keep their marriage secret.

Julian was born on 8 April 1963; Lennon was on tour at the time and

did not see his son until three days later.

Cynthia attributes the start of the marriage breakdown to LSD, and

as a result, she felt that he slowly lost interest in her. When the group

travelled by train to Bangor, Wales, in 1967, for the Maharishi Yogi's

Transcendental Meditation seminar, a policeman did not recognize

her and stopped her from boarding. She later recalled how the

incident seemed to symbolize the ending of their marriage .After

arriving home at Kenwood, and finding Lennon with Ono, Cynthia left

the house to stay with friends. Alexis Mardas later claimed to have

slept with her that night, and a few weeks later he informed her that

Lennon was seeking a divorce and custody of Julian on grounds of her

adultery with him. After negotiations, Lennon capitulated and agreed

to her divorcing him on the same grounds. The case was settled out

of court, with Lennon giving her £100,000, and custody of Julian.

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Death

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At around 10:50 pm on 8 December 1980, as Lennon and Ono returned to their New York apartment in The Dakota, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times at the entrance to the building. Lennon was taken to the emergency room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:07 pm earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman.

Ono issued a statement the next day, saying "There is no funeral for John," ending it with the words, "John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him.". His body was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. Ono scattered his ashes in New York's Central Park, where the Strawberry Fields memorial was later created. Chapman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life; as of 2011, he remains in prison, having been denied parole six times.

John´s Discography

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Unfinished Music No. 1 - Two Virgins

Nov. 11, 1968 (US)Nov. 29, 1968 (UK)

Unfinished Music No. 2 - Life with the Lions

May 26, 1969 (US)May 9, 1969 (UK)

 Wedding Album

Oct. 20, 1969 (US)Nov. 7, 1969 (UK)

Live Peace In Toronto

Dec. 12, 1969 (US)Dec. 12, 1969 (UK)

 John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

Dec. 11, 1970 (US)Dec. 11, 1970 (UK)

Imagine

Sept. 9, 1971 (US)Oct. 8, 1971 (UK)

 Some Time In New York City

June 12, 1972 (US)Sept.15, 1972 (UK)

Mind Games

Nov. 2, 1973 (US)Nov. 16, 1973 (UK)

 Walls And Bridges

Sept. 26, 1974 (US)Oct. 4, 1974 (UK)

Rock 'N' Roll

Feb. 17, 1975 (US)Feb. 21, 1975 (UK)

 Shaved Fish

Oct. 24, 1975 (US)Oct. 24, 1975 (UK)

Double Fantasy

Nov. 17, 1980 (US)Nov. 17, 1980 (UK)

 John Lennon Collection

Nov. 8, 1982 (US)Nov. 1, 1982 (UK)

Milk And Honey

Jan. 19, 1984 (US)Jan. 23, 1984 (UK)

 Live In New York City

Jan. 24, 1986 (US)Feb. 24, 1986 (UK)

Menlove Ave.

Oct. 27, 1986 (US)Nov. 3, 1986 (UK)

 Imagine: John Lennon

Oct. 4, 1988 (US)Oct. 10, 1988 (UK)

Lennon

late July, 1991 (US)Oct. 30, 1990 (UK)(out of print)

 Lennon Legend

Feb. 23, 1998 (US)Oct. 27, 1997 (UK)

Wonsaponatime

Nov. 3, 1998 (US)Nov. 2, 1998 (UK)

 John Lennon Anthology

Nov. 3, 1998 (US)Nov. 2, 1998 (UK)

Acoustic

Nov. 2, 2004 (US)Nov. 2, 2004 (UK)

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Some lyrics of songs by

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John Lennon

ImagineJohn Lennon

Imagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the peopleLiving for today

Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die forAnd no religion too

Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peace

You may say, I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

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I wonder if you canNo need for greed or hunger

A Brotherhood of man

Imagine all the peopleSharing all the world

You may say, I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will live as one

Stand By MeJohn Lennon

When the night has comeAnd the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we'll see

No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraidJust as long as you stand, stand by me

So darling, darling, stand by me, oh stand by meStand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look uponShould tumble and let fall

And the mountains should crumble to the sea

I won't cry, I won't cry, no I won't shed a tearJust as long as you stand, stand by me

And darling, darling, stand by me, oh stand by me, oh stand nowStand by me, stand by me

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh stand by meStand by me, stand by me, stand by me.

Darling, darling, stand by me, oh stand by meStand by me, stand by me, stand by me.

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me, oh stand by meStand by me, stand by me, stand by me.

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Documentaries and Movies

Solo (3): "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night", "(Just Like) Starting Over", "Imagine".

With David Bowie (1): "Fame".

With The Beatles (21): "Can't Buy Me Love", "I Feel Fine", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Love Me Do", "She Loves You", "A Hard Day's Night", "Eight Days a Week", "Help!", "Ticket to Ride", "Yesterday", "Paperback Writer", "We Can Work It Out", "All You Need Is Love", "Hello Goodbye", "Penny Lane", "Hey Jude", "Come Together", "Get Back", "For You Blue", "Let It Be", "The Long and Winding Road".

As co-writer of releases by other artists (2): "A World Without Love" (Peter and Gordon), "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (Elton John).

Further Reading

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Kane, Larry  (2007). Lennon Revealed. Running Press. ISBN 9780762429660

Pang, May; Edwards, Henry (1983). Loving John: The Untold Story. Warner Books. ISBN 0-446-37916-6.

Wiener, Jon. The John Lennon FBI Files

Yorke, Richard (1969). " John Lennon: Ringo’s Right, We Can’t Tour Again" , New Musical Express, 7 June 1969, reproduced by Crawdaddy!, 2007.

ConclusionWith this work we conclude that

John Lennon had a life full of successes and is really was a great singer of English pop music.

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Bibliographyhttp://en.wikipedia.org www.vagalume.com.br

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