John Lennon

Oct, 08 1940 – Dec, 08, 1980

Born in Liver Pool EnglandHis parents Alfred and Julia Lennon

Named him after his paternal grandfather and Winston Churchill

Myths state John was born during Luftwaffe bombing raids

School Years

John was a prankster in school

He loved being class clown and getting in trouble

Academics was not of his interest nor was he good at it

Music Interest beginsAt the age of 11 his mother taught him the

banjoHis Mother bought him his first guitar at the

age of 16

The Quarry Men

John formed a band named after his school within the same year he received his first guitar

Three members John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney

They played Gigs all around their hometown in Liverpool

Band Name ChangeIn 1960 the band decided to change their

name to the Beatles

Pete Best left the Beatles in 1962, soon after they found Richard Starkey ( Ringo Star )

“Love me Do” debut single came out 4 days before Lennon's 22nd birthday

Beatle maniaIn 1964 the Beatles was the first from the

British bands to come out huge in the United States

Feb 1964 they appeared on the Ed Sullivan show

Enormous ShockAugust 1967 Epstein died from an accidental

overdose from sleeping pillsMcCartney ended up taking charge of the

bandMagical Mystery tour panned by critics

Lennon's First MarriageLennon married Cynthia Powell 1962They had a son together (Julian)Divorced 4 years later in 1966

New LoveJohn and Yoko met in 1966Yoko was an Japanese Avant- garde artistThe two invented a peace protest They recorded a single under the name

plastic Ono band ( Give peace a chance)

The Beatles break-upYoko spending so much time with Lennon was

causing tensions between the membersLennon decided to leave the band September

1969The breakup was kept secret until April 1970

Imagine1971 Lennon recorded ImagineOne of Lennon's best post Beatles effortsThird all time best song by Rolling Stone

Threatened to be DeportedLennon & Yoko moved to the United StatesNixon administration threatening to deport

for a marijuana conviction in 1968Documents proved innocence

Last DaysIn 1980Lennon returned to music recording

Double FantasyJust a few weeks after the release Lennon

was shot in the back by a fan which took his life

Help!Help was used as the song title for the

Beatles second movieOne of Lennon's favorite records because it

was realOne of two # 1 songs with one word title

RevolutionThis was the first overtly political Beatles

songTwo versions were written a slow version

which was on the White album the second as a single

In 1987 Nike used the song in a commercial

Come TogetherTimothy Leary asked Lennon to write a song

for his political campaignThe campaign never took off but gave Lennon

a song ideaRolling stone stated this was one of their 500

greatest songs

Listening guide 01Imagine0:00, Piano melody in Minor scale vocals comes into the melody in

the first verse.0:37 the drum beat changes to a faster pace after verse one ends

and the chorus begins.1:16 beginning the second chorus the drum beat goes from a

constituent beat to a fast off beat Lennon’s vocals raise up an octave

2:12 at the end of the 3rd verse last line the vocals raise up in a run and the drum beat goes off then starts back up at a faster pace.

2:36 ending the 4th verse going into the 4th chorus the beat changes from a steady to off beat fast pace vocals up an octave.

3:01 ending the 5th verse and the song the beat changes and the vocals change to a long run.

 

Listening guide 02 Help 0:00 Introduction Started with a strong vocal then I hear a

snare drum along with fast guitar picking.0:50 end of verse one into the chorus the drum switches to

snare fast guitar picking and very clear back ground vocals sounded like a choir.

1:12 beginning into the second chorus the beat of the song changed when the drums went into a triple beat the guitar picking changed from slow to fast seemed like it was blended.

The last verse running into the chorus the vocals ran following each other the beat changed off beat a bit and the slow / fast picking.

Listening Guide 03  Come Together 0:00 introductions started with vocals shh followed by drum sticks and

bass followed with vocals starting out the first verse. 0:56 the drum beat changes along with the rhythm guitar and bass the

vocals keep the same tone. 1:11 the rhythm guitar starts strumming at the second verse the vocals

pitch goes up an octave the skins change the pattern. 1:45 drums change up the beat to a deeper sound the guitar changes the

rhythm and the bass ads in two fast scales. 2:04 the rhythm guitar changes the tone with strumming followed by a

scale the vocals goes up two or more octaves almost a slight scream. 2:45 the guitar takes off with a riff and the drums pick up the pace to keep

up with the guitars the bass kept the same rhythm going no vocals. 3:07 the drums rolled off with a fast pace hitting all skins two times

running a bit of a solo the vocals them came in followed by rhythm guitar and bass.