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John Lennon

Co-founder of the Beatles who, from 1970, made solo albums including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and whose last album, Double Fantasy, came out in 1980.

Origin
Liverpool, England
Years active
1956-1980
Genres
rock
Labels
Apple Records, Geffen Records

Liverpool to the Plastic Ono Band

John Lennon was born in Liverpool on 9 October 1940. In 1956 he formed the Quarrymen, which became the Beatles in 1960, and he met Paul McCartney at the group's second performance on 6 July 1957. In the mid-1960s he also wrote two books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works.

In 1969 he and Yoko Ono started the Plastic Ono Band. He left the Beatles on 20 September 1969 but agreed not to tell the media while the group renegotiated its recording contract. Singles followed, including "Give Peace a Chance" and, in February 1970, Instant Karma!. He wrote it on 27 January 1970 and recorded it that evening at EMI Studios with Phil Spector producing and George Harrison, Klaus Voormann, Alan White and Billy Preston alongside him. It reached number 3 in the United States and number 5 in Britain.

Two albums for Apple

From April to September 1970 Lennon and Ono went through primal therapy with Arthur Janov. The therapy shaped John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, recorded at Abbey Road in September and October 1970 with Ringo Starr on drums and Voormann on bass. Apple released it on 11 December 1970. Its lyrics deal with child-parent relationships and psychological suffering, from the opening Mother to Working Class Hero, which Lennon described as being about working-class people processed into the middle classes. It reached number 8 in Britain and number 6 in the United States. Reviews were mixed overall at first, though Robert Christgau named it the best album of 1970, and in 2012 Rolling Stone ranked it number 23 among the 500 greatest albums.

Of the follow-up, Lennon said in 1980: "I call it Plastic Ono with chocolate coating." Imagine was recorded in 1971 at his Ascot Sound Studios and the Record Plant in New York, with Harrison, Nicky Hopkins, Voormann, Alan White and Jim Keltner among the players. Apple issued it on 9 September 1971 in the United States and 8 October in Britain, and it reached number one in both countries. Its title song, Imagine, became the best-selling single of his solo career. The album also holds Jealous Guy and Gimme Some Truth.

New York

Lennon and Ono moved to New York in August 1971. Some Time in New York City, a double album with Ono and the band Elephant's Memory, came out in 1972. On 30 August 1972 they gave two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden, his last full-length concert appearances. Mind Games, credited to the Plastic U.F.Ono Band, followed in November 1973.

Walls and Bridges was made at the Record Plant East in the summer of 1974 and released that September. It included "Whatever Gets You thru the Night", with Elton John on piano and backing vocals, which became Lennon's only solo single to top the US Hot 100 in his lifetime. On 28 November 1974 he joined Elton John on stage at Madison Square Garden. Rock 'n' Roll, an album of covers of late 1950s and early 1960s songs, appeared in February 1975, and its single "Stand by Me" was a hit in the United States and Britain. His final stage appearance was recorded on 18 April 1975 for the ATV special A Salute to Lew Grade, where he sang "Imagine".

Double Fantasy and legacy

After a five-year break from his solo career, Lennon returned in 1980. A sailing trip to Bermuda in June prompted a new run of songs, and sessions at the Hit Factory in New York began on 7 August. Double Fantasy, made with Ono and alternating his songs with hers, came out on Geffen on 17 November 1980. Lennon died on 8 December 1980. The album won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and "Imagine" went to number one in Britain in January 1981.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1994 and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone ranked him fifth among the greatest singers. In 2023 "Imagine" was selected for the National Recording Registry. The albums have been reissued in expanded box sets, Imagine: The Ultimate Collection in 2018 and John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band: The Ultimate Collection in 2021.

Records

Songs

The Beatles, Yoko Ono, George Harrison, Elton John

Where to go next

Official

Reference

Discography and data

Writing and criticism

Fan sites and communities

Sources

  1. John Lennon, Wikipedia
  2. John Lennon, johnlennon.com
  3. John Lennon, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  4. John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band Gets Huge Ultimate Collection Box Set, Pitchfork (2021-03-04)
  5. John Lennon albums, The Beatles Bible
  6. John Lennon, The Beatles Bible
  7. Imagine Peace, Imagine Peace