BORN:
October 9, 1940, Liverpool, England
DIED: December 8, 1980, New York,
NY Out of all the Beatles, John Lennon
had the most interesting -- and frustrating
-- solo career. Lennon was capable
of inspired, brutally honest confessional
songwriting and melodic songcraft;
he also had a tendency to rest on
his laurels, churning out straight-ahead
rock & roll without much care. But
the extremes, both in his music and
his life, were what made him fascinating.
Where Paul McCartney was content to
be a rock star, Lennon dabbled in
everything from revolutionary politics
to the television talk-show circuit
during the early '70s. After releasing
a pair of acclaimed albums, John Lennon/Plastic
Ono Band and Imagine, in the early
'70s, Lennon sunk into an infamous
"lost weekend" where his musical output
was decidedly uneven and his public
behavior was often embarassing. Halfway
through the decade, he sobered up
and retired from performing to become
a house-husband and father. In 1980,
he launched a comeback with his wife
Yoko Ono, releasing the duet album
Double Fantasy that fall. Just as
his career was on an upswing, Lennon
was tragically assassinated outside
of his New York apartement building
in December of 1980. He left behind
an enormous legacy, not only as a
musician, but as a writer, actor and
activist. Considering the magnitude
of his achievements with the Beatles,
Lennon's solo career is relatively
overlooked. Even during the height
of Beatlemania, Lennon began exploring
outside of the group. In 1964, he
published a collection of his writings
called In His Own Write, which was
followed in 1965 by A Spaniard in
the Works, and in 1966, he appeared
in Dick Lester's comedy How I Won
the War. He didn't pursue a musical
career outside of the group until
1968, when he recorded the experimental
noise collage Unfinished Music, No.
1: Two Virgins with his new lover,
avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Two Virgins
caused considerable controversy, both
because of its content and its cover
art, which featured a nude photograph
of Lennon and Ono. The couple married
in Gibraltar in March 20, 1969. For
their honeymoon, the pair staged the
first of many political demonstrations
with their "Bed-In for Peace" at the
Amsterdam Hilton. Several months later,
the avant garde records Unfinished
Music, No. 2: Life with the Lions
and The Wedding Album were released,
as was the single "Give Peace a Chance,"
which was recorded during the Bed-In.
During September of 1969, Lennon returned
to live performances with a concert
at a Toronto rock & roll festival.
He was supported by the Plastic Ono
Band, which featured Ono, guitarist
Eric Clapton, bassist Klaus Voormann
and drummer Alan White. The following
month, Lennon and the Plastic Ono
Band released "Cold Turkey," which
was about his battle with heroin addiction.
When the single failed to make the
Top Ten in Britain and America, Lennon
sent his MBE back to the Queen, protesting
Britain's involvement in Biafra, America's
involvement in Vietnam and the poor
chart performence of "Cold Turkey."
Before the release of "Cold Turkey,"
Lennon had told the Beatles that he
planned to leave the group, but he
agreed not to publicly announce his
intentions until after Allen Klein's
negotiations with EMI on behalf of
the Beatles were resolved. Lennon
and Ono continued with their campaign
for peace, spreading billboards with
the slogan "War Is Over! (If You Want
It)" in 12 separate cities. In February
of 1970, he wrote, recorded and released
the single "Instant Karma" within
the span of the week. The single became
a major hit, reaching the Top Ten
in both the U.K. and the U.S. Two
months after "Instant Karma," Paul
McCartney announced that the Beatles
were splitting up, provoking the anger
of Lennon. Much of this anger was
vented on his first full-fledged solo
album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band,
a scathingly honest confessional work
inspired by his and Ono's primal scream
therapy. Lennon supported the album
with an extensive interview with Rolling
Stone, where he debunked many of the
myths surrounding the Beatles. Early
in 1971, he released another protest
single, "Power to the People," before
moving to New York. That fall, he
released Imagine, which featured the
Top Ten title track. By the time Imagine
became a hit album, Lennon and Ono
had returned to political activism,
publically supporting American radicals
like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and
John Sinclair. Their increased political
involvement resulted in the double-album
Sometime in New York City, which was
released in the summer of 1972. Recorded
with the New York hippie band Elephant's
Memory, Sometime in New York City
consisted entirely of political songs,
many of which were criticized for
their simplicity. Consequently, the
album sold poorly and tarnished Lennon's
reputation. Sometime in New York City
was the beginning of a three-year
downward spiral for Lennon. Shortly
before the album's release, he began
his long, involved battle with US
Immigration, who refused to give him
a green card due to a conviction for
marijuna possession in 1968. In 1973,
he was ordered to leave America by
Immigration, and he launched a full-scale
battle against the department, frequently
attacking them in public. Mind Games
was released in late 1973 to mixed
reviews; its title track became a
moderate hit. The following year,
he and Ono separated, and he moved
out to Los Angeles, beginning his
year-and-a-half long "lost weekend."
During 1974 and 1975, Lennon lived
a life of debauchery in Los Angeles,
partying hard with such celebrities
as Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Keith
Moon, David Bowie and Ringo Starr.
Walls and Bridges appeared in November
of 1974, and it became a hit due to
the inclusion of "Whatever Gets You
Through the Night," a song he wrote
with Elton John. At the end of the
year, John helped reunite Lennon and
Ono, convincing the ex-Beatle to appear
during one of his concerts; it would
be Lennon's last performance. Rock
& Roll, a collection of rock oldies
recorded during the lost weekend,
was released in the spring of 1975.
A few months before its official release,
a bootleg of the album called Roots
was released by Morris Levy, who Lennon
later sued successfully. Lennon's
immigration battle neared its completion
on October 7, 1975, when the US court
of appeals overturned his deportation
order; in the summer of 1976, he was
finally granted his green card. After
he appeared on David Bowie's Young
Americans, co-writing the hit song
"Fame," Lennon quietly retired from
music, choosing to become a house-husband
following the October birth of his
son, Sean Lennon. During the summer
of 1980, Lennon returned to recording,
signing a new contract with Geffen
Records. Comprised equally of material
by Lennon and Ono, Double Fantasy
was released in November to positive
reviews. As the album and its accompanying
single, "(Just Like) Starting Over,"
were climbing the charts, Lennon was
assassinated on December 8 by Mark
David Chapman. Lennon's death inspired
deep grief from the entire world;
on December 14, millions of fans around
the world participated in a ten-minute
silent vigil for Lennon at 2 p.m.
EST. Double Fantasy and "(Just Like)
Starting Over" both became number
one hits in the wake of his death.
In the years after his death, several
albums of unreleased recordings appeared,
the first of which was 1984's Milk
and Honey; perhaps the most substantial
was the 1998 four-disc box set Anthology,
issued in conjunction with a single-disc
sampler titled Wonsaponatime.
Having purchased several
books and Cd's from Amazon.com,
we've always found their service fast
and efficient. We have no hesitation
in recommending them as being both
more economic and more convienent
than purchasing products in a shop.
We are delighted to bring you this
treasured opportunity to own some
of our favourite Lennon songs.
|