John Winston Lennon was born at 6:30 p.m. on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool,
England. His parents were Julia and Alfred Lennon. Throughout the week
before John was born, Liverpool was subjected to heavy air raids but on the
night of John's birth there was a lull in the bombing.
John's father rarely saw his son because he was away at sea. John's mother
was also more of a friend to John than an actual mother. Julia felt like she
couldn't care for the boy so she sent him off to live with his Aunt Mary
"Mimi" Smith and Uncle George. In 1946 Fred Lennon returned to Liverpool and
took his son to Blackpool where he made plans to emigrate to New Zealand
with John. John's mother came to the rescue and return John to Aunt Mimi.
John's childhood was a very tough one. John went to Dovedale Primary School
where he began to betray the streak of rebelliousness which was to remain
with him the rest of his life. It was here were John first became interested
in drawing. In 1955, while John was away visiting another Aunt, his Uncle
George died. John was left to deal with more grief. Uncle George was the
closest thing John every had as a father figure.
John began attending Quarry Bank Grammar School in September 1952. He
quickly became friends with Peter Shotton and the two became inseparable.
They always got into trouble by playing pranks on teachers, this didn't help
their grades. John was displaying, however, great talent as a writer and an
artist. He was always into books and started to read at an early age.
The major fad going though Britain in the mid-1950's was a thing called
"skiffle groups". John quickly gathered some friends together in May 1955
and named the band "The Quarry Men". The Quarry Men's first major gig was at
"The Woolton Parish Church Fete" on July 6, 1957. After John and The Quarry
Men had finished their set, John met a young and talented guitar player by
the name of Paul McCartney. John called Paul up and ask him, "Do you want to
join me band?", and Paul said yes the next day. George Harrison was later
introduced into the band by Paul McCartney. John at first put up him like a
kid brother but then saw how much talent George really had.
John loved the music of Elvis Presley and it had a profound effect on The
Quarry Men's performances. At one point they had been known as folkies but
soon had developed into a rock 'n' roll group. As for John and Paul, their
musical relationship grew stronger and soon they became a song writing team
coming up with their now legendary vocal-harmony style. Around this time
there was a lot of pressure for the group to change their name. At that time
many bands had the leader's name in front of the group name. At one point
they did change their name to "Johnny & The Moondogs" but they quickly
changed their minds and went back to The Quarry Men. Soon John would come up
with the legendary name "The Beatles" and kept it as the band's name.
In September 1957, John enrolled in "The Liverpool Art College." There he
met, and would later marry, Cynthia Powell. He also met Stuart Sutcliffe,
who became his best friend and the "Fifth Beatle." In 1960, with new band
member Pete Best in tow, The Beatles travelled to Hamburg for the first time.
Stuart had little interest in music and could barely play the bass so after
Hamburg he decided to go back to art college. John, although disappointed,
remained good friends with Stuart and Paul took over as bass player. In
1961, The Beatles first met Brian Epstein in "The Cavern Club" after one of
their many performances there. Later that year Brian Epstein became The
Beatles manger and the following year they signed with Parlphone after
George Martin suggested getting a new drummer. Brian and The Beatles decided
on Ringo Starr. While all this was going on John found time to marry Cynthia
on August 23, 1962 and she gave birth to their son Julian on April 8, 1963.
The Beatles were enjoying international success when John's first book "In
His Own Write" was published on March 23, 1964 and became a best-seller. On
June 24, 1965 his second book "A Spaniard In the Works" was published.
During that same year The Beatles received their MBE's or "Members of the
British Empire". John would later turn in his MBE in the late 60's because
of Britain's support of the United States in Vietnam. Around the time when
John got his MBE his father turned up in his life again. John slammed the
door in his face and said, "Why should I look after a father who never
really looked after me?".
In 1966 there was a degree of anti-Beatle fever in America following
comments John had made in an interview with Maureen Cleave, in which he said
that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus, and he reluctantly made a
public apology. In August of that year The Beatles played their lasted live concert at
Candlestick Park in San Francisco. In November John met a Japanese artist
named Yoko Ono at the Indica Gallery in London.
The Beatles had been experimenting with various drugs since late 1964 when
they first smoke marijuana with Bob Dylan and now in the mid-to-late 60's
they began to experiment with LSD. John and George were into LSD more than
Paul and Ringo. Paul felt that you would never be the same after you'd have
taken it. In August 1967, The Beatles met the Marharishi Mahesh Yogi. During
that same month their manager Brian Epstein was found dead from an
accidental drug overdose. John's relationship with Yoko grew stronger and he
sponsored an exhibition of her work call "Yoko and Me" in October 1967.
Later that month "How I Won The War", in which he played his first solo
feature film role, premiered.
After The Beatles went to Maharishi's ashram in India to learn
transcendental meditation, John and Cynthia divorced and he began to live
with Yoko. John and Yoko were raided by the police while staying at Ringo's
flat in Montague Square and John was fined for possession of cannabis. John
and Yoko's album "Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins" was issued in
November and created international controversy due to the cover, which
showed the couple in a full frontal nude pose. John also appeared on the
un-shown "Rolling Stones Rock 'n' Roll Circus".
In 1969, The Beatles started their own company "Apple Corps." After many
months of shuffling around responsibilities The Beatles chose Allen Klein to
take control of Apple. In February 1969 Yoko divorce from Anthony Cox came
through and John and Yoko were married in Gibraltar March 20. John and Yoko
made a series of films together, "Apotheosis, Clock, Fly, Freedom Films,
Imagine" just to name a few. In May 1969 they bought a mansion in Ascot
called Tittenhurst Park and issued their second album "Unfinished Music No.
2: Life With The Lions". In September John first introduced the "Plastic Ono
Band" on record. In November the couple issued their "Wedding Album".
After The Beatles officially broke up in April 1970 John went on to write
and record many more albums with Yoko through out the early 70's. In 1972
John first fought to get his green card so he could be able to stay in the
United States. He was finally successful in 1976. During this time John and
Yoko had been trying to have a baby but were plagued by several
miscarriages. Sean Lennon was born on John's 35th birthday. John would later
say, "I felt higher than the empire state building!".
John didn't mind reversing roles at all with Yoko. John was staying home
taking care of Sean while Yoko was out working. John described himself as a
"house husband" during the period. He liked taking care of Sean and baking,
particularly bread. "I took a Polaroid of my first loaf!", John once said.
In August 1980, John came out of retirement to record his first album in six
years and agreed to a number of interviews prior to him becoming active in
the music scene again. On December 8, 1980 around 11 p.m. tragedy stuck.
While coming home from a late-night recording session with Yoko, John was
shot by David Mark Chapman outside his apartment building The Dakota. John
was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
I like to remember the words of Sean Lennon in his farewell to his father,
"Now Daddy is part of God. I guess when you die you become much more bigger
because you're part of everything." We will all miss John Lennon and the
legacy he left behind...his music.
John Winston Lennon
1940 - 1980
"Give Peace A Chance"
Paul McCartney was born at Walton Road Hospital in Rice Lane, Liverpool, on
June 18, 1942. Paul was the first son of Mary and James McCartney. His
brother, Michael, was born eighteen months later. Paul's mother was a
midwife and died of breast cancer in 1955. Her death deeply hurt Paul.
Paul's father was a cotton salesman and an amateur jazz musician.
Paul passed his 11-Plus examination in 1957 and entered the Liverpool
Institute, a popular high school, near the city centre. One day while
travelling to school on a bus he met a younger student, George Harrison.
Another good friend of Paul's was Ivan Vaughan who invited Paul to "The
Woolton Parish Church Fete" at St. Peter's Church. There Paul was introduced
to John Lennon, who was playing in a "skiffle group" called "The Quarry
Men". Paul played guitar for John back stage and a day later John asked Paul
to join the group.
After Paul had joined the group more and more changes were taking place.
Paul pitched George as a potentially guitar player to John and George joined
the group. More rock 'n' roll songs were introduce into the act and Paul
encourage John to write and use some of their own material. Paul and John
started writing songs together and their musical and writing talents work
perfectly together.
Although John was the leader of the group, Paul was the one who seemed to
have the greater drive for success and he worked hard to achieve it. Paul
switched from guitar to bass guitar when Stuart Sutcliffe left the band in
1961. The songs from John and Paul were mainly written in the early days of
The Beatles. After they had become established, John and Paul mainly wrote
their own songs but agreed to credit all songs as "Lennon/McCartney"
numbers. While John's songs were more head on rock 'n' roll or cutting edge
songs, Paul preferred romantic numbers and songs which indicated the
influence of Hollywood musicals. Songs like "Yesterday", "Michelle", "When
I'm Sixty-Four", and "Lovely Rita" are typical McCartney songs.
Paul seemed to be more cultural then the other Beatles. When The Beatles
moved to London Paul stayed in the city while the others chose to live in
houses out in the suburbs. Paul attended the theatre and collected paintings
by artists such as Magritte. His long time girlfriend Jane Asher helped him
to develop his artistic tastes. After a five year romance, Paul and Jane
broke up much to the shock of the media.
After Brian Epstein was found dead in August 1967, Paul was determined to
prevent the group from losing interest in their career and encouraged them
to film "Magical Mystery Tour". This caused some friction between Paul and
John because John felt like Paul was trying to become leader of the band.
Paul directed The Beatles promotional film for "Hello Goodbye" that year.
In 1968, Paul began seeing Linda Eastman and the couple were married in
March 1969. Paul adopted Linda's daughter Heather and the couple had three
children of their own, Mary, Stella, and James. During the filming and
recording of the "Let It Be" project, Paul and George got into several
arguments one eventually lead to George walking out. After some convincing
George came back, but The Beatles were not the team they use to be. Paul
became angered even more when the other three Beatles appointed Allen Klein
as the head of Apple Corps. against Paul's wishes.
After the release of Paul's first solo album "McCartney", Paul formally
announced that he was no longer a member of The Beatles due to "Musical
differences". Paul had quickly formed his own group called "Wings" which
included his wife Linda on keyboards. Paul made several albums through out
the 70's and 80's and also made several television appearances in the 80's
and 90's.
George Harrison was born on February 25, 1943 at 12 Arnold Grove, in the
Wavertree area of Liverpool. His parents were Louise and Harold Harrison and
George had two brothers Peter and Harry and a sister Louise. George attended
the Dovedale Primary School with his brother Peter. In September of 1954 he
became a student at the Liverpool Institute. George was a bad student
describing school at best "a pain in the neck" and at worse "the worst time
in my life".
George was interest in music at a very early age. His mother bought him his
first guitar at age 13 and he formed a group of his own called "The Rebels"
with his brother Peter and best friend Arthur Kelly but it was short lived.
When George left the Institute he was sent to the Youth Employment Centre to
send out applications for a job. He managed to get a job as a trainee
electrician. His music, however, interested him more than becoming an
electrician. He auditioned and failed to join "Rory Storm & The Hurricanes"
(who at that time were "Alan Caldwell's Texans"). George was able to get a
spot in the "Les Stewart Quartet".
Around this time George became friends with Paul McCartney who George use to
ride with on the No. 86 bus to the Liverpool Institute. Paul was a member of
a group called "The Quarry Men"and he invited George to attended a few of
the gigs. In early 1959, The Quarry Men almost didn't exist. When Ken Brown,
a fellow member of the Les Stewart Quartet, had an argument with Stewart,
George walked out with him and suggested he contact Paul and John about
becoming members of the group. In August of that year, The Quarry Men had
re-formed with John, Paul, George and Ken. A different argument in October
ended with Ken leaving the group.
In 1960 the group had a new name and a new drummer...The Beatles and Pete
Best. The Beatles set off for Germany in August and work at the Indra Club.
The Beatles then appeared at a rival club called the Top Ten Club and the
owner of the Indra Club was furious. He revealed that George was only 17 and
didn't have a work permit. George was forced to go back to England.
Over the next few years of the Beatles' success, the main focus of attention
was John and Paul, in particular because of their song writing. George felt
frustrated because he believed his work wasn't being taken seriously by the
others. However, he quickly showed how talented a songwriter he was. Some of
his compositions were: "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much", on the HELP!
album; "Think For Yourself" and "If I Needed Someone" on the Rubber Soul
album and"Taxman", "Love You Too", and "I Want To Tell You" on the Revolver
album.
Now George was really establishing himself as a songwriter. George had met
model Pattie Boyd and the two were married on January 21, 1966. The next two
years would be very important in his life. Apart from his marriage, he
developed a friendship with guitarist Eric Clapton and he met two men who
were to alter the direction of his life. The first was Ravi Shankar and the
other was Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The two "Men from the East" were to have a
profound effect on both George's musical and spiritual life. From Shankar,
George developed his love of Indian music and he learn how to play the
sitar. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught him transcendental mediation which was
beneficial to him and he received inspiration from Indian philosophy. He
travelled to Bombay in January 1968 to record tracks for the album
"Wonderwall" with Indian musicians.
Now George was filled with confidence and was no longer willing to take the
back seat in The Beatles activities. His later Beatles works include:
"Within You, Without You" on the Sgt. Pepper album; "Blue Jay Way" on the
Magical Mystery Tour album; "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Piggies",
"Long, Long, Long", and "Savoy Truffle" off The Beatles White Album; "Only A
Northern Song" on Yellow Submarine; and "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun"
on Abbey Road.
Following a dispute with Paul he walked off the set of the "Let It Be" film
in January 1969. When George returned, he was determined never to appear on
stage with The Beatles again. Paul was able to convince him to appear in
their last public appearance on the roof of the Apple building. Soon The
Beatles would be non-existent and George recorded a solo tripled album
called "All Things Must Past".
George appeared at "The Concert For Bangladesh" in August 1971 at Madison
Square Garden. He was surrounded by a host of stars, including Ringo Starr,
Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Badfinger and Ravi Shankar. In 1974,
he went on the road and performed 50 concerts in North America. In the mean
time George's marriage was failing. His wife began a love affair with
George's best friend Eric Clapton. The couple were divorced on June 9, 1977.
By this time George was in love with Olivia Arias and the couple were living
together at George's palatial mansion, Friar Park in Henley. Olivia gave
birth to their son Dhani on August 1, 1978 and the two were married the
following month. In the 1980's, George made several stage and television
appearances and became part of "The Travelling Wilburys". The band consisted
off Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and George. Their debut
album was released in 1988 and they became an instant success.
Richard Starkey Jr.was born in the front room of 9 Madryn Street in
Liverpool's Dingle area on July 7, 1940. His parents were Elise and Richard
Starkey Sr. Elise and Richard would soon divorce in 1943 and she and her son
moved to 10 Admiral Grove. Richard attended St. Silas Infants' School where
he began to suffer the first of many illnesses which seriously affected his
education.
At the age of six he was taken to the Royal Children's Infirmary suffering
from acute abdominal pains. A ruptured appendix was diagnosed and this led
to an inflamed peritoneum and the first of several operations for the young
Richard. He went into a coma for two months during which several more
operations were made. Richard was known to be accident prone. After he woke
up from the coma he tried to hand a toy bus to the boy in the next bed.
Richard fell over head first onto the floor resulting in a concussion. He
remained in the hospital for several more months.
When he finally returned to school, he found himself far behind in his
school work which gave him an undeserved reputation of being stupid. In
1953, at the age of thirteen, Richard caught a cold which turned into
chronic pleurisy necessitating another stay at Myrtle Street Hospital. The
illness caused some lung complications which resulted in the youth being
sent to Heswall Children's Hospital where he remained until 1955.
By this time Elise had married Harry Graves, whom Richard referred to as his
"step ladder". For a short time he had a job as delivery boy for British
Rail. He next took on a job as barman on a ferry to New Brighton before
becoming a trainee joiner at Henry Hunt and Sons. Richard's stepfather,
Harry, bought him a secondhand drum kit and Richard showed promise of
becoming a great musician.
Richard bounced around from band to band but he finally found a home with
"Rory Storm & the Hurricanes". Rory Storm was a showman and he insisted that
Richard add some flare to his act by renaming him Ringo Starr. To which he
eventually legally change his name. The Hurricanes became one of the most
popular groups in Liverpool and they topped the bill at Hamburg's
Kaiserkeller club, above The Beatles. Pete Best was not always the most
reliable drummer so Ringo would occasionally fill in for Pete if he didn't
show up.
The Hurricanes were by now being out shown by The Beatles and Gerry & the
Pacemakers. Ringo had thought about leaving The Hurricanes and joining
another group called "The Seniors". After a brief lull period, Ringo decided
to fill the spot of drummer for The Hurricanes once again. Ringo, feeling
like he was going nowhere thought about taking up his apprenticeship at
Hunt's again, when fate stepped in.
The Beatles were now the top band in Liverpool and throughout most of
England. The Beatles had just signed with Parlophone and George Martin
didn't like Pete as their drummer describing him bluntly as "not good". The
new task was to find a replacement drummer. Many considered Johnny
Hutchinson of "The Big Three" to be the best drummer in Liverpool but then
the idea was put around to ask Ringo if he would like to fill the position.
When Ringo went to record with The Beatles for the first time George Martin
had already hired a session drummer, Andy White. Ringo was devastated and
the fact that at first the fans didn't take kindly to him didn't help
matters either. When Ringo first appeared with The Beatles at The Cavern
Club, the fans still upset over Pete getting fired, started shouting "Pete
forever, Ringo never!"
As it turned out, Ringo was perfect for The Beatles and at one time was the
most popular member of the group with American fans. He also proved to be
more of a natural actor than any other members of the group and received
favourable reviews for his performance in "A Hard Day's Night". Because of
this, Ringo was placed in the centre of the spotlight in The Beatles second
film "HELP!".
Ringo married his long-time girlfriend Maureen Cox on February 11, 1965 and
the couple were to have three children: Zak, Jason, and Lee. The couple
would eventually divorce in July 1975 and Ringo was to marry Barbara Bach.
Ringo at first had the same problem as George did which was getting his
songs noticed. Mainly John and Paul would write a song or two for him to
sing on a particular album. Such songs were: "Boys" on Please Please Me, "I
Wanna Be Your Man" on With The Beatles, "Honey Don't" on Beatles For Sale,
"Act Naturally" on HELP!, "What Goes On" which was co-written by Starr on
Rubber Soul, "Yellow Submarine" on Revolver and Yellow Submarine, and "A
Little Help From My Friends" on Sgt. Pepper's.
While with The Beatles, Ringo had two songs that were "original Starr
compositions". They were "Don't Pass Me By" on The White Album and probably
his most famous one "Octopus's Garden" on Abbey Road. Following The Beatles
break up, Ringo had a very successful solo career which consisted of eight
albums and thirteen singles. Ringo also appeared in various TV shows,
including his own special, "Ringo", and a TV mini-series "Princess Daisy",
with his wife Barbara.
After many years out of the limelight, during which he did voice-overs for
the children's TV series "Thomas The Tank Engine" and experienced drinking
problems, which resulted in himself and Barbara attending a drying out
clinic. He reappeared on the scene sober with an All-Starr Band to tour
America and Japan.
This proved to be so successful that he formed another All-Starr Band in
1992, which began an American and European tour in June 1992. Members
comprised his son Zak, guitarists Dave Edmunds, Nils Lofgren, Todd Rundgren
and Joe Walsh, saxophonist Tim Cappello, bassist Timothy B. Schmit and
keyboards player Burton Cummings.