I, John Winston Lennon, was born in Liverpool, England in 1940. I wasthe founding member of a group called the Beatles, which was the most popularmusic group in the history of rock and roll (World Book 197). The groupincluded George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and myself. Weoriginally formed in 1958, but it wasn’t until 1960 that we decided to nameourselves the Beatles (World Book 191). My philosophy of the Beatles was, “whenyou said it, it was crawly things; when you read it, it was beat music (The NewBook of Knowledge 108).
I, along with Paul, wrote most of the Beatles’ music. Songs that werewritten primarily by myself include “Help,” “All You Need is Love,” and “A Dayin the Life. “(World Book 197). In 1970 we decided to break up for a number ofartistic, business, and personal reasons (World Book 190).
I, like the other former Beatles members, continued to perform as a soloartist. Yoko Ono, whom I married in 1969, became my partner (World Book 197). Yoko and I, being extremely opposed to the war, performed together making peaceour theme (Rolling Stone 229). As our taste for war bittered, Yoko and I becameinvolved in many anti-war protests. We recorded “Give Peace a Chance” in ourhotel room in Montreal, and I had it rush released (Rolling Stone 229).
InJanuary of 1970 I wrote and recorded “Instant Karma” in one day and had itreleased (Rolling Stone 229). Three months later, Yoko and I flew to LosAngeles for four months of primal scream therapy with Dr. Arthur Janov (RollingStone 229). Because of this experience the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Bandwas made (Rolling Stone 229). In 1971 I moved to the United States to continue my campaign for peace(World Book 197).
That year, the US Government made continual attempts todeport me (Rolling Stone 229). A protest concert that we planned to hold on thedoorstep of the Republican National Convention made the Nixon administration abit upset (Rolling Stone 229). Claiming that my 1968 drug arrest made me an”undesirable alien,” they also made attempts to deport me (Rolling Stone 229). In 1976 I was granted permanent resident status that ended this problem (RollingStone 229).
In 1980 Yoko and I released Double Fantasy, which was my first album infive years (World Book 197). On the eighth of December that year, I was shot todeath outside my New York City apartment by a man named Mark David Chapman(World Book 197). That, to some extent, is my life’s story. I hope people will lookdeeper into my music and find its meaning instead of just reciting the words. Music was my way of communicating with the world.
I also hope that I have madepeople realize the value of peace in the world. If only everyone couldunderstand how great world peace would be. Category: Music and Movies
