John Lennon Biography

John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England, reportedly while bombs were falling on the city, on October 9, 1940. The number 9 would also later have much significance in John's life.

John Lennon became involved in music at the age of 16 while attending the Liverpool Art College. John road the number 72 (7+2=9) bus to get to his art school each day.

While in school, John became a big fan of Elvis Presley, and reportedly decided to form a rock and roll band after hearing Elvis' song, "Heartbreak Hotel." In 1957, he formed his first band, "the Quarrymen". The Quarrymen soon became named the "Silver Beatles", and last but not the least, in 1960, they dropped "Silver" to become "The Beatles".

The Beatles were discovered by Brian Epstein at the Cavern Club on November 9, 1961. Brian Epstein got them their first record contract with EMI on May 9, 1962.

During this time, John Lennon married his art school classmate, Cynthia Powell. Brian Epstein was the best man at his wedding. In 1963, the couple had a son, who they named Julian. Cynthia, John and Julian went by the name of "Hadley" in an attempt to protect their privacy.

However, the fame of the Beatles was growing exponentially, and soon the assumed name was public knowledge. As proof of their popularity, on November 9, 1963, EMI announced that the single "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was likely to sell one million copies before it was even released, (and it did). A few months later, on February 9, 1964, John Lennon and the Beatles made their now infamous appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

John Lennon met Yoko on November 9, 1966; and eventually divorced his first wife, Cynthia, on November 8, 1968. The couple became inseparable and moved in together in July of 1968 subletting a flat from Ringo Starr. This is where they were living when the police raided their home looking for drugs; finding only a miniscule amount of marijuana. They still managed to convict John for possession of something like a few hundred grains of cannabis. This is also where John and Yoko shot the nude cover for their album "Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins".

On Thursday March 20, 1969, John and Yoko married in Gibraltar then traveled to Amsterdam for their honeymoon. Their famous anti-war protest known as the "Bed-In" took place in Room 902, on the ninth floor of the Amsterdam Hilton, and lasted from March 25 to March 31 in 1969. The following lyrics from Lennon's "The Ballad of John and Yoko" were inspired by this event.

Drove from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton,
Talking in our bed for a week,
The news people said Hey, what you doin' in bed?
I said, We're only tryin' to get us some peace!

A few months later John and Yoko decided to stage a second bed-in in New York City. The US Embassy, however, refused to issue Lennon a visa because of his earlier marijuana conviction. The couple changed the location, and on May 26, 1969 they staged their second bed-in for peace in Montreal, Canada.

That same year, John Lennon released his first official album following the break up of the Beatles, called "John Lennon /Plastic Ono Band". Many consider this album to be his finest work. Released that same year was his last Beatles album, "Let It Be". The album included the song, "One After 909" which was written by John and Paul in the late 50s, at John's mother's home at 9 Newcastle (nine letters) Road in Wavertree (nine letters), Liverpool (nine letters).

At any rate, John and Yoko settled in New York City on West 72nd (7 + 2 = 9) Street, but later found an apartment at the Dakota, a historic apartment building on Central Park West. Their apartment number at the Dakota was also 72. Later that year, John and Yoko released the number 1 album, "Imagine".

In 1972 John began having problems with U.S. Immigration. The agency denied him a work visa due to his 1968 conviction for marijuana possession. The following year the INS ordered Lennon to leave the country. John stayed in the U.S. however, and released the album, "Mind Games".

John and Yoko separated in 1974, and John relocated to Los Angeles. While there, he met Elton John, with whom he co-wrote, "Whatever Gets You Through the Night", the hit from his number 1 album "Walls and Bridges". On Thanksgiving night, the two performed at Madison Square Garden. This was Lennon's last public concert. "Walls and Bridges" included the songs, "#9 Dream" and "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)", with the lyrics, "Nobody loves you when you're down and out, nobody knows you when you're on cloud 9".

John and Yoko got back together in 1975, and an appeals court overturned the deportation order from the INS. On October 9, 1976 (same date as John's birthday), John and Yoko had their first child, Sean. John Lennon selected Elton John to be Sean's godfather. After the birth of Sean, John retired so he could be home with his new son. In 1980, John came out of retirement, and he and Yoko released the album, "Double Fantasy".

On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside his NY apartment. Mark David Chapman was arrested and later convicted for the murder of John Lennon. John was taken to Roosevelt Hospital on 9th Avenue; because of the five-hour time difference in the UK, it was actually December 9 in Liverpool.

Many of us will always remember this day the same way the generation before us remember the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Yoko had John's body cremated on Wednesday, December 10, 1980. Four days later, on December 14 at 2 pm, mourning fans around the world united and held a 10-minute silent vigil to honor John Lennon and say goodbye.