Lennon, John (1940-1980), was a founding member of the Beatles, the most popular group in the history of rock music. Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote most of the Beatles’ music. Lennon also played rhythm guitar and piano, and sang. Beatles songs written primarily by Lennon include “Help!” (1965), “All You Need Is Love” (1967), and “A Day in the Life” (1967).
The Beatles disbanded in 1970, but Lennon continued to compose and perform, both as a solo artist and with Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band. Ono married Lennon in 1969 and was his creative partner for most of the rest of his life. Lennon became known as one of rock’s leading social critics through such songs of idealism as “Give Peace a Chance” (1969) and “Imagine” (1971).
Loading the player...The Beatles: Beatlemania
John Winston Lennon was born on Oct. 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, and moved to the United States in 1971. In 1980, Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, his first album in five years. On December 8 of that year, Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment by a 25-year-old man named Mark David Chapman.
Lennon was married to Cynthia Powell from 1962 to 1968. Their son, Julian Lennon, became a musician. John Lennon’s son with Ono, Sean Lennon, is also a musician. John Lennon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and in 1994 as an individual performer.
