John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England during a German air raid in World War II. When he was four years old, Lennon’s parents separated and he ended up living with his Aunt Mimi. John’s father was a merchant seaman. He was not there when John was born and he did not see a lot of his son when he was small. Lennon’s mother, Julia, remarried, but visited John and Mimi regularly. She taught John how to play the banjo and the piano and purchased his first guitar. John was devastated when Julia was hit by a car and died in July 1958. Her death was one of the most traumatic events in his life. He was 17 years old.
When Elvis Presley exploded onto the rock music scene, John was inspired to start a band called “The Quarry Men”. On July 6, 1957 he met Paul McCartney. John soon invited Paul to join the group and they eventually formed the most successful songwriting partnership in music history. George Harrison joined the band the following year and drummer Pete Best joined the group in 1960. The name of the group was changed to The Beatles and they were discovered by Brian Epstein in 1961. Epstein became their manager and he got them a record contract. A new drummer – Ringo Starr – joined the group and they released their first single, Love Me Do, in October 1962. They became the most popular band in Britain with mega-hits like She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand.
In 1964, The Beatles became the first band to break out big in the United States. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. “Beatlemania” launched a “British Invasion” of rock bands into the U.S., which included The Rolling Stones and The Kinks. After their success on the Sullivan show, The Beatles returned to Britain to make their first movie, A Hard Day’s Night, and to prepare for their first world tour. The band gave up touring in 1966. They continued to write songs and produce albums, including Sgt. Pepper’ Lonely Hearts Club Band and The White Album.
John Lennon was married in 1962 and had a son, Julian, named after his mother. Like his own father before him, John did not spend much time with Julian and was not a very good father. In September 1969 John left The Beatles but he continued to write music and he moved to the United States, with his wife Yoko Ono in 1971. On his 35th birthday, in 1975, his son Sean was born and John decided to leave the music business so he could be a better dad.
In 1980, Lennon returned to he music world and was working on a new album when he was shot by a deranged fan in front of his apartment building in New York City. John Lennon died at the age of 40 on December 8, 1980. His death affected millions of people around the world and he continues to be admired today.