John Lennon - Review

"imagine" – A review of John Lennon. 

There are few who can deny the impact that John Lennon had on the world. From his time with The Beatles to his solo career, John Lennon has left an incredibly legacy on the music industry forever – but why does his music still resonate today?

John Lennon was born on October 9^th, 1940, during a German air raid in Liverpool. His early life was not easy; when he was four, his parents separated, leaving him to be raised by his aunt. His mother visited him often and taught him to play the banjo and piano, and even bought him his first guitar, but tragically passed away in 1958 after being struck by a car. This was devastating for John and was one of the most traumatic events of his life. How did he go from such a difficult childhood to becoming one of the most iconic figures in music history?

Enter The Beatles. One of the most popular bands of all time, they were made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and the band conquered the music world. In 1964, the band had their big break in the US when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, and in 1965 the band played in New York's Shea Stadium to 55,600 fans, which set a new record for the biggest concert audience in musical history. Beatlemania was well underway, and the bands popularity followed them back to England, where they recorded their breakthrough album Rubber Soul. The popularity of the band was unmatched, but despite their success, it wouldn't last forever, and in 1970 the band broke up. I won't go into too much detail here as I have previously reviewed The Beatles, but one thing was for sure – whilst the band wasn't together anymore, John Lennon wasn't going to disappear.

After the breakup of the band, Lennon released his debut solo album. John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was a raw, minimalist album, and one I'm not a huge fan of; however, in 1971, Imagine was released, and that was one of the most successful of his solo efforts. To this day, Imagine is one of my favourite songs of all time, and for good reason; the peace loving, hopeful lyrics are stunning, and the title track came in at number 3 in Rolling Stone magazines "All-time best songs".

In some ways, Lennon's legacy is mythological. A man known for advocating for peace and love, he was in fact an incredibly complicated man. He was, alongside his second wife Yoko Ono, an anti-war activist, he used his fame to question the status quo, and wrote inspirational songs about love and unity, such as All You Need Is Love. However, in Lennon's personal life, peace wasn't always the norm. He was known for – and admitted too – being abusive towards his first wife, Cynthia. He was also largely missing from his son's life, and after a mere 6 years, the marriage dissolved, and he later admitted to feeling guilt over his actions.

Of course, there's also an element of hypocrisy. Lennon would often sing about materialism and encourage people to live with few possessions, whilst he himself was incredibly wealthy – in fact, by the time he died he was worth around $200 million.

With that being said, Lennon did use his platform to try to make the world a better place, and I think that counts for a lot. It was a true tragedy when, on December 8^th, 1980, John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman, an obsessive fan who had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day. Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, where he was sadly pronounced dead on arrival.

John Lennon was an incredible songwriter, musician and performer. His legacy on the world lives on, and his music still resonates with people around the world today, and his messages are still as relevant now as they ever were. It's never a bad idea to stop and consider peace, and in the words of Lennon:

"You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, And the world will live as one".

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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