Difference between revisions of "John Lennon"
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'''John Lennon''', full name John Winston Ono Lennon (1940-1980), was a member of the [[Beatles]]. | '''John Lennon''', full name John Winston Ono Lennon (1940-1980), was a member of the [[Beatles]]. | ||
| − | Though none of the [[Beatles]] were as successful on their own as they were as a group, John Lennon was considered by many to be have the most varied talent. He struggled with a drug addiction, however, and several of his songs related to his habit, such as | + | Though none of the [[Beatles]] were as successful on their own as they were as a group, John Lennon was considered by many to be have the most varied talent. He struggled with a drug addiction, however, and several of his songs related to his habit, such as "Cold Turkey." |
Lennon was the most outspoken among the [[Beatles]] on political issues, advocating pacifism during the [[Vietnam War]]. At one point the [[United States]] government investigated him. | Lennon was the most outspoken among the [[Beatles]] on political issues, advocating pacifism during the [[Vietnam War]]. At one point the [[United States]] government investigated him. | ||
| − | After a self-imposed break from music to focus on his family and raising his young son Sean, Lennon produced a new album with his wife [[Yoko Ono]] in 1980, entitled "Double Fantasy." Tragically, less than a month after its release Lennon was shot dead by a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman, on December 8, 1980. Fans worldwide went into a profound mourning | + | After a self-imposed break from music to focus on his family and raising his young son Sean, Lennon produced a new album with his wife [[Yoko Ono]] in 1980, entitled "Double Fantasy." Tragically, less than a month after its release Lennon was shot dead by a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman, on December 8, 1980. Fans worldwide went into a profound mourning. |
| − | Lennon's most famous individual work is | + | Lennon's most famous individual work is "Imagine", a song that beseeches us to imagine a world not dominated by greed, war, and hatred, but one governed by love, where all people are "living life in peace." At the end of the song Lennon encourages the listener to join him in dreaming of this world, implying that there is hope for humanity to rise above its weaknesses, anger, and hate. |
He remains a hero in [[Britain]], where he was ranked in the top 10 of the 2002 "100 Greatest Britons" poll sponsored by the BBC. | He remains a hero in [[Britain]], where he was ranked in the top 10 of the 2002 "100 Greatest Britons" poll sponsored by the BBC. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Proving that Lennon is still as relevant and important as he ever was, in June of 2007, "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Camapign to Save Darfur" was released. The album, whose proceeds go to Amnesty International's campaign to save the war-torn province of Sudan's Darfur, features artists of yesterday and today, such as U2, REM, Green Day, and Corinne Bailey Raye, covering Lennon's work. Given Lennon's activism and passion for peace, were he alive today, he would no doubt be the champion of the fight to stop the genocide in Sudan. | ||
== Religious views == | == Religious views == | ||
Revision as of 14:51, June 29, 2007
John Lennon, full name John Winston Ono Lennon (1940-1980), was a member of the Beatles.
Though none of the Beatles were as successful on their own as they were as a group, John Lennon was considered by many to be have the most varied talent. He struggled with a drug addiction, however, and several of his songs related to his habit, such as "Cold Turkey."
Lennon was the most outspoken among the Beatles on political issues, advocating pacifism during the Vietnam War. At one point the United States government investigated him.
After a self-imposed break from music to focus on his family and raising his young son Sean, Lennon produced a new album with his wife Yoko Ono in 1980, entitled "Double Fantasy." Tragically, less than a month after its release Lennon was shot dead by a crazed fan named Mark David Chapman, on December 8, 1980. Fans worldwide went into a profound mourning.
Lennon's most famous individual work is "Imagine", a song that beseeches us to imagine a world not dominated by greed, war, and hatred, but one governed by love, where all people are "living life in peace." At the end of the song Lennon encourages the listener to join him in dreaming of this world, implying that there is hope for humanity to rise above its weaknesses, anger, and hate.
He remains a hero in Britain, where he was ranked in the top 10 of the 2002 "100 Greatest Britons" poll sponsored by the BBC.
Proving that Lennon is still as relevant and important as he ever was, in June of 2007, "Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Camapign to Save Darfur" was released. The album, whose proceeds go to Amnesty International's campaign to save the war-torn province of Sudan's Darfur, features artists of yesterday and today, such as U2, REM, Green Day, and Corinne Bailey Raye, covering Lennon's work. Given Lennon's activism and passion for peace, were he alive today, he would no doubt be the champion of the fight to stop the genocide in Sudan.
Religious views
Lennon's famous quote in criticism of Christianity was in 1966:
- Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me.
After Christians worldwide criticized his attitude, quoting him as saying "We are greater than Jesus," Lennon held a press conference on August 11, 1966 in Chicago at which he elaborated:
- I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this.
