Remembering John (John Lennon in general)

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Product:	John Lennon in general
Date:	28/01/01 (13 review reads)
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Advantages: Great musician

Disadvantages: Very naive

John Lennon was loved by millions of people, hated by millions more, and yet he was very important to both groups. He was a musician, an artist, a social philosopher, a political activist, a father, a lover, and a man. He was loved for his music, and his ability to take simple emotions and communicate them effectively to the world. He was an artist and his canvas was life. He explored it, observed it, and commented upon what he saw through his music and art.

It seems ironic that a man who communicated the ravages and evils of war and the importance of love, was born in 1940, during a World War II air raid. As a child, he was raised by his aunt and uncle, as his father abandoned him and his mother early on in his life. John’s mother supported herself by working and visited him when she could bearing gifts. On one occasion she brought him one gift which would forever change his life, a guitar. Sadly, in 1958, she died leaving John heartbroken. He carried the pain of this loss for the rest of his life, almost 12 years later expressing his pain in the song "Mother."

It seems that much of his attitude toward women and life in general was shaped by the death of his mother. Later, feminism and women’s rights would become a large part of his political agenda with Yoko. One immediate result of his mother’s death it seems, was that John became determined to live out the dreams that he had shared with her before she died.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time in 1957 after a performance by John’s band, the Quarry Men. After being introduced by a mutual friend from school, the two talked about the one thing that would forever link their lives: music.

Initially, McCartney was awestruck by Lennon and was eager to impress him with his knowledge of music and his guitar skills. As a result, John asked him to join his band and the rest would become music history. It was on that day that the duo
first collaborated together and formed the bond that would lead to every song, written either together or separately, to be credited Lennon/McCartney. This pact would go unbroken until years later when Paul refused to perform on a track recorded with Yoko Ono.

From that magical moment when Paul and John first met, music history was altered forever. With the addition of friend George Harrison and eventually Richard "Ringo" Starkey, the Beatles were born. It was during this time that John underwent many changes, both musically and philosophically.

The Beatles were a band that could best be described as schizophrenic. While their contribution to pop culture and their effect upon popular music were immeasurable, they were not in any way a stable group. For John, as well as the others, it was a meteoric ride from the back alley clubs of Hamburg to the Ed Sullivan Show and mobs of screaming teenage girls in America. They went from being rebellious teen rockers to clean-cut mop-tops, to hippies, and finally to being drugged-out and burned out. Four young men who started out playing the music that they loved would see more money, fame and drugs than almost anyone else would in the world. The significance of this was not lost on John.

Always one to speak his mind, John was always the center of attention and controversy. While Paul was the cute one, John was the thinker. Despite the success and admiration that was showered upon the group, John always seemed to be above it all. He kept himself removed from the insanity and the spectacle that was the Beatles. He looked at the adoration with a sense of wonder and yet a sense of reality that offended many who did not see its truth.

In March of 1966, John was criticized for stating that "the Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ." While this statement was seen by many to be blasphemy, it was probably offensive more because of the truth of it, than because of any misi
nterpretation. It was not a boastful statement, but rather a truth that John thought was very obvious and curious.

Musically, John’s contribution to the Beatles’ music was immense. From the very beginning, John was the rebellious spirit of the band. This can be seen throughout their time together as John always contributed songs which seemed to take the group in a new direction and yet always expressed himself and his views. While many of these songs were credited to Lennon/McCartney, John was a prolific writer and was responsible for many of the bands more experimental and ingenious works.

For almost two decades, the Beatles shaped the sound and look of rock’n’roll. Unconventional in every sense, they produced most of their most important and influential music after having retired from touring. As a result their music was mostly developed in the studio and they were left with more time to pursue other interests. John made the most of his time, taking on various artistic and political causes. It was during this time that he would meet the woman who would change his life forever.

One of the most influential figures in John’s life during his time with the Beatles, was Yoko Ono. While many people blame Ono for contributing to the demise of the band, Yoko seemed to offer John an outlet for his political and artistic views. In Yoko, John found unconditional love and acceptance. While many saw drastic changes in John as having been a result of her influence, it seems more likely that John simply found more encouragement for his ideas and actions in Yoko.

Eventually, John would divorce his first wife for Yoko and together they would pursue many political and artistic goals. They targeted sexism, war, and racism in their art and music and pushed the envelope of what was acceptable as art. As a result, John’s image began to reflect upon the rest of the band. This, along with all of the members drug u
se and diverging interests, would lead to tensions and the ultimate demise of the band. Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, the Beatles were torn apart from the inside.

For John, the band symbolized much of what he hated about the music business and society. John had been one of the driving forces behind the decision to stop touring because of the commercialization that the band and its music had been victimized by. Simply put, the Beatles had become a business and John, who had become more of a socialist, detested the capitalistic manipulation of the band and their music.

While Paul had officially left the group first, the band had really been disbanded for quite some time. After the official break-up, tensions that had originally stemmed from artistic differences and frustrations in the studio became fueled by the press and rumors and developed into a feud between John and Paul. The fruits of this feud would surface in the form of musical attacks against each other on each of their solo albums. The tensions and the feud would die down as time rolled on, but were ultimately left unresolved.

After having spent most of his musical career as a member of the world’s first supergroup, John Lennon re-invented himself. In contrast to the well-manicured and well-behaved youth that had humbly graced the Ed Sullivan Show with the Beatles, John Lennon was now an outspoken and confident man. With the love and support of Yoko, he would explore and examine every aspect of his life and his beliefs.

Through his music, art, and protests John sought to improve and enrich the lives of all those around him. He exuded a confidence and determination that intimidated and isolated many of his former fans and supporters. Songs such as "Power To The People," "Give Peace A Chance," and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" communicated to the public conscience and struck a chord with people throughout the world. His was
a philosophy of peace, love and empowerment for all people.

Beneath the strength of his convictions however, was more than a mere activist and performer. John Lennon was a husband, a father, and a human being. While his more political songs and activities captured the imagination and attention of the people, it was his more personal and emotional music that captured the world’s heart. It was his ability to expose his innermost fears and sadness and express his deepest love and happiness in song that elevated John above the level of a simple activist. He was a human being, and he was not afraid to expose his frailties to the world. He matured before the public’s eyes and grew along with a generation.

In October of 1975, John temporarily stopped recording and performing after the birth of his son Sean. Having reawakened the pain and grief of his own troubled childhood and the lost time with his first son Julian, he was determined to devote himself to his child. Over the next five years, he would remain almost entirely focused upon Sean. Yoko took over management of the couple’s business affairs during this time, while John wrote and recorded, keeping his music to himself as he watched his son grow.

In 1980, John ended his withdrawal and entered the studio to record the music which had been composed over the previous five years. Happy, refreshed, and inspired, he recorded what would prove to best his best work in almost a decade. Tragically, John was shot and killed by an obsessed fan as he was making his way back from the studio. Double Fantasy would go on to be one of his most successful releases since his time with the Beatles.

When John Lennon died on December 8, 1980, the heart of an entire generation went with him. As the 80’s had just begun, the icon of an entire generation was gone. People worldwide mourned the loss of one of the most influential and important figures of the last fifty years. Not
since the deaths of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had there been such a widespread outpouring of emotion. One of the last good men was gone.

With courage, integrity and love, John Lennon taught the world the meanings of hope and empowerment, and ultimately showed us all the true power of music. Through art and peaceful demonstration he helped to awaken the hearts and minds of an entire generation. It is almost impossible to ‘imagine’ what he would have been able to accomplish had he lived longer.

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