John Lennon is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, cartoonist and author. He is best known as the founder of the musical group the Beatles, very popular in the 1960s and beyond. With over 200 songs to their credit, the group is one of the world's greatest music legends. Lennon even went so far as to confide to a journalist that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, creating controversy.
John Lennon is a fervent defender of world peace. His album Imagine, containing the song of the same name, is the most convincing proof of this. Because of his stance and some of his actions, he regularly came into conflict with the US government, which tried to expel him. In 1969, together with his wife Yoko Ono, he organized two Bed-ins, a peaceful demonstration in which people occupy a bed for an extended period of time, to protest against the Vietnam War and promote world peace. The first Bed-in, in Amsterdam, lasted a week. The second, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, lasted eight days. During the event, Lennon writes and records the hit Give Peace a Chance. He also produced a draft of the song Come together.
On December 8, 1980, returning from a recording studio, John Lennon was shot at point-blank range by Mark David Chapman. Chapman's motives remain unclear.
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1940: John Lennon is born on October 9 in Liverpool, England.
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1960: Formerly called the Quarrymen, the group becomes the Beatles, referring to the Beat generation.
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1965: The four members of the group become members of the Order of the British Empire.
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1965: The musicians can hardly get used to the Beatlemania that follows them. In June, Paul McCartney and John Lennon write the song Help!
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1965: Paul McCartney writes the song Yesterday, featured on the band's album Help! It is considered the most covered song of all time by the Guinness Book of Records. It is also the most-played song on radio worldwide.
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1969: Towards the end of August, the members of the band decide to stop playing concerts, since the screams of the fans prevent them from hearing themselves play. They even turn down a million-dollar contract.
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1969: To mark their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono organize the Amsterdam Bed-in.
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1969: In June, the couple repeat their Bed-in in Montreal.
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1969: At the end of September, John Lennon announces that he is leaving the Beatles. The group automatically disbands.
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1971: The musician composes the song Imagine.
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1980: The day after his birthday, John Lennon is murdered outside his hotel in New York.