John LennonThe Musical Genius

What I Learned About John Lennon

• I used to think that John Lennon was a quiet, peaceful, music-loving, nice guy.

• What I found what was that John Lennon was actually a nice guy who also had an arrogant rebel side to him. He always stood up for what he believed in, represented the common person, and was very emotionally tangled.

• Many people believe him to only be a “Mr. Nice Guy” because of his image that was created by the Beatles.

Early Childhood• John Lennon was born on October 19,

1940, in Liverpool, England.• His middle name, Winston, was given to him

in tribute to the British Prime Minister of the time, Winston Churchill.

• Unfortunately, John’s mother, Julia, and his father, Alfred, rarely spent time together and officially divorced when Lennon was 5.

• After the divorce, Alfred disappeared, and Julia left John under the care of her sister, Mimi Smith, and her husband George.

• Julia, perhaps feeling guilty, spoiled John.• Mimi and George, on the other hand, acted

more like loving parents who only want what’s best for their child.

• After the flirtatious Julia was impregnated by a serviceman, she fell in love with John Dykins.

• It was then that Mimi was able to legally adopt John and make him her and George’s son.

Wanted

John

As A Son

Provided: A Real Home, True Love and Support

Emphasized Reading &

Writing

Unable To Beat Mimi at Most

Things

Outgoing

Role Model Leader

Provided Order, Structure and Discipline in John’s Life

Emphasized

Music and Arts

One of the Largest Influences on John

Provided Money and Material Gifts, Rather Than Emotional Ones

Put Social Life Before John

George

MimiJulia

QuietLow-KeySensitive

CooperativeProvided Sense of Security

Role Model Father and Husband

Then It Happened…

• Aunt Mimi bought John a guitar for his birthday.

• Ironically, she warned him to not get too into music since it was impossible to make it as a successful musician…

Stuart Sutcliffe• John was immensely fond of Stuart. Stuart Sutcliffe and John met in art

class and became an inseparable. Eventually John moved into Stuart’s studio. It can be said that they balanced each other out very well.

• John was now a bitter lonely teen. His uncle George died of a brain hemorrhage in 1955, and his mother Julia was hit and killed by a police car . Many years later he spoke of the loss of his mother: “I was in a sort of blind rage for two years. I was either drunk or fighting… There was something the matter with me. Because of my attitude, all the other boy’s parents, including Paul’s father, would say, ‘Keep away from him.’”

• Stuart Sutcliffe was a daring, popular kid who was in love with art (both music and painting). He was very anti-establishment, as was John. This quality rubbed off enormously on John.

• Stuart helped to hone John's artistic skills. He also encouraged John to channel all of John’s pent-up emotions into music, rather than a destructive outlet. John in return helped Stuart on the guitar, was there to debate Stuart on his views of the world, and stood by his side when standing up to authority.

Early Music Days• John then went through

several band members and band names until they became the Silver Beatles.

• The band consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Stuart Sutcliffe, and George Harrison.

• Their music was popular, but not sensational. They performed in Hamburg for countless gigs until yet another disaster struck. Stuart Sutcliffe died of a brain hemorrhage. (Note this is coincidently the same cause of John’s uncle's death).

Controversy Over Sutcliffe's Death

• The most well known story of the death is that the band was jumped by a gang after a gig one night. They were all hurt, but Stuart received numerous blows to the head.

• There is another possible cause, however. A few months before his death, Stuart decided to leave the band, preferring to pursue his career as a painter. John, enraged and deeply hurt, fought and beat down Stuart. In this wild, temporary state of savagery, he also landed many blows to the head on Stuart.

• After the autopsy, it was determined that the brain hemorrhage came from severe damage to the brain previously.

• Today, many argue over who caused the death: the merciless gang looking for money, or his own best friend who lost control for a short time.

• Either way, John was crushed. He cried regularly and had several emotional outbursts over the next couple weeks, but after that, he simply masked himself with a grim face. This is also the way he dealt with his uncle George's death and his mother’s death, and would forever deal with death.

• Stuart’s artistic ability and decision to stand up for his own beliefs was absorbed by John, and was what would later make John world famous.

Impact of Sutcliffe

• Sutcliffe trained and helped John develop into a true musician.

• He taught John how to express his emotions in a non-destructive way.

• His death opened John’s eyes to how truly terrible tragedy and death really are.

• John learned to appreciate what the dead left behind.

Early Music Days (Again)

• After the death of Stuart, Pete Best joined the band.

• The band slowly got better and better and was then discovered by Brian Epstein.

• The band underwent some changes, including changing their name to The Beatles, and replacing Pete Best with Ringo Starr.

The Beatles

• The Beatles, swept up in an ever-increasing wave of popularity became big in Britain then in August of 1964 “invaded” America

• This legendary tour brought the Beatles to the peak of their success, as they played for countless people across the country.

• Although the Beatles had three North American tours. This one was by far the largest and most successful.

The Beatles (continued)

• The Beatles produced several albums, including Revolver, The White Album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

• The Beatles hold the title of having the most Number One Singles (twenty) in The Billboard Hot 100 Charts, and the most Number One Albums (nineteen) in the Billboard Top 200 albums charts.

• They also hold the record for having the most weeks (59 weeks) at Number One in the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

• During the week on April 4th, 1964, in The Billboard, The Beatles held all five Top Five spots, as well seven other songs in the Top 100.

• The Beatles have broken and still hold countless sales records.

The End of The Beatles

• As with most major bands, dissent, anger and jealousy began to arise within the band members, especially John and Paul.

• Finally after many heated fights and John’s commitment to Yoko Ono, Paul left the band, causing the band to finally come to an end.

My Thesis

I believe John Lennon was a man who fought for justice and what is right. He opposed the rich and represented the common person. He wasn’t afraid to express himself and wanted peace and equality around the world.

Statements Made By John Lennon• “You have to be a bastard to make it, and that's a fact. And the Beatles are

the biggest bastards on earth.”• “My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what

we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.”

• “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.”

• “It doesn't matter how long my hair is or what color my skin is or whether I'm a woman or a man.”

• “Imagine all the people living life in peace. 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 be as one.”

• “If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or my music, then in that respect you can call me that I believe in what I do, and I'll say it.”

• “Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war --for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I'd say we deserve ours more.”

• “Sex is overrated unless you’re the one doing it.”

Statements Made About John Lennon

• “I just wonder if people can accept him for who he really was, not who they need to believe he was. Truth. Raw Truth. That’s one of things that mattered to him, even as a young man.” (Pauline Sutcliffe)

• “They just could not hear each other, and they kind of got lost in the mix. But Lennon was amazing.” (Brian Epstein)

• “…I realized that John was the heart and soul of the Beatles.” (Mark Lewisohn).

Common MisconceptionsMisconception Reality

-John was a “goodie-good”.

-John had two lovers (Cynthia and Yoko Ono)

-John was a stoic, seemingly emotionless man, except for when it came to music and peace.

-John was the most defiant of all the Beatles.-John had three lovers (the 3rd being May Pang)-John was very emotional, and emotionally disturbed. He simply had trouble expressing his emotions, so he used music as an outlet.

Any Questions?

Works Cited

• Decurtis, Anthony. "Biography." John Lennon: the Official Site. 04 May 2008 <http://johnlennon.com/html/biography.aspx>.

• Gilmore, Mikal. "Lennon Lives Forever." Rolling Stone 05 Dec. 2005. 08 May 2008 <http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/8898300/lennon_lives_forever>.

• Giuliano, Geoffrey. The Beatles: a Celebration. Secaucus: The Wellfleet P, 1986.

• Kane, Larry. Lennon Revealed. Philadelphia: Running P, 2005.