John Ono Lennon

 John Ono Lennon, MBE, born John Winston Lennon (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980)

He rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the rock band the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. With Paul McCartney, he formed a songwriting partnership that is one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. It was at a Quarry Men gig in July in 1957 (Woolton Fete) that he was introduced to Paul McCartney. Neither one was initially impressed with the other, until John learned that Paul could actually tune a guitar. A few weeks later, Paul joined The Quarry Men. That same year, John attended the Liverpool College of Art, where he would meet future wife Cynthia Powell along with future band mate Stuart Sutcliffe. Soon after Paul joined the band, he introduced John to a younger schoolmate, George Harrison. John accepted George into the band in 1958. The Quarry Men went through numerous line-up changes as well as name changes in 1959 and 1960. Among those were Johnny and The Moondogs, The Silver Beetles, until finally settling on The Beatles about 1960 with Ringo Starr. In 1961, The Beatles were playing lunch-time sessions at The Cavern Club in Liverpool. It was at the Cavern in November 1961 that Brian Epstein saw the group perform. Epstein took the mantle of manager and set about sharpening their image He secured an audition with Decca Records in London in 1962. They were finally picked up at Parlophone Records. Drummer Pete Best was replaced with Ringo Starr before their first recording sessions. Their first single, "Love Me Do," reached the top twenty in late 1962 on the British charts; "Please Please Me" in 1963 hit #1.

The Beatles would have 11 consecutive number ones on the British charts from 1963 to 1966. American TV host Ed Sullivan witnessed "Beatlemania" in London's Heathrow Airport. Their performance on the Sullivan show in 1964 remains one of the most watched shows in television history, with a viewing audience of 73 million people. The Beatles had the Top 5 positions on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Singles chart for the week of April 4, 1964, in addition to seven other singles, for a total of 12. The Beatles broke new musical ground with such albums as 1965's "Rubber Soul", and two years later with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which hit number one. John's single, "All You Need Is Love," debuted on the first global satellite TV program, "Our World," in 1967, where The Beatles were chosen to represent England. Their last concert was held on August 29, 1966 in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. At various points, John, George, and Ringo quit the band. At one point, John became so disgusted, he stated he "wanted a divorce" from The Beatles. John met Japanese-born Yoko Ono in 1966 at the Indica Gallery in London, while each was married to other people. John and Yoko made their relationship public in 1968. Yoko became John's focal point, going so far as to include her in Beatles studio recordings. They also embarked on various recording and media stunts that included appearing in white bags in public. John and Yoko married on March 20, 1969 at the British Consulate in Gibraltar and spent their honeymoon in bed for the now legendary "bed-in for peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton in The Netherlands. In April of 1969, After settling in New York, Lennon released successful solo albums such as "Imagine" in 1971 and "Mind Games" in 1973. John returned to recording in 1980 with his first solo album in over half a decade, "Double Fantasy."

On the night of December 8, 1980, John was in the walkway of The Dakota apartment building in New York City when someone said, "Mr. Lennon." John turned around and was shot at close range by deranged fan Mark David Chapman. Rushed to the Emergency Room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital he was declared dead on arrival, John Lennon was 40 years old.