John Lennon

John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940 and formed his first band, the Quarrymen, as a schoolboy in 1956. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney became the creative engine of the Beatles, the band that transformed popular music in the 1960s. From early hits to the studio innovations of their later albums, Lennon's wit, restlessness, and melodic gift were central to everything the group achieved.

After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Lennon pursued a solo career marked by raw honesty and political conviction. Working closely with his wife Yoko Ono, he released albums that ranged from the searing introspection of Plastic Ono Band to the idealism of Imagine, whose title song became an enduring anthem of peace. He and Ono also staged high-profile demonstrations for peace during the Vietnam era.

After several years devoted to family life in New York, Lennon returned to recording in 1980 with Double Fantasy, only to be shot and killed outside his home that December at age 40. His death was mourned worldwide. His songs, both with the Beatles and alone, remain among the most loved in popular music, and his call to imagine a kinder world still resonates.