Biographic - Sunday December 4, 2005 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

He was one of four young men who came together to revolutionize popular music and conquer the world. A musical genius, he was also renowned as a avant-garde artist and a prominent campaigner for peace. Twenty-five years since his untimely death, John Lennon is still mourned and missed by millions.... John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England, on October 9, 1940. Raised by his aunt Mimi, he dropped out of art school to concentrate on music, teaming up with Paul McCartney and George Harrison to form the group that became The Beatles. They honed their musical skills in the rough-and-ready nightclubs of Hamburg, Germany, before returning to Britain and recruiting Ringo Starr to replace their original drummer. Their debut single was released in late 1962, and within 18 months they were a global pop culture phenomenon. Hit followed hit, the Lennon & McCartney songwriting partnership producing classic pop that still endures to this day, from "She Loves You" to "Help" from "Strawberry Fields Forever" to "Revolution." Each single and album, each movie, was greeted with worldwide fanfare, and the "Fab Four" became the most famous people on the planet. But by the end of the decade, The Beatles had outgrown the "Lovable Moptop" personas and, weary of the limitations imposed on them by years of "Beatlemania" the group disbanded in 1970. In 1971, Lennon relocated to New York having regretted not spending more time with Julian, John withdrew from the public eye in 1975 to enjoy fatherhood after the birth of his son Sean. On December 8, 1980, at the outset of a music comeback, 40-year-old John Lennon was shot and killed by a deranged fan. The whole world mourned the senseless death fo one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

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