John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE, was an English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager, his first band, The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next decade, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in October 1980 with a new single and a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered weeks after their release on the sidewalk outside his home in the Dakota. Ironically, "Imagine" (imagine all the people, living life in peace) was a featured cut from this album.
Lennon's album sales in the United States alone stand at 14 million units, and as performer, writer, or co-writer he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008 Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
--Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia --
“It was like being in the eye of a hurricane. You'd wake up in a concert and think "Wow how did I get here?”
“I'm a moldy moldy manI'm moldy thru and thruI'm a moldy moldy manYou would not think it trueI'm moldy til my eyeballsI'm moldy til my toeI will not dance I shyballsI'm such a humble Joe.”
“Please don’t spoil my day; I’m miles away and, after all, I’m only sleeping.”
“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”
“When I was about twelve I used to think I must be a genius, but nobody's noticed. If there is such a thing as a genius, I am one, and if there isn't I don't care.”
“Time wounds all heels.”
“I get by with a little help from my friends.”
“Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.”
“Before Elvis there was nothing.”
“Remember to let her into your heart.”
“Slipping? We're bigger than Jesus.”
“I'm not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I've always been a freak. So I've been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I'm one of those people.”
“They want to hold onto something they never had in the first place. Anybody who claims to have some interest in me as an individual artist or even as part of the Beatles has absolutely misunderstood everything I ever said if they can't see why I'm with Yoko. And if they can't see that, they don't see anything. They're just jacking off to - it could be anybody. Mick Jagger or somebody else. Let them go jack off to Mick Jagger, okay? I don't need it.”
“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
“I am a violent man who has learned not to be violent and regrets his violence.”
“You can manicure a cat but can you caticure a man?”
“There are only a few notes. Just variations on a theme.”
“We all shine on...like the moon and the stars and the sun...we all shine on...come on and on and on...”
“The more I see, the less I know for sure.”
“If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that... I believe in what I do, and I'll say it.”
“As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.”
“God is a concept by which we measure our pain.”
“I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me.”
“There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be...”
“Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns it calls me on and on across the universe.”
“For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!”
“No short-haired, yellow-bellied, son of tricky dickyIs gonna mother hubbard soft soap meWith just a pocketful of soap.”
“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”
“Why in the world are we here? Surely not to live in pain and fear. Why on earth are you there, when you're everywhere-come and get your share.”
“Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,They slither wildly as they slip away across the universePools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,Possessing and caressing me.Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,They call me on and on across the universe,Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter boxThey tumble blindly as they make their wayAcross the universeSounds of laughter shades of love areRinging through my open ears inciting and inviting meLimitless undying love which shines around me like a Million suns, and calls me on and onAcross the universe”
“I was the walrus, but now I am John...and so my friends, you'll just have to carry on. The dream is over.”
“One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside.”
“Whatever gets you through the night”
“War is over ... If you want it.”
“Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.”
“Nothing is real.”
“I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?”
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
“Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”
“If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that's a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”
“The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.”
“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be 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 live as one.”