“Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun…”

John Lennon - "Instant Karma"

And shine on John Lennon did.  Even without the powerhouse of The Beatles behind him, he continued to create music in a style that was authentic to him, popularity be damned.  Heck, if he had just stopped there, Lennon would have been legend enough for any of us, but as creatives tend to do, they continue creating until their very last breath.  Beyond music, Lennon was a revolutionary, dabbling in everything from politics to primal scream therapy, keeping the world on its toes to find out what he would do next.  Though his end would come far too soon, John Lennon created a body of work that would impact generations to come… on and on and on on on…

John Lennon got his start in music with The Quarrymen, a ‘skiffle’ band, in 1957 while he was still in school.  Just a few short months later, he met Paul McCartney at a gig, eventually inviting him into the band.  McCartney’s father allowed The Quarrymen to practice in their home, and soon the seeds of The Beatles would emerge.  They began writing songs together, and then along came George Harrison.  Name changes took place and they eventually settled on The Beatles.  Eventually, thanks to local support from fans asking for their albums, The Beatles came to the attention of Brian Epstein, who owned a record store in Liverpool.  By 1962, he became their manager, and by the following year they were signed with EMI’s sub-label, Parlophone.  The story that followed was pure music magic that would bring them through the British Invasion with hits like “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “From Me To You” and their rousing rendition of “Twist and Shout,” to their later years as they explored their creativity (among a number of other things) by putting out a string of psychedelic tunes like “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” “I Am the Walrus” and “Polythene Pam.”

By the time the world was shocked with the breakup of The Beatles in 1970, John had long since begun his solo career.  He stretched his newly independent muscles on his first two solo releases, Two Virgins and Life with the Lions.  Tape loops, improvisations and sound effects became staples in his avant-garde sound.  Also during this time, Lennon began experimenting in the visual arts and alternative politics with the help of his wife, Yoko Ono. 

One notorious socio-political experiment was the “Bed-In” of 1969.  For eight days, John and Yoko stayed in bed.  While it might not sound all that exciting to those who didn’t live through the tumultuous times, Lennon was using his fame and superstardom to bring attention to the cause of world peace, quite literally asking the world to “Give Peace a Chance” which he recorded under the name of Plastic Ono Band.  Visitors to the Bed-In included Timothy Leary, Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers, Dick Gregory.  Though others would visit, the three of them would contribute their vocals to the track.  The song was simple, but clever in its catchy sing-along style.  It became a Top 15 hit, and remains an anthem for peace to this day.  The incident and the subsequent song would influence generations, including Oasis, who would refer to it in their song, “Don’t Look Back In Anger.”  With the Plastic Ono Band, Lennon also released the single, “Cold Turkey,” a song that put into rocking, musical terms the effects of drug withdrawal.

In 1970, “Instant Karma” hit the world.  It quickly became a Top 10 hit with its clapping and pounding percussion and meaningful lyrics.  At the same time, Lennon was experimenting with primal scream therapy along with Yoko, which would leave an indelible impression, recorded for all on Plastic Ono Band.  Thinking of the Plastic Ono Band, it was comprised of a number of surprising (or not so surprising depending on how you look at it) members, some of whom included Ringo and George, along with future Yes drummer, Alan White, The Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, and Eric Clapton.  On Plastic Ono Band, Lennon let his demons loose, speaking freely about what troubled him, from childhood fears to his larger-than-life experience as a part of The Beatles, all over minimalist instrumental backdrops.  With this, Lennon set pop culture up for a wave of honesty in rock music that would be felt even years later.

Imagine, the title song of which became another anti-war anthem, came out in 1971, becoming an instant international hit.  The album would contain other classics, including the romantic “Jealous Guy,” and “How Do You Sleep?”  Though it was later denied by Lennon, it was originally thought that the song was a dig against McCartney, rather than about himself as Lennon claimed.  In 1971, Lennon moved from London, England to New York City where he would record and release “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” in December of the same year.  Around the same time, Lennon and Ono became more involved with people in radical politics.  To promote the single, “Happy Xmas,” and their overarching message of world peace, John and Yoko paid for a billboard in Times Square, which read, “WAR IS OVER, if you want it.”

In 1972, Lennon released Some Time in New York City, a double-album recorded half live and half in the studio, and came filled with songs about everything from women’s rights, race relations and Lennon’s problems with getting a ‘green card’ to remain in the U.S.  During this time, they had been busy making new friends that weren’t popular with Richard Nixon’s government, and the FBI opened a file on Lennon, figuring he’d try to make an embarrassment and a spectacle out of Nixon.  Songs like “Power to the People,” “Luck of the Irish,” “John Sinclair” and others were powerful examples of the oppression and optimism for change that Lennon felt we faced as humanity. 

In 1973, he returned to the studios and released something decidedly less political with Mind Games, the title track of which was at once a psychedelic and majestic soliloquy on love.  Like much of Lennon’s music, it would enter into the charts, this one making it into the Top 20.  1974’s Walls and Bridges was a straightforward rocker that featured, “Whatever Gets You through the Night.”  The song featured backing vocals from Elton John and went to #1 on the charts.  “No. 9 Dream,” fared well on the charts, peaking, coincidentally, at #9.  The following year would come a collection of Lennon’s favorite hits of the 50s and 60s, Rock and Roll, which featured a popular rendition of “Stand By Me.”  That same year, Lennon co-wrote and performed on the David Bowie track, “Fame.” 

On the day of John’s 35th birthday came a son, Sean Ono Lennon.  After his birth, Lennon went into retirement in order to care for him in a way he never did for his first son, Julian.  Five years later, in 1980, he returned to the studio with Ono and recorded Double Fantasy.  The album was a triumph of sorts, and featured back-to-back songs, arranged as though it was a conversation between the two of them.  Sadly, the success of Double Fantasy would be overshadowed by his harrowing assassination by Mark David Chapman outside the Dakota, where Ono and Lennon lived in NYC.  Posthumously, songs like “Woman” and “Watching the Wheels” would go into the Top 10, while his romantic, 50s-tinged “(Just Like) Starting Over” went straight to #1.

Since his death, Lennon remained in the light of pop culture, thanks to the release of planned works, such as Milk and Honey, Live in New York City, and Menlove Avenue.  More recently, 2004’s critically acclaimed Anthology was released, which included rare home and studio recordings.  Lennon continues to have an impact worldwide.  In 1990, on what would have been his 50th birthday, “Imagine” was played simultaneously in 130 different countries.  Both of his children have gone on to find successful careers in music, bringing back memories of their father’s famous voice.  His work continues to be covered by artists as diverse as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mary-Chapin Carpenter, and his legacy of world peace lives on today as dozens of artists joined together to create 2007’s Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, a cause that no doubt would have been close to Lennon’s own heart.  The album is a compilation of covers from Lennon’s solo career that features artists like The Flaming Lips, Green Day, Duran Duran, R.E.M., and U2, among many others, showing that his music and message will continue to play a part in the everyday lives of generations to come.