John Lennon专区(10.6内容已更新)
10.9 快到了，为了纪念John Lennon诞生65周年，10.5--10.9期间特此对专区内容进行全面更新和升级，请喜欢John Lennon的乐迷朋友们关注！
John Lennon
出生时间： 1940 国籍： 英国 死亡时间： 1980
本 名: John Lennon 本 籍: N/A
英文名: John Lennon
生 日: 1940-10-09 出生地: 英国利物浦
身 高: 5尺11吋 体 重: 154磅
血 型: N/A 星 座: N/A
歌手详细资料
============================
生日: 1940.10.09 -1980.12.08
兄弟: 无
姐妹: 无
眼睛颜色: 棕色
头发颜色: 棕色
弹奏的乐器: 吉他,口琴,打击乐器,钢琴
学历: 奎利坡初级中学&利物浦艺专
进入演艺事业年纪: 20岁
先前的职业: 艺术学生
嗜好: 写歌曲、诗与游玩，女孩子们，绘画，与人们接触
喜爱的歌手: Shirelles，Miracles，Chuck Jackson，Ben E King
喜爱的男演员: Robert Mitchum,Peter Sellers
喜爱的女演员: Juliette Greco,Sophia Loren
喜爱的食品: 咖哩和果冻
喜爱的饮料: 威士忌和茶
喜爱的衣服: Sombre
喜爱的乐队: Quincy Jones
喜爱的乐器演奏家: Sonny Terry
喜爱的作曲家: Luther Dixon
爱好: 金发女郎,皮制品
讨厌: 愚笨的人们
音乐上的爱好: R&B，福音
个人的抱负: 写一部以音乐和舞蹈为主的戏剧电影
专业的野心: 不想当第一或者是大师，只想自己的音乐能让人思考和反思
风格： Album Rock（专辑摇滚） Pop/Rock（流行/摇滚） Rock & Roll（摇滚） Singer/Songwriter（演唱者/歌曲作者）
二十多年过去了，列侬离开我们已经二十多年了。那些事情好象都过去了。但对与心中的John Lennon我们怎能忘记！
能说些什么呢
某种意义上说，他是一个离我很遥远的人。他死后一个月我才出生。而他有的声音、他的音乐与我却要近许多。
知道他自然是从The Beatles开始。而The Beatles 是如此巨大。相比之下，lennon个人的音乐成就并非那么耀眼。
Lennon开始个人音乐发展其实是始于1968年的“Unfinished Music, No. 1: Two Virgins”。这是一张他与大野洋子合作的实验噪音专辑。可这张唱片最引人注目的却是封面上列侬与洋子赤裸身体的照片。他们于69年3月20日在直布罗陀结婚。10月出版了“Unfinished Music, No. 2: Life with the Lions”封面上则是洋子怀孕期间两人在医院相对的照片——列侬在这段时间一直陪伴在洋子身旁，直到她后来的流产。随后就是“ The Wedding Album”包括那首“Give Peace A Chance”。在这个时期列侬、洋子与吉他手.Eric Clapton、贝司手 Klaus Voormann 、鼓手 Alan White组成了the Plastic Ono Band。出版了有关列侬与毒瘾的斗争的“Cold Turkey”，但销量却不尽人意。为此列侬退回了女王颁发的帝国勋章，同时抗议英国政府对越战的漠视态度。
70年2月发行了旋律优美的“Instant Karma”。两个月后Paul McCartney便宣布Beatles解散。离开乐队的列侬在1971年1月与the Plastic Ono Band发行了给人强烈震撼的“John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band”。其中充满了列侬对少年、青年时承受的烦恼、困惑毫无掩饰的忏悔般表白。为逝去的母亲而做的“Mother”。满是嘲讽的“Working Class Hero”： “'A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero then just follow me”。但他不正是个英雄吗！还有启示录一样的“God”那一连串的“I don’t believe……”最后的“'I just believe in me, Yoko and me, and that's reality”。强烈的自我也好、无所谓的一起也好。与过去告别的列侬呈现给我们的，是完全不同，却依然精彩的音乐。
在推出了又一支政治抗议性的单曲“Power To The People”后，列侬移居纽约。1971年秋天另一张出众的专辑“Imagine”完成了。同名冠军单曲“Imagine”优雅的曲调拌着理想主义的歌词让这首歌成了一个世纪的祈祷。在这张专辑里也倾注的列侬愤怒的政治热情。72年的“Sometime In New York City”则充满了政治歌曲，大量的尖锐的政治问题。攻击 Paul McCartney的“How Do You Sleep”，对政客们的怨恨的“Gimme Some Truth”以及列侬对激进分子如 Abbie Hoffman,，Jerry Rubin与John Sinclair的支持。
这之后开始了列侬于美国移民局无休止的争执。移民局因为非法拥有大麻拒绝向他发放绿卡，并于73年要将他驱逐出境。列侬对移民局则开始了针锋相对的攻击。在73年末发行了“Mind Games”，讲出了他与洋子的矛盾。74年列侬离开了洋子到了落山基开始了他的“Lost Weekends”。不停的与一些音乐名流如David Bowie, Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon聚会，沉浸在药品与酒精中。
在74年11月出版了婚姻题材的“Walls and Bridges”，并拿下了排行榜第一。年末，列侬与洋子从新走到了一起，并于11月在麦迪逊广场花园与Elton John进行了他的最后一场演唱会。
75年的专辑“Rock’n’Roll”其中是他翻唱自己最喜欢的一些早期摇滚歌曲，如：“Slippin’ And Slidin’”, “Peggy Sue”“Stand By Me'”。当年10月7日，法庭取消了对他的驱逐令。76年夏天，他终于得到了绿卡。在十月儿子Sean出生后，列侬离开了音乐专心做起了好丈夫、好父亲。只是由洋子打理一下他们微不足道的生意。
五年后的1980年夏天，列侬重新回来了。与Geffen公司签定了新的和约，并带来了迅速登上各大排行榜首的新专辑“Double Fantasy”。然而就是在全世界的乐迷们欢呼列侬的回归时。列侬的生命却在12月8日在曼哈顿的公寓门口消逝在了名叫Mark David Chapman的男子枪口下
所有喜爱他的人陷入了无尽的哀伤中。他的死那么突然，人们还没能尽情体验重又看到他、重又听到他音乐的欢喜。就在刹时间被悲伤笼罩。
在离开The Beatles的个人发展中，除了与洋子合作的那两张实验专辑外他的作品大多的风格无非是清新的民谣或美式根源摇滚。但在他的歌，他的歌声中透射出的敏感、脆弱，甚至他的一声喘息都可以一举把人击碎。他真诚的表达自我，不论高明与否，这表达本身就足以让人尊敬。
他死后的这些年，总有虔诚的歌迷不停祭奠，他的专辑、合辑、未发表的作品不断出版。他的两个儿子Jilian Lennon,Sean Lennon都开始了自己的音乐旅程。然而他毕竟是离我们而去了。他只能在天堂为天使们歌唱了。也许在我们梦中还会浮现他的笑脸吧。
约翰·列侬之二十世纪留言
１、《工人阶级英雄》（选自１９７０年专辑《约翰·列侬／塑料洋子乐队》）
让世界震惊的是列侬刚刚离开披头士不久，就立刻写出了这首揭露资本主义社会核心秘密之歌。列侬自己就来自工人阶级家庭，所以当他假设一个英雄备受迫害时，他其实是把他自己成长的照片作了一次展览。列侬自己成功地从工人阶层脱颖而出，幸运地锻炼成二十世纪的一个英雄，但是无以数计的工人阶级“英雄”们却耗尽一生，在宗教性和电视的蛛网里麻醉自己，甚至依然在嘲笑农民、学习如何微笑地面对屠杀、如何平静地服从他们的统治。一位工人阶级“英雄” 一直静悄悄地完成他的壮举，因为“你刚出生时他们就让你感到渺小”。
２、《上帝》（选自１９７１年专辑《想象》）
在列侬生命的苍穹里，上帝绝不是一个高不可攀的圣徒，而只是一个测量人群痛苦程度的概念。在此他列举了十四样他不相信上帝的理由：奇迹、爱情、圣经、算命牌、希特勒、耶稣、肯尼迪、佛、颂歌、吉他、瑜伽、国王、艾尔维斯和披头士。在这里有三样是比较特别的：奇迹、吉他和披头士。它们其实可以换成以下的句式：我不相信宇宙、我不相信艺术、我更不相信人群。反而，列侬相信“我”，相信“洋子和我就是现实”。在某段时间里，全世界都对披头士＋吉他＝奇迹这个公式深信不疑，但是它也同时设立另一个公式：洋子＋列侬＝恶梦。而列侬的选择是让梦结束，并且一言不发。宁可保卫现实，也不保卫上帝。
３、《你如何入眠》（选自１９７１年专辑《想象》）
面对每一个活人，列侬提出了一天里最后一个关键问题：你如何靠近真相和异想天开的边界？在正义穿过母亲眼神的那些年里，你到底学会了什么？当你妈妈告诉你一些事时你是跳起来还是继续睡去？列侬自己也曾逃脱不了这个问题的煎熬，当我们听到这首歌时，我们当然会惊讶：一个二十年前就已作古的人为什么连我们的休息（休闲）时间都不放过。当一个人和真相紧紧捆绑在一起同时又能每晚心安理得地睡去时，“当他们说你死了时那些猜测是对的。”
４、《想象》（选自１９７１年辑《想象》）
即使一个对音乐没有任何兴趣或早已丧失任何信心的人，听完这首歌也会疑惑，“一个嗓音如此糟糕的人怎么会唱出这么美的音乐？”这是列侬最著名的一首歌，它可能真的可以把每一个听众带回到他们熟悉的时间、地点和人物环境，但从列侬的双重想象里，除了美丽，我们是否可以找到更多呢？“想象这儿没有疆界／想象没有东西该被屠杀或死亡／想象没有宗教／想象所有人在和平里享受生命／如果你尝试了就会变得很容易。”想象当然不难，但列侬想象的生存境界真的会在某一天成为现实吗？在此，想象成为一件对现实控诉最有力的武器。
５、《上帝拯救盎司》（选自１９７２年《纽约城的一段时光》）
从歌名看，真让人怀疑“性手枪”那首《上帝拯救女王》（１９７６年发表）是受到了列侬精神的感召。然而列侬真的只想写出一首批判拜金主义的歌吗？其实他更想号召人们去拯救比盎司昂贵一百倍的东西；“让我们为精神之屋而战／让我们为幻觉而战／让我们为孩子的权利而战／让我们为和平而战／让我们为阻止他们精神错乱而战。”在挫折中、在欺骗中、在街上、在女王的狩猎庄园里。在列侬大量作品中，他是否在作战呢？
６、《女人是世界的黑人》（选自１９７５年《被刮光鳞的鱼》）
从字面看，只有一个性别歧视者才会产生这样的观点，可是通过列侬举的大量事实，人们会发现，女人在世界里的确扮演着黑人在过去几个世纪里担任的角色。“我们让她涂抹自己的脸并跳舞／如果她不想成为一个奴隶／我们就说她不爱我们／如果她是当真的／我们就说她想成为一个男人／我们让她背负高举着我们的孩子／然后等她成了一只肥胖的老母鸡时／我们就把她丢在一套普通公寓里／我们告诉她家是她唯一应该呆的地方。”列侬甚至发现了这样一项残酷的真理：女人是奴隶的奴隶。而且他还鼓励着我们，“哈，对了吧……最好对此尖叫吧。”人们是否赞同列侬的观点呢？最后列侬还建议我们做一个实验，“如果你不相信我／你只要看一眼你身边的那一位。”２８年后，列侬歌中女主角的命运是否发生了变化呢？或者她至今依然保持沉默了。
７、《当你被击倒不能爬起时没有人爱你》（选自１９７４年专辑《墙和桥》）
歌中的主人公原指拳击赛中失败的一方，但在这里却变成了现实里每一个身陷困境的人。列侬在对人生残酷的这一幕作总结时其实并没有太夸张，谁敢肯定列侬自己没有经历过这种情况呢？每一个被击倒的“不幸者”在不能爬起的那一时刻，除了不能立刻站立之外，他身体的其他功能还是保留的。列侬通过自己与洋子结合受到每个人抨击的亲身遭遇，意识到他们根本不能屈从于大众的意愿，即使那样，大众对他的爱也是极其不可理解的。
８、《拯救你自己》（选自１９８５年专辑《男人之爱大道》）
这是列侬１９８０年在他最后时刻于家中录制的。列侬列举了一个人所有能找到的坐标：耶稣、佛、穆罕默德、牧牛神、魔鬼、法律、马克思，但有一个却是他经常忽略不计的：那就是你的母亲。你只有在真正找到这个坐标的时候，你才明白拯救自己的关键。母亲在这里并非指一个具体存在的人，反而更应是一种信念的标志。幸运的是，在生命完结前，列侬已超额地完成了这一指标。
大野洋子眼中的John Lennon
从我的角度来看，约翰是一个比你在照片和电影里认识的还要有吸引力的人。当我遇到他时他正是二十多岁，我大他八岁，但我从未把他当作一个比我年轻的人。当你接近他时，他释放出的强烈的精神颤动对于一个年轻人来说太沉重了。有些人一出生就衰老了，那就是约翰·列侬。
伦敦，那时是音乐、艺术和电影新贵族们的一个聚居地。这些白手起家的人们改变了英国的阶段结构，他们散发新的活力，而这些人却继续以一种更傲慢的方式去改变世界。约翰和我就在那种气氛里靠在了一起。我们俩都曾属于这个群体，但当我们一宣布我们的结合时，他们就转而反对我们了。原因大概是这样：他们拥有约翰这样一个独立的榜样，但当这个榜样选了一个东方女人作他的伴侣时，一切都终结了。这就是六十年代“一流的伦敦”！
他们说维纳斯妒忌情人。是的。我们曾为找到彼此而感到如此幸运。当我们彼此陷入情网时，我们不能互相把眼神从对方身上移开。但外部压力非常强大，如此的强大，以至我们为了保护我们的爱有时必须分离。但任何事任何人都无法将我们拆开。永不，永不，永不！
即使现在，我想依然有一些人无法接受我占有约翰的生命这个事实。我对我们曾伤害了这些人而感到抱歉。但事已如此——它必将如此。
当我们制作《双重想象》、我们的最后一张专辑时，我们用了一张两人接吻的照片作封面，从唱片公司来了一个电话，说他们想用约翰一个人的，因为这样他看起来好像是一个单身汉。当我把消息转告给约翰时，他铁青着脸，“他们不希望他们的白人男孩去吻一个东方女人……好吧，从现在开始我们不再接任何电话直到我们一起上封面！不。从现在开始我们不再接任何电话直到出现一张我们彼此注视的照片！”我开始大笑，约翰也微笑着。他说，“告诉他们我不是开玩笑。”
在此后的１８年里，全世界仍然向我们的办公室打电话想得到一张没有我在内的约翰的个人照，我也依然发表约翰的照片和他的作品，为此我得到了一个新名字“职业寡妇”。
当我在录音带里聆听约翰的声音时，我感到我好像在穿越一个时间黑洞，约翰实际上与我在同一个房间里，就像我们经常长时间也呆在家里或录音室里喝咖啡。我感到鸟在歌唱，花园里的橡树在用他们的叶子演奏一种曳步舞的乐音。我们是在河岸大街吗？是否到了清晨起床的时候？我必须掐痛我自己、告诉我自己记住这是一个不同的时代。无论怎样，我们生活的时代已经结束了、飘走了。
我无法阻止眼泪奔行在我的脸上。我把约翰用过的琴递给肖恩（约翰·列侬和大野洋子的儿子）。“肖恩，给你一样东西……”他也哭了。“妈妈，他太优秀了……”肖恩的收获是他父亲的音乐。“谢谢你，肖恩。你让妈妈感到希望。 ”我又哭了。一切都如此美丽。约翰会喜欢他现在长大的儿子，一个音乐人，就像他父亲做过的。
这是我认识的约翰·列侬，不是你们通过印刷品、唱片和电影所认识的约翰 ·列侬。我对你们说，这是我的约翰·列侬。我希望与你们一起分享我对他的认识。他是光辉的，他是快乐的，他是愤怒的，他是悲伤的，总之，他是个努力工作把他的精华献给世界的一个天才。我爱他。这样一个人曾是我们这个时代、我们这个世纪和人类的一部分，这是多么精彩啊。与他在一起对我来说是一个难以置信的荣誉。
约翰·列侬之死
１９８０年８月，沉寂了多年的列侬与妻子开始录制他们最著名的专辑《双重梦幻》（Ｄｏｕｂｌｅ Ｆａｎｔａｓｙ）。他们雄心勃勃地计划从日本起程向西经过欧洲到纽约，向世界推出这部专辑。但是，他们没能实现这个愿望。１９８０年１２月８日晚１０点４９分，列侬在他的公寓前被枪杀，倒在血泊之中。洋子惊恐万分地目睹了这悲惨的一幕。
列侬是甲壳虫乐队的核心人物，也是四个披头士中最有艺术才华和思想深度的人。他在乐队中的核心地位不仅体现在音乐创作上的主导作用，也体现在对其他人的生活的影响上。列侬和前妻辛西垭的感情一直很好，并生有一子朱利安，然而自从他邂逅日本先锋派女艺术家大野洋子之后，他的情感世界乃至艺术之路都发生了巨变。
甲壳虫乐队在６０年代末解散后，列侬与大野洋子曾进行了一系列惊世骇俗的先锋艺术探索，一时为人侧目。与此同时，他们在社会政治活动中还做出了一系列大胆行动，一时被美国政府列为不受欢迎的人。１９７５年，他们的孩子出世使列侬感觉到自己“像帝国大厦一样高大”，从此他潜心在家养子，过起了与世无争的日子。直到１９８０年重新出山后马上被刺。
列侬之死标志着７０年代的结束。
John Winston Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980), was best known as a singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist for The Beatles. His creative career also included the roles of solo musician, political activist, artist, actor and author. As half of the legendary Lennon-McCartney songwriting team, he heavily influenced the development of rock music, leading it towards more serious and political messages.
He is recognised as one of the greatest musical icons of the 20th century; and his songs, such as "Imagine" and "Strawberry Fields Forever", are often ranked among the best songs in popular music history. In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time, and the British public voted Lennon into 8th place.
Early years 早年
Lennon was born in Liverpool on the evening of October 9, 1940 during a period of much turmoil as the UK was heavily engaged in World War II. Both of his parents had musical backgrounds and experience, though neither pursued them seriously. Lennon lived with his parents in Liverpool until his father Alfred (nicknamed Alf, and later "Freddy"), a merchant seaman, walked out on the family when John was five years old. His mother, Julia, then decided that she was unable to care for her son, and so gave him to her sister Mimi. Lennon lived with Aunt Mimi and her husband George at Mendips, 251 Menlove Avenue, Liverpool throughout the rest of his childhood and adolescence. Like much of the population of Liverpool, Lennon had some Irish heritage; his grandfather, James Lennon, having been born in Dublin in 1858.
Lennon developed severe myopia as he grew up, and was obliged to wear glasses in order to see clearly. During his early Beatle career, Lennon wore contacts or prescription sunglasses (or simply "toughed it out" without them). In 1966, on the set of How I Won The War, Lennon was issued a pair of National Health spectacles. He continued to wear these round, wire-rimmed glasses which became part of his iconic public image. Although John lived apart from his mother he still kept in contact with her through regular visits, and during this time Julia was responsible for introducing her son to a lifelong interest in music by teaching him how to play the banjo. On July 15, 1958 - when Lennon was 17 - his mother was killed after she was struck by a car driven by a drunken off-duty police officer, and he had to go to the morgue to identify her body. Julia's death was one of the factors that cemented his friendship with Paul McCartney, who had lost his own mother to breast cancer in 1956, when Paul was 14. Years later, Lennon wrote the songs "Julia", "Mother" and "My Mummy's Dead" regarding his mother, as well as naming his firstborn son, Julian, after her.
Though failing in grammar school, Lennon was accepted into the Liverpool College of Art with help from his school's headmaster and Aunt Mimi, and it was there that he met his future wife, Cynthia Powell. However, Lennon steadily grew to hate the conformity of art school, which proved to be little different from his earlier school experience, and ultimately dropped out. He instead devoted himself to music, inspired by American Rock 'n' Roll and singers like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly. He'd started a skiffle band in grammar school called the Quarry Men (after his alma mater, Quarry Bank). With the addition of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, the band changed to playing rock 'n' roll, taking the name "Johnny and the Moondogs", followed by "The Silver Beetles" (a tribute to Buddy Holly's Crickets), which was later shortened to The Beatles. He married Powell in 1962, after she became pregnant with Julian.
Role in the Beatles “披头四”岁月
Lennon had a profound influence on rock and roll and in expanding the genre's boundaries during the 1960s. He is widely considered, along with songwriting partner Paul McCartney, as one of the most influential singer-songwriter-musicians of the 20th century. Many of the songs written by Lennon, however, are more introspective — often in the first person — and personal than McCartney's. His most surreal pieces of songwriting, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "I Am the Walrus", are fine examples of his unique style. Lennon's partnership in songwriting with McCartney many times involved him in complementing and counterbalancing McCartney's upbeat, positive outlook with the other side of the coin, as one of their songs, "Getting Better" demonstrates:
McCartney: I have to admit it's getting better, a little better all the time.
Lennon: It can't get much worse!
Lennon often spoke his mind freely and the press was used to querying him on a wide range of subjects. On March 4, 1966 in an interview for the London Evening Standard with Maureen Cleave, who was a friend of his, Lennon made an off the cuff remark regarding religion. The article was printed and nothing came of it, until five months later when a Teen magazine reprinted the words "I don't know what will go first—Rock and Roll or Christianity. We're more popular than Jesus now," right on the front cover.
A firestorm of protest swelled from the southern Bible Belt area, as conservative groups publicly burned Beatles records and memorabilia. Radio stations banned Beatles music and concert venues cancelled performances. Even The Vatican got involved with a public denouncement of Lennon's comments. On August 11, 1966, the Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, in order to address the growing furore.
Lennon: "I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it, but I just happened to be talking to a friend and I used the words "Beatles" as a remote thing, not as what I think - as Beatles, as those other Beatles like other people see us. I just said "they" are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way which is the wrong way."
Reporter: "Some teenagers have repeated your statements - "I like the Beatles more than Jesus Christ." What do you think about that?"
Lennon: "Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. That we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."
Reporter: "But are you prepared to apologise?"
Lennon: "I wasn't saying whatever they're saying I was saying. I'm sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologise if that will make you happy. I still don't know quite what I've done. I've tried to tell you what I did do but if you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then OK, I'm sorry."
The governing members of the Vatican accepted his apology and the furor eventually died down, but constant Beatlemania, mobs, crazed teenagers, and now a press ready to tear them to pieces over any quote was too much to handle. The Beatles soon decided to stop touring, and indeed, never performed a scheduled concert again. From this point onward the Beatles were a studio band (perhaps the first ever). Freed from the problem of having to compose music they could recreate live on stage, they could explore the technological limits of music and create unique and original sounds.
On November 9, 1966, after their final tour ended and right after he had wrapped up filming a minor role in the film How I Won the War, Lennon visited an art exhibit of Yoko Ono's at the Indica art gallery in London. Lennon began his love affair with Ono in 1968 after returning from India and leaving his estranged wife Cynthia, who filed for divorce later that year. Lennon and Ono were from then on inseparable in public and private, as well as during Beatles recording sessions. The press was extremely unkind to Ono, posting a series of unflattering articles about her, one even going so far as to call her "ugly." This infuriated Lennon, who rallied around his new partner and said publicly that there was no John and Yoko, but that they were one person, JohnAndYoko. These developments led to friction with the other members of the group, and heightened the tension during the 1968 White Album sessions.
Some Beatles fans blame Ono for the Beatles' breakup, but the band had been growing apart almost immediately after the death of their manager Brian Epstein in 1967. Lennon in particular cited Epstein as the glue which had held them all together. He resolved disputes among members, balanced their egos AND-- above all-- handled the money; in his absence (together with the influence of drugs, a desire to do more work independently, outside friends, alternate collaborating partners, new marriages/relationships and the disastrous Apple Corps venture), the Beatles' interpersonal relationships simply disintegrated.
At the end of 1968, Lennon and Ono performed as Dirty Mac on The Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus.
During his last two years as a member of The Beatles, Lennon spent much of his time with Ono on public displays protesting the Vietnam War. He sent back the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) he received from Queen Elizabeth II during the height of Beatlemania "in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing and support of America in Vietnam," adding as a joke, "as well as "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts." On March 20, 1969, Lennon and Ono were married in Gibraltar, and spent their honeymoon in Amsterdam in a "Bed-In" for peace. They followed up their honeymoon with another "Bed-In" for peace this time held in Montreal at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. During the second "Bed-In" the couple recorded "Give Peace a Chance" which would go on to become an international anthem for the peace movement. They were mainly patronised as a couple of eccentrics by the media, yet they did a great deal for the peace movement, as well as for other pet causes, such as women's liberation and racial harmony. As with the "Bed-In" campaign, Lennon and Ono usually advocated their causes with whimsical demonstrations, such as Bagism, first introduced during a Vienna press conference. Shortly after, Lennon changed his middle name from Winston to Ono to show his "oneness" with his new wife. Lennon wrote "The Ballad of John and Yoko" about his marriage and the subsequent press it generated.
The failed Get Back/Let It Be recording/filming sessions did nothing to improve relations within the band. After both Lennon and Ono were injured in the summer of 1969 in a car accident in Scotland, Lennon arranged for Ono to be constantly with him in the studio (including having a full-sized bed rolled in) as he worked on The Beatles' last album, Abbey Road. While the group managed to hang together to produce one last superior musical work, soon thereafter business issues related to Apple Corps came between them.
Lennon decided to quit the Beatles but was talked out of saying anything publicly. Phil Spector's involvement in trying to revive the Let It Be material then drove a further wedge between Lennon (who supported Spector) and McCartney (who opposed him). Though the split would only become legal some time later, Lennon and McCartney's partnership had come to a bitter end. McCartney soon made a press announcement, declaring he had quit the Beatles, and promoting his new solo record.
Solo career 单飞生涯
Of the four former Beatles, Lennon had perhaps the most varied recording career. While he was still a Beatle, Lennon and Ono recorded three albums of experimental and difficult electronic music, Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No.2: Life with the Lions, and Wedding Album. His first 'solo' album of popular music was Live Peace in Toronto 1969, recorded in 1969 (prior to the breakup of the Beatles) at the Rock 'n' Roll Festival in Toronto with The Plastic Ono Band, which included Eric Clapton and Klaus Voormann. He also recorded three singles in his initial solo phase, the anti-war anthem "Give Peace a Chance", "Cold Turkey" (about his struggles with heroin addiction) and "Instant Karma!".
Following the Beatles' split in 1970, he released the John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album, a raw, brutally personal record, heavily influenced by Arthur Janov's Primal therapy, which Lennon had undergone previously. The influence of the therapy, which consists literally of screaming out one's emotional pain, is most obvious on the songs "Mother" ("Mama don't go!/Daddy come home!") and "Well Well Well." The centrepiece is "God," in which he lists all the things he does not believe in, ending with "Beatles". Many consider "Plastic Ono Band" to be a major influence on later hard rock and punk music. Lennon continued this effort to demythologise his old band with a long, confrontational interview published in Rolling Stone magazine.
This was followed in 1971 by Imagine, his most successful solo album, which alternates in tone between dreaminess and anger. The title track has become an anthem for anti-war movements, and was matched in image by Lennon's "white period" (white clothes, white piano, white room ...)
John Lennon, circa 1971.Perhaps in reaction, his next album, Some Time in New York City, was loud, raucous, and explicitly political, with songs about prison riots, racial and sexual relations, the British role in the sectarian troubles in Northern Ireland, and his own problems in obtaining a United States Green Card. This record is generally seen as the nadir of Lennon's career, full of heavy-handed and simplistic messaging unredeemed by much artistic value. On 30 August 1972 Lennon and his backing band Elephant's Memory staged two benefit concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York; it was to be his last full-length concert appearance. Lennon and Ono also did a week-long guest co-host stint on the Mike Douglas Show, in an appearance that showed Lennon's wit and humour still intact.
In 1972, Lennon released an anti-sexism song, "Woman Is the Nigger of the World", implying that as black people were discriminated against in some countries so were women globally. Radio refused to broadcast the song, and it was banned nearly everywhere.
Lennon rebounded in 1973 with Mind Games, which featured a strong title tune and some vague mumblings about a "conceptual country" called "Nutopia", which satirized his ongoing immigration case. His most striking song of that year was the wry "I'm the Greatest," which he wrote for Ringo Starr's very successful Ringo album.
In 1973, Lennon's personal life fell into disrepair when Yoko kicked John out of the house. Yoko approached May Pang, the attractive Asian woman who was their personal assistant, at the time with a unique proposal. Yoko, who thought May Pang to be an "ideal companion" for John, asked her to "be with John and to help him out and see to it that he gets whatever he wanted." John and May soon moved to Los Angeles which had been dubbed the "lost weekend" though it lasted until the beginning of 1975. During their time together, May encouraged John to spend time with his son, Julian Lennon, and became friends with Cynthia Lennon. Though John's public drunkenness had been the subject of gossip during 1974, Pang wrote that John was usually sober in his private life and created a large body of work.
Despite alleged episodes of drunkenness, Lennon put together the well-received album, Walls and Bridges, which featured a collaboration with Elton John on the up-tempo number one hit "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". Another top ten hit from the album was the Beatlesque reverie "#9 Dream". Lennon capped the year by making a surprise guest appearance at an Elton John concert in Madison Square Garden where they performed "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night" and "I Saw Her Standing There" together. It was to be his last-ever concert appearance.
In 1975, Lennon released the Rock 'n' Roll album of cover versions of old rock and roll songs of his youth. This project was complicated by Phil Spector's involvement as producer and by several legal battles; the result received generally negative reviews, though it yielded a powerful, lauded cover of "Stand by Me".
At this point Yoko was pregnant with what would be their first child, and Lennon — saddened by the fact that due to Beatlemania he had never gotten to experience fatherhood with his first son Julian — retired from music and dedicated himself to family life. This was made easier in 1976 when his U.S. immigration status was finally resolved favourably, after a years-long battle with the Nixon administration that included a FBI investigation involving surveillance, wiretaps, and agents literally following Lennon around as he travelled. Lennon claimed the investigation was politically motivated.
Also in 1975, David Bowie achieved his first US number one hit with "Fame", co-written by Bowie, Lennon (who also contributed backing vocals) and Carlos Alomar.
Lennon's retirement, which he began following the birth of his second son, Sean in 1975, lasted until 1980 when Lennon, for the first time in five years, picked up his guitar again. At first only curious to see if he could still write music, he felt refreshed and full of ideas, completely reinvigorated by the experiences of fatherhood and the long break from the business. He wrote an impressive amount of material during a Caribbean vacation and began thinking about a new album. For this comeback, he and Ono produced Double Fantasy, a concept album dealing with their relationship. The name came from a flower Lennon saw at an exposition; he liked the name, and thought it was a perfect description of his marriage to Yoko. "(Just Like) Starting Over" began climbing the singles charts, and Lennon started thinking about a brand new world tour. Lennon also commenced work on Milk and Honey which he would, unfortunately, leave unfinished. It was some time before Ono could bring herself to complete it.
Murder 谋害
In the late afternoon of December 8, 1980, in New York City, deranged fan Mark David Chapman met Lennon as he left for the recording studio and got his copy of Double Fantasy autographed; the event of Lennon signing one of his last autographs was caught by a photographer who witnessed this goodwill gesture. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted the doorman and passers-by.
Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota. Ono got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Ono went in, Lennon got out of the car and glanced at Chapman, proceeding on through the entrance to the Dakota.
As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon." As Lennon turned, Chapman crouched into what witnesses called a "combat" stance and fired five hollowpoint bullets into John's back and shoulder. One of the bullets fatally pierced his aorta. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."
Chapman stood there, holding his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which was pulled out of his hands and kicked away by Jose Perdomo who then asked "Do you know what you have done?", to which Chapman replied "I just shot John Lennon." Chapman then calmly took his coat off placed it at his feet, took out a book and started reading.
Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman still waiting quietly outside, reading a copy of J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye.
The two officers transported Lennon to the hospital in the back of their squad car as they thought John was too badly hurt to take the risk of waiting for an ambulance. One of the officers asked Lennon if he knew who he was. Lennon's reply is reported to have been "Yeah" or simply a nod of the head before he passed out. Despite extensive resuscitative efforts in the hospital, Lennon had lost over 80% of his blood volume and died of shock at the age of 40. Millions would receive the news that night from Howard Cosell, commentator for ABC's Monday Night Football.
When asked once in the 1960s how he expected to die, Lennon's offhand answer was "I'll probably be popped off by some loony." In retrospect, the comment turned out to be chillingly accurate.
Memorial 纪念
A crowd gathered outside the Dakota the night of Lennon's death. Ono sent word that their singing kept her awake and asked that they re-convene in Central Park the following Sunday, for ten minutes of silent prayer (see also the 1980 Central Park Vigil - Tribute to John Lennon). Her request for a silent gathering was honoured all over the world.
December 9, 1980, Bruce Springsteen at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA noted after hearing of Lennon's death "It's a hard night to come out and play but there's nothing else you can do." He ended the show with a spirited performance of "Twist and Shout".
A special commemorative issue of Rolling Stone magazine released shortly after the murder featured as its cover a photo taken the morning of the shooting by Annie Leibovitz showing a nude Lennon in an embryonic pose kissing a fully clothed Ono.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel remembered Lennon in their 1981 reunion concert in Central Park, performing a song titled "The Late Great Johnny Ace". (Johnny Ace had been a promising singer-songwriter, who had also died tragically, in the 1950s.) Simon and Garfunkel had tried recording in the 1970s with Lennon and Harry Nilsson; their one session together had unfortunately yielded no results.
The Strawberry Fields Memorial was constructed in Central Park across the street from the Dakota, in memory of Lennon. (When George Harrison died in 2001, people congregated on the "Imagine" mosaic circle in Strawberry Fields.)
In 1988, Warner Bros. produced a documentary film, Imagine: John Lennon (sanctioned in part by Yoko Ono). The movie was a biography of the former Beatle, featuring interviews, rarely seen musical material, and narration by Lennon himself (formed from interviews and tapes recorded by Lennon). It also introduced "Real Love", one of the last songs composed by Lennon, in an early demo (a later demo would form the basis for the version rehashed by The Beatles for The Beatles Anthology). The following year, at an auction of Beatles memorabilia, Lennon's jukebox was sold at Christie's for 2,500 pounds. The Mellotron that Lennon used to record, amongst other songs, "Strawberry Fields Forever", is currently owned by Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails.
Specially selected radio stations aired a syndicated series called The Lost Lennon Tapes in 1990. Hosted by Lennon publicist Elliot Mintz, the show spotlighted raw sessions from throughout Lennon's career with and without The Beatles, including rare material never released to the public. During the America: A Tribute to Heroes concert on September 21, 2001, Neil Young (an avowed devotee of Lennon) sang "Imagine."
In 1995, the band Oasis released a song called "Don't Look Back in Anger", from their second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. The piano at the beginning of the song is taken from "Imagine".
In October 2000 John Lennon Museum was opened in Ono's hometown Saitama, Japan, to preserve knowledge of his works and career.
In March, 2002, his native city, Liverpool, honoured his memory by renaming their airport "Liverpool John Lennon Airport," and adopting as its motto a line from his song "Imagine": "Above us only sky". In the same year, Lennon was voted 8th by the British public in the "100 Greatest Britons" poll run by the BBC. BBC History Magazine commented that his "generational influence is immense."
On October 31, 1994, Phish, a jam band, paid tribute to Lennon and the Beatles by covering The Beatles album (also known as the White Album).
In 2004 Madonna paid tribute to Lennon by singing a cover of "Imagine" during her anti-war themed "Re-Invention World Tour." Also in 2004, A Perfect Circle recorded a cover of "Imagine" on their album eMOTIVe.
In 2005, a musical titled Lennon was shown for the first time in San Francisco. It received a very lacklustre response from theatre critics and Beatles fans alike.
In 2005, Cowboy Junkies covered "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier" on their anti-war album, "Early 21st Century Blues".
John Lennon Park was built in Cuba as a memorial to the musician.
Lennon's son with Cynthia, Julian Lennon, enjoys a notable recording career of his own, as does his son with Yoko, Sean Lennon.
Throughout his solo career, Lennon appeared on his own albums (as well as those of other artists like Elton John) under such pseudonyms as Dr. Winston O'Boogie, Mel Torment (a play on singer Mel Tormé), and The Reverend Fred Gherkin.
A biographical Broadway musical titled Lennon will premiere at New York City’s Broadhurst Theater on August 14, 2005. Written and directed by Don Scardino from Lennon's own words in interviews and songs, Lennon features nine diverse actors and actresses portraying the singer-songwriter at various stages in his life backed by an onstage 10-piece band. The play was produced with the endorsement of Yoko Ono, who gave permission for the production to use two unpublished Lennon songs, India, India and I Don't Want to Lose You, and who attended preview performances of the show at New York City's Broadhurst Theater on August 5 & 6, 2005. the Musical had been premiered in San Francisco to poor reviews and subsequently reworked, to a much better reception.
[ 本帖最后由 J-will 于 2005-10-6 17:58 编辑 ]
