John Lennon (1940-1980)

John Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon, 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, and the founder of The Beatles. He and fellow-Beatle Paul McCartney formed the massively successful Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership throughout the 1960s, writing songs for The Beatles and other artists to record. Lennon was usually considered the "leader" of The Beatles.

Lennon's songwriting was often full of pain and hope. His melodies were at times beautiful and at times dark. His lyrics reflected his personal and career demands, philosophical outlook, his unease with his fame, and current events. As a writing pair, Lennon's hard-edged and McCartney's optimistic styles complemented one another. The Beatles, largely under Lennon and McCartney's influence and with their record producer George Martin, revolutionised rock music with their lyrics, instrumentation, harmony, and electronic effects, changing the nature of popular music at the time and paving the way for the music of the 1970s, 1980s and beyond. In his solo career distinct from The Beatles, Lennon wrote and recorded songs that became icons of the age, such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".

At 10:50 p.m. on 8 December 1980, Mark David Chapman deliberately shot and fatally wounded John Lennon in front of Lennon's residence, the Dakota, when Lennon and Ono returned from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album

"More popular than Jesus", "Turn on, tune in, drop out"