Summary
John Lennon found everlasting superstardom as a member of the Beatles rock group of the 1960s. The second eldest of the group, John Lennon grew up in Liverpool, England, living with his Aunt Mimi. Hardly knowing his father and suffering the death of his mother at a young age, Lennon found solace in art and music. It was when he formed The Beatles with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr that he found international fame and success. As the turbulent times of the 1960s marched on, Lennon used his fame to promote his idealist philosophies; he wrote anthems encouraging peace, love, and revolution, which were embraced by '60s youth looking for release in a time where drugs were free flowing and war was pervasive. After the Beatles broke up in 1970, John Lennon made his home in New York City at the Dakota apartment building near Central Park. It was outside his home in 1980 that assassin Mark David Chapman gunned him down after asking for an autograph, a mere two months after Lennon's 40th birthday. The music world was rocked. More than 30 years after his death, his legacy lives on in his music. Read in John Lennon how this iconic musician rose from a troubled childhood to become one of the most influential musicians of his time.