IMAGINEJohn Lennon

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John Winston Lennon

Pop star, composer, songwriter, and recording artist, founded the Beatles, a band that impacted the music scene like no other before or since.

Born October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England.

Throughout his childhood John lived with his Aunt & Uncle.

Was known to be mischievous and a bit of a prankster.

John with his Aunt Mimi and Uncle George & Squeeker the dog.

John and his mother, Julia. He was devastated when she was accidentally killed by a motorist.

The Quarrymen – John & Paul with Stuart Sutcliff

The Beatles - John, Paul, George & Ringo

Beatlemania

The “British Invasion”

Beginning with their appearance on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, The Beatles became the first of the British rock bands to breakout in the United States.

John & YokoJohn’s marriage to Cynthia Powell ended in 1968 and he remarried Japanese artist Yoko Ono. John and Yoko’s partnership was the cause of tension within the group.

Solo Career

After the breakup of the Beatles (1968-1970), Lennon released Plastic Ono Band and followed up with Imagine in 1971. This was the most successful and critically acclaimed of all John’s post Beatles work. The title track was later noted as the third all-time best song by Rolling Stone magazine.

John went on to collaborate with David Bowie, Elton John, and others. He also released several hit albums: Mind Games, Walls and Bridges, and Rock and Roll.

After a five year leave from the music world John returned with the album Double Fantasy in 1980, which featured the hit single Just Like Starting Over.

Assassination

Just a few weeks after the release of Double Fantasy, Lennon was shot multiple times in the back by a deranged fan, Mark David Chapman, in front of his apartment complex in New York.

John Lennon died at the age of 40 on December 8, 1980. His death affected millions of people, record sales skyrocketed, and he continues to be admired by generations of fans worldwide.

ImagineJohn Lennon

“Imagine” is a song by John Lennon, which appears on his 1971 album, Imagine. It was released as a single in the same year, and reached number three in the U.S. Billboard charts, and number six in the United Kingdom.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine voted “Imagine” the third greatest song of all time. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter said, “In many countries around the world — my wife and I have visited about 125 countries — you hear John Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’ used almost equally with national anthems.”

ImagineJohn Lennon

"Imagine" is in the key of C major. Its 4-bar piano introduction begins with a C chord then moves to Cmaj7 before changing to F; the 12-bar verses also follow this chord progression, with their last 4 bars moving from Am/E to Dm and Dm/C, finishing with G, G11 then G7, before resolving back to C .

The 8-bar choruses’ progress from F to G to C, then Cmaj7 and E before ending on E7, a C chord substituted for E7 in the final bar. The 4-bar outro begins with F, then G, before resolving on C. With a duration of 3 minutes and 3 seconds and a time signature of 4/4, the song's tempo falls around 75 beats per minute.

Verse 1Imagine there's no

HeavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today Verse 2Imagine there's no

countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace ChorusYou may say that I'm a

dreamerBut I'm not the only one

I hope someday you'll join us

And the world will be as one

 Verse 3Imagine no possessionsI wonder if you canNo need for greed or

hunger A brotherhood of manImagine all the peopleSharing all the world ChorusYou may say that I'm a

dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll

join usAnd the world will live

as one

John Lennon - Imagine

John Lennon – ImagineOpen Hyperlink

Sources Giuliano, Geoffrey. Lennon in America: Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries, 1971-1980. New York: Cooper Square, 2000. Print. "Greatest Songs Of All Time." Rolling Stone (2004): n. pag. Print. "John Lennon." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Feb 22 2013

John Lennon - Imagine (official Video). Digital image. You Tube. John Lennon Music, 8 Oct. 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.

Lennon, John W. Imagine. John Lennon. Rec. 16 Feb. 1971. John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector, 1971. MP3. "Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon." Last.fm. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.  Wenner, Jann (2010) [2004]. 500 Greatest Songs of All Time For the musical notation to "Imagine" Lennon 1983, pp. 5–9; for the piano on which Lennon composed "Imagine" "George Michael buys Lennon's piano". BBC News. 18 October 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/974485.stm. Retrieved 22 February 2013.