History Music / JohnLennon

-->--"Working Class Hero", ''Music/JohnLennonPlasticOnoBand''

* GrowOldWithMe: Title to one of the last songs he ever wrote. [[HarsherInHindsight He wrote it five weeks before his assassination]].

* 1972 - ''Some Time In New York City''* [[note]]The first half was recorded in the studio, the second half was recorded live[[/note]]

He left The Beatles in late 1969 to focus on his solo career with his wife Music/YokoOno. Around this time he became notorious and controversial for his political and peace activism; his criticism of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar resulted in a three-year attempt by the [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]] administration to deport him. In 1975, Lennon left the music business to raise his infant son Sean, before returning in 1980. At the end, on December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot dead outside the Dakota apartments in New York City shortly after completing a recording session by LoonyFan Mark David Chapman. He was 40 years old.

* BrokenRecord: From "John Sinclair"

** The "ting ting ting" of a little chiming bell that opens "(Just Like) Starting Over" on ''Double Fantasy'' is a Call Back to [[ForDoomTheBellTolls the heavy, doom-laden church bell]] that opens "Mother" on ''Plastic Ono Band''. Lennon said in [[http://boythewayglennmillerplayed.blogspot.com/2009/12/final-interview-part-v.html the last interview he ever gave]] that this was deliberate, meant to symbolise that he had come through all of his issues.

** "Mother" and "My Mummy's Dead," which respectively open and close his album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''. Later, his death inspired several, including his old [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] bandmate Music/GeorgeHarrison's "All Those Years Ago," released five months after Lennon was killed. Music/RingoStarr also played drums and Music/PaulMcCartney, along with [[Music/{{Wings}} Linda McCartney and Denny Laine]], sing backing vocals on the single, which reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard chart.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* ExcitedShowTitle: "Instant Karma!", "Oh Yoko!"

* WordSaladLyrics: "I Am the Walrus," "What's the New Mary Jane," "[[Music/AbbeyRoad Come Together]]," "Sun King," "Give Peace a Chance," the chorus to "#9 Dream." Amusingly, "I Am The Walrus" became an example of this trope solely to spite people who he felt were over-analyzing Beatles lyrics. To an extent, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" as well.

* SignatureInstrument: From 1966 onwards, his iconic blonde Epiphone Casino, which he also played on the early John & Yoko and ''Plastic Ono Band'' albums. Sales of the Casino went up so much in the wake of the ''Series/TheBeatlesGetBack'' series that Epiphone started making Casinos in the USA for the first time in decades.

* BiggerThanJesus: The {{Trope Namer|s}}, although John [[BeamMeUpScotty didn't actually say it]]. His actual BlasphemousBoast in 1966 was a claim that the Beatles were "''more popular'' than Jesus", which he said while being interviewed for a feature article by Maureen Cleave, an ''Evening Standard'' journalist who'd known the Beatles for several years. The resulting article passed without notice in Britain (where the decline in church attendance that he was referring to was a well-known phenomenon), and also drew no complaints when the interview was republished in the ''New York Times'''. It only landed him and his bandmates in big trouble when the quote was reprinted ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus out of context]]) in media in the more staunchly Christian and conservative American DeepSouth five months later.

* BiggerThanJesus: The {{Trope Namer|s}}, although John [[BeamMeUpScotty didn't actually say it]]. His actual BlasphemousBoast in 1966 was a claim that the Beatles were "''more popular'' than Jesus," which passed without notice in his native England (where the decline in church attendance he was talking about was a well-known phenomenon), then landed him and his bandmates in big trouble when the quote was reprinted ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus out of context]]) in the more staunchly Christian and conservative American DeepSouth (for comparison, the interview was published in its entirety in ''The New York Times'' a few weeks before the controversy erupted and drew nary a complaint).

* SillyLoveSongs [[note]]Indirectly; Music/PaulMcCartney wrote the titular song [[InsultBackfire in response to a disparaging comment]] Lennon had made regarding the former's solo work.[[/note]]

* LikesOlderWomen: In a rare interview with Cynthia Lennon, she stated that the reason why John would end up with Yoko (and was attracted to Alma Cogan) was that of her age. Yoko's age made her a mother figure to John, which he [[IMissMom never had since the passing of his own mother]].

* GenerationXerox: John Lennon was deeply hurt by his father's lack of a presence in his life and how his conception was accidental. His first son Julian Lennon was produced in an unplanned pregnancy with Cynthia Powell and he was largely absent from Julian's life which left Julian deeply traumatized. Julian decided he had to break this cycle of abuse by not having children himself out of fear that he would end up becoming like his own father.

* Hypocrite: John Lennon was notorious for promoting love and peace while being abusive to his first wife and son. It was so blatant that he even pointed this out himself. Julian Lennon has sharply criticises his father of his hypocrisy numerous times throughout his life.

* GenerationXerox: John Lennon was deeply hurt by his father's lack of a presence in his life and how his conception was accidental. His first son Julian Lennon was produced in an unplanned pregnancy with Cynthia Powell and he was largely absent from Julian's life which left Julian deeply traumatized. Julian decided he had to break this cycle of abuse by not having children in case he would end up becoming like his own father.

* CrazyJealousGuy: "Run for Your Life" (for The Beatles) and "Jealous Guy". He later regretted writing "Run for Your Life" due to the highly sexist lyrics (in which he threatens to kill a girlfriend if she's unfaithful).

* Hypocrite: John Lennon was notorious for promoting of love and peace when he was abusive to his first wife and son. It was so blatant he pointed this out himself. He was sharply criticised by his first son Julian Lennon for his hypocrisy.

* TheMan: From "New York City"--If the man wants to shove us out[=/=]We gonna jump and shout[=/=]The Statue of Liberty said, "come!"

* GrowOldWithMe: Title to one of the last songs he ever wrote. [[FunnyAneurysmMoment He wrote it five weeks before his assassination]].

* ContemptibleCover: ''Music/UnfinishedMusicNo1TwoVirgins'', which featured John and Yoko completely nude.

* BiggerThanJesus: The {{Trope Namer|s}}, although John [[BeamMeUpScotty didn't actually say it]]. His actual BlasphemousBoast in 1966 was a claim that the Beatles were "''more popular'' than Jesus," which passed without notice in his native England (where the decline in church attendance he was talking about was a well-known phenomenon), then landed him and his bandmates in big trouble when the quote was reprinted ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_popular_than_Jesus out of context]]) in the staunchly Christian and comparatively conservative America.

* TheBully: He was notorious for being this in his school years. Although gradually mellowing out as he matured, throughout his whole life he would always carry nasty shades of it.

* DeadGuyJunior: Named his elder son Julian after his mother Julia.

* DisappearedDad:
** Lennon had a distant and often neglectful relationship with his oldest son Julian, who's been quite open about being closer to [[ParentalSubstitute Paul [=McCartney=]]] than his own father. The song "Hey Jude" was written by [=McCartney=] to console Julian over his parents' divorce and Lennon's perpetual absence.
** In addition, Lennon's father Alfred "Alf" Lennon was never around much in his childhood, later dismissed when showing up at the NEMS offices with a journalist in 1964, and a few weeks after seeing his dad's portrait, he got back in touch with his dad, telling Cynthia "Alright Cyn, he's a bit 'wacky' like me". He was solely raised by his mother and aunt, and his mother Julia Lennon (neé Stanley) was killed in 1958 when hit by an off-duty constable with a learner's permit.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: He didn't get his driver's license until he was twenty-five and was generally regarded as the worst driver in the Beatles. He gave up driving after an accident in Scotland on July 1, 1969.

* {{God}}: [[StrawNihilist "is a concept by which we measure our pain."]]

* HistoryRepeats: When John saw for the first time a picture of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuda_Zenjirō Yasuda Zenjirō]], who was Music/YokoOno's great-grandfather, he supposedly said "[[{{Reincarnation}} that's me in a former life]]", to which she responded "don't say that. [[TemptingFate He was assassinated]]".

* IconicOutfit: The green army jacket. and granny glasses (whether dark or regular)

* MaleFrontalNudity: See ContemptibleCover above.

* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: One guess where [[UsefulNotes/WinstonChurchill Winston]] came from.

* RaceFetish: He divorced his English wife for the Japanese Yoko Ono. He even dated a Chinese American woman named May Pang (who was his and Ono's assistant) when he and Ono briefly separated.

* SignificantBirthDate: John Lennon (1940) and his youngest son Sean (1975) were both born on October 9. John had turned 35 years old when Sean Ono Lennon was born in 1975.

* DisappearedDad: Lennon had a distant and often neglectful relationship with his oldest son Julian, who's been quite open about being closer to [[ParentalSubstitute Paul [=McCartney=]]] than his own father. The song "Hey Jude" was written by [=McCartney=] to console Julian over his parents' divorce and Lennon's perpetual absence.

* GreatestHitsAlbum: ''Shaved Fish'' in his lifetime. ''The John Lennon Collection'', ''Lennon Legend'', ''Power to the People: The Hits'' and others after his death.

* GriefSong: "Mother" and "My Mummy's Dead," which respectively open and close his album ''John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band''. Later, his death inspired several, including his old [[Music/TheBeatles Beatles]] bandmate Music/GeorgeHarrison's "All Those Years Ago," released five months after Lennon was killed. Music/RingoStarr also played drums and Music/PaulMcCartney, along with [[Music/{{Wings}} Linda McCartney and Denny Laine]], sing backing vocals on the single, which reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard chart.

* IAmTheBand: Lennon's Plastic Ono Band.

* LighterAndSofter: While ''Imagine'' does have "Gimme Some Truth," "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier" and "How Do You Sleep?", that Lennon could go in a year from singing "The dream is over the dream is over" in "God" to singing "You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one" in "Imagine" suggests that he got ''something'' out of his system.

* ProtestSong: Many. ''Some Time in New York City'', in fact, was basically an entire protest album. Lennon's strident advocacy during this period helped make ''Some Time in New York City'' a critical and commercial failure.
** He learned the lesson and later protest songs like "Bring on the Lucie (Freeda People)" from ''Music/MindGames'' work better in pop song terms.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "How Do You Sleep?", from 1971's ''Imagine'', directed toward Music/PaulMcCartney at the depth of their mutual hatred. A response to Paul's "Too Many People" from ''Music/{{Ram}}'', released earlier the same year. (The two buried the hatchet a few years later.)

* WordSaladLyrics: "I Am the Walrus," "What's the New Mary Jane," "[[Music/AbbeyRoad Come Together]]," "Sun King," "Give Peace a Chance," the chorus to "#9 Dream." Amusingly, "I Am The Walrus" became an example of this trope solely to spite people who he felt were over-analyzing Beatles lyrics.
** To an extent, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

* SillyLoveSongs: The inspiration behind the {{Trope Namer|s}}. John criticised Music/PaulMcCartney for writing "silly love songs"... and so Paul wrote a song with that exact title.

He left The Beatles in late 1969 to focus on his solo career with his wife Music/YokoOno. Around this time he became notorious and controversial for his political and peace activism; his criticism of UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar resulted in a three-year attempt by the [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]] administration to deport him. In 1975, Lennon left the music business to raise his infant son Sean, before returning in 1980. At the end, on December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot dead outside the Dakota apartments in New York City shortly after completing a recording session. He was 40 years old.