John Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's work was characterized by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit of his music, writing, and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

He was a bright child, but not much of a student, but he was able to enter Art School on a headmaster's recommendation. He did not care about school and even though he never learned to read sheet music he gave all of his energy to music.

In 1956, he formed The Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle," he was initially the group's de facto leader, a role gradually ceded to McCartney.

He was noted for saying: “Without James Dean, the Beatles would have never existed.”

John Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including How I Won the War, and authoring In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, both collections of nonsense writings and line drawings. Starting with "All You Need Is Love," his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture of the 1960s.

In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, the multimedia artist Yoko Ono, held the two-week-long anti-war demonstration Bed-ins for Peace, and left the Beatles to embark on a solo career.

After his death, his wife Yoko Ono signed over the royalties of his song "Imagine," in perpetuity, to Amnesty International, a world-wide organization devoted to political prisoners.

John Lennon died from a gunshot wound at the age of 40. A short time before his death he said:

“If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that's a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”

John Lennon, an amazing talent, will be In Heaven with the Stars forever.