John Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. He laid the foundations for the Beatles when he asked Paul McCartney to join his band, with George Harrison joining soon after and then Ringo. The Beatles were complete.
    After years of performing in Liverpool, Beatlemania1 erupted2 after the release of the singles “Love Me Do” and “Please Please Me”.
    Lennon could be described as the Beatle Bad Boy, he was the most politically outspoken3, rebellious4 and therefore colorful of the group; he was famed for his intellect and sharp wit. His misconducts5 include receiving a criminal record for drug possession, proclaiming that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and returning an M.B.E6 to the Queen as an antiwar statement. He was also the most prolific7 Beatle writing many of the more popular songs.
    When Lennon met his second wife Yoko Ono he began to record more and more songs with her and the future of the band seemed impossible; they split8 in 1970, after Paul McCartney has announced that he is leaving the Beatles. After the Beatles broke up, John Lennon went his way and he tried to send out his message of peace. He started doing this by releasing his first solo9 album Imagine. Lennon's songs such as “All you need is Love”, “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine” have become timeless anthems10  around the world.
    He and Yoko famously staged a series of “Bed-ins11” for peace in the early 1970s. When John's second son Sean was born in 1975, he gave up rock 'n roll to become a househusband, a role he fulfilled dutifully12 until 1980 when he released his comeback13 album, Double Fantasy.
    Just a few weeks after his comeback, Lennon was shot to death by a crazed fan outside his New York home. Although he had not quite changed the world he had a very good go14. John was not only a great music writer, but also an excellent pop artist and did a lot in the Rock and Roll music world. John can not and will never be replaced by anybody. His songs will live forever in all our hearts and minds.

An account of John's tragic death
    Even 26 years later, the details of his death come rushing back, like a flock15 of dark birds. It is early December in Manhattan. Shortly before 11 p.m. He's just turned 40, and recording albums for the first time in five years. He and his wife are returning from the studio. He insisted on going home without eating because he wants to see Sean, their 5-year-old boy, before bed. He steps out of the limousine16, and someone calls out to him. People have been calling out to him since he was very young. Suddenly he is stumbling17  through the Gothic18 building's entranceway, and struggling up the steps to the doorman's desk. He is trailing blood. He is gasping19, “I'm shot!” The doorman rushes out, sees that the killer has dropped his gun and kicks it away. Then the doorman starts crying. He turns to the killer. “Do you know what you just did?” Of course he does: “I just shot John Lennon.”
    In the surreal20 moments before the police arrive, Yoko Ono cradles21 her husband's head while the killer thumbs through22 “The Catcher in the Rye.”23 The police pull up24. They turn Lennon over and, at the sight of all the blood, a rookie25 officer retches26. There's no time to wait for an ambulance27, so they carry Lennon to the back of a squad car28. A policeman bends over him and, trying to establish if he's conscious, asks a yes-or-no question: “Do you know who you are?” He groans29.  At Roosevelt Hospital, however, Lennon is pronounced dead. Seven surgeons attempt to revive him, but he has already lost 80 percent of the blood in his body. On the way to the hospital, Ono had ridden in a second squad car, begging a policeman repeatedly, “Tell me it isn't true, tell me he's all right.”

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约翰·列侬于1940年10月9日出生在英国利物浦。他邀请保罗·麦卡特尼加盟他的乐队，为披头士乐队的成立奠定了基础。此后不久，乔治·哈里森和林戈相继成为乐队成员，四人组成完整的披头士乐队。
    披头士乐队在利物浦演唱多年，后因“Love Me Do”和“Please Please Me”两支单曲问世而掀起披头士热。
        列侬可算是披头士坏小子。他仗义执言，离经叛道，是乐队中最为丰富多彩的人物。他聪明机智，举世闻名。他有过种种不良行为，比如因私藏毒品而留下犯罪记录，宣称“披头士乐队比耶稣还受欢迎”，将一枚大英帝国荣誉勋章归还女王以示反战决心等等。他也是披头士乐队中最多产的歌手，许多脍炙人口的歌曲都出自他手。
    列侬遇到他的第二任妻子大野洋子以后，跟洋子合录的歌曲越来越多，乐队的前途岌岌可危。1970年，保罗·麦卡特尼宣布要退出乐队，此后披头士乐队即告解散。乐队解体后，约翰·列侬走自己的路，设法传播和平的信息。为此，他发行了首张个人专辑《想象》。列侬的歌曲，如“你需要的只是爱”、“给和平一个机会”、“想象”等，现已成为流行全世界的永恒赞歌。
    令世人瞩目的是，20世纪70年代初，他和洋子为和平发起了一连串的示威游行。1975年，他的第二个儿子西恩出生，约翰放弃摇滚，一心操持家务，任劳任怨，一直到1980年。这一年，列侬复出，推出专辑《双重梦幻》。
    列侬复出后不过几周，就在纽约寓所外被一名疯狂的歌迷开枪打死。他对世界的改变虽然并不很大，但却产生了非常深刻的影响。约翰不仅是一位伟大的作曲家，还是一位出色的流行艺术家，为摇滚乐界做出了巨大贡献。无论现在、将来都没有人能代替约翰。他的歌将永远活在我们心中。

约翰惨死
        尽管事隔26年，他的死亡细节仍像一群黑鸟一样，噼里啪啦向我们飞来。事情发生在12月初的曼哈顿。很快就深夜11点了。他刚过40岁，5年来第一次录制唱片。他和妻子从录音室回家。他执意饿着肚子赶回去，因为他们5岁的儿子西恩就要睡觉了，他希望看儿子一眼。他一下轿车，听到有人大声叫他。他很小的时候就有人这么叫他了。只见他突然踉踉跄跄地穿过哥特式建筑的入口，艰难地爬上台阶，来到门卫工作台前，身后留下一道血印。他上气不接下气地说：“我中弹了！”门卫冲出门，只见开枪者已把枪扔在地上，一脚踢开。门卫朝开枪者大叫：“你知道你刚刚干了什么？”对方当然知道：“我朝约翰·列侬开了枪。”
    警察赶到现场之前，一切都像是在做梦，大野洋子搂着丈夫的头，凶手则在一旁翻看《麦田里的守望者》。警察停下车，把列侬翻过身来。一名新警察看到那么多血，当场就吐了。没时间等救护车，他们只好将列侬抬到警车后排。一名警察俯身看着他，想弄清他是否神志清醒，他问了列侬一个只需回答是或不是的问题“你知道你是谁吗?”，列侬咕噜了一声。然而到了罗斯福医院，医生宣布列侬不治。7名外科医生想救活他，但他体内失血已高达80％。在去医院的路上，大野坐在后面的一辆警车上，一遍又一遍哀求一名警察：“请告诉我这不是真的，告诉我他没事！”