John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English rock musician, singer The Beatles. With Paul McCartney , he formed one of the most influential and successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.The second most successful songwriter in Billboard singles chart history after McCartney, he was responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart as a performer or songwriter.

Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and an acerbic wit in his music, in his writing, on film and at press conferences and interviews. He was controversial through his work as a peace activist and visual artist with his wife Yoko Ono. After The Beatles broke up in 1970 he enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing critically acclaimed albums including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".

After taking a career break from 1977 to raise his son Sean, Lennon reemerged in 1980 with a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered less than a month after its release. The album won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and is Lennon's best-selling studio album at three million shipments in the US.

Lennon's album sales in the US stand at 14 million units.In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon eighth. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Lennon #38 on its list of "The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time";(The Beatles were ranked number one). He was also ranked fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2008.He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.Lennon formed The Beatles with members of his first band, The Quarrymen. Named after Quarry Bank High School, the skiffle group was established by Lennon in March 1957 at the age of 16. He first met Paul McCartney on 6 July at their second concert, held in Woolton at the St. Peter's Church garden fête, following which McCartney joined The Quarrymen.His father told him that Lennon would get him "into a lot of trouble", but later allowed the band to rehearse in the front room at 20 Forthlin Road,where Lennon and McCartney began writing songs together. Lennon was 18 years old when he wrote his first, "Hello Little Girl"; it would be a UK top 10 hit for the Fourmost nearly five years later.George Harrison joined the band as lead guitarist, and Stuart Sutcliffe, Lennon's friend from art school, joined as bassist.Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Sutcliffe became The Beatles after the other members left the band. Lennon was always considered the leader of the group, as McCartney explained: "We all looked up to John. He was older and he was very much the leader—he was the quickest wit and the smartest and all that kind of thing".

In August 1960, engaged for a 48-night residency in Hamburg, Germany, The Beatles added drummer Pete Best to their number.Lennon was now aged 19; his aunt was horrified when he told her about the trip, and pleaded with him to continue his studies.After the first Hamburg stint, the band accepted another in April 1961, and a third in April 1962. Like the other band members, Lennon was introduced to Preludin while in Hamburg, and regularly took the drug, as well as amphetamines, as a stimulant during their long, overnight performances.

Brian Epstein, The Beatles' manager from 1962, had no prior experience of artist management, but nevertheless had a strong influence on their early dress code and attitude on stage.Lennon initially resisted Epstein's attempts to encourage the band to present a professional appearance, but eventually complied, saying, "I'll wear a bloody balloon if somebody's going to pay me".McCartney took over on bass after Sutcliffe's death the same year, and drummer Ringo Starr replaced Best, completing the four-piece line-up that went on to international stardom. The Beatles released their first double-sided original single, "Love Me Do" b/w "P.S I Love You" on 5 October; it reached number 17 on the British charts. They recorded their first album, Please Please Me, in under 10 hours on 11 February 1963—a day when Lennon was suffering the effects of a cold.Originally the songs Lennon and McCartney wrote for the album, as well as the single "From Me to You" and its B-side "Thank You Girl", were credited to "McCartney-Lennon", but on later pressings the songwriting credit was changed to "Lennon-McCartney".The pair often completed songs in one or two hours, working at their homes, Jane Asher's home, and in hotel rooms after concerts.

The Beatles achieved UK mainstream success around the start of 1963. After a year of Beatlemania in the UK, the group's historic February 1964 US debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show marked their breakthrough to international stardom. A two-year period of constant touring, moviemaking and songwriting followed, during which Lennon wrote two books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works.The Beatles received recognition from the British Establishment when they were appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire in the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours.