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John Lennon in His Own Words
Compiled from the best of the hundreds of interviews Lennon gave over the years. A fascinating insight into the mind of this musical genius.
- GenresNonfictionMusicBiography
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
John Lennon
754 books1,991 followersJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE, was an English singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, and together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.
Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager, his first band, The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next decade, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in October 1980 with a new single and a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered weeks after their release on the sidewalk outside his home in the Dakota. Ironically, "Imagine" (imagine all the people, living life in peace) was a featured cut from this album.
Lennon's album sales in the United States alone stand at 14 million units, and as performer, writer, or co-writer he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008 Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
--Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia --
Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager, his first band, The Quarrymen, evolving into The Beatles in 1960. As the group began to undergo the disintegration that led to their break-up towards the end of that decade, Lennon launched a solo career that would span the next decade, punctuated by critically acclaimed albums, including John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine".
Lennon revealed a rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, his writing, on film, and in interviews, and became controversial through his work as a peace activist. He moved to New York City in 1971, where his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a lengthy attempt by Richard Nixon's administration to deport him, while his songs were adapted as anthems by the anti-war movement. Disengaging himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to his family, Lennon reemerged in October 1980 with a new single and a comeback album, Double Fantasy, but was murdered weeks after their release on the sidewalk outside his home in the Dakota. Ironically, "Imagine" (imagine all the people, living life in peace) was a featured cut from this album.
Lennon's album sales in the United States alone stand at 14 million units, and as performer, writer, or co-writer he is responsible for 27 number one singles on the US Hot 100 chart. In 2002, a BBC poll on the 100 Greatest Britons voted him eighth, and in 2008 Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
--Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia --
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 19, 2025
I have always been fascinated by John Lennon. He was an integral figure as he was so respected by people that loved me so much when I was a little boy, namely my grandma and my uncle. I picked up a book about him (a much larger one than this) on one of my many trips to the public library (across the street from the vacuum cleaner store) with my mother— I was 10 then. I flipped through it and pretended to read it all the while admiring his talents and outfits. He seemed to me to be so confident and so well-rounded and interesting, I looked up to him in place of all the cowardly and shaken men in my life. The older I have gotten and the more comfortable I have become with myself, the more I find myself growing out of this admiration and realizing he, like so many of us, is a man and no answer to any questions I have anymore.
I am growing to hate celebrity because it is always fantasy. One allows themselves to transcend others beyond humanity and seek to glorify or destroy them with their endless speculation.
This book is an extension of that, I suppose. We get 50 pages of quotes in a strung-together context and get to make our assumptions. He is this thing, black or white. Whatever. He said some profoundly stupid, narcissistic shit and some profoundly terrific, human shit.
(There’s also hella typos in this book which are distracting, I think.)
I am growing to hate celebrity because it is always fantasy. One allows themselves to transcend others beyond humanity and seek to glorify or destroy them with their endless speculation.
This book is an extension of that, I suppose. We get 50 pages of quotes in a strung-together context and get to make our assumptions. He is this thing, black or white. Whatever. He said some profoundly stupid, narcissistic shit and some profoundly terrific, human shit.
(There’s also hella typos in this book which are distracting, I think.)
May 18, 2023
The book suffered more from the fact that the quotes are for the most part, poorly chosen. I don't feel like they are good representations of the man during the times his 'words' were spoken. The book has a patchwork feel to it, as if weaker, unflattering quotes were used in lieu of nothing else, and stronger, more interesting quotes were sorely missing. That's not to say you don't get some insights into what Lennon was thinking at times. There are sections which give a fresh look at one of the most loved and scrutinized song writers of his generation, but they are surrounded by many more that don't add much at all to understanding the man and his life.
February 1, 2020
John Lennon, la leyenda resulta increíble leer su evolución, su esencia, su historia, el cambio en sus matices y como pasaba de un niño egoísta, abandonado, traumatizado a una súper Estrella mundial que osaba compararse con Jesús, pero que se convirtió en un ente de paz, capaz de imaginar un mundo sin religiones ni guerras, sin violencia y sin armas, pero que terminó irónicamente siendo una estadística de ellas! Excelente recopilación de fotografías y palabras de un poeta y genio cuya música cambió y seguirá cambiando nuestras vidas para siempre! #yecapotterreadingclub
May 10, 2017
This book is interestingly weird, just like John I guess. I enjoy the humor and unusual writing. It would go well with Pink Floyd music (not the Beatles haha). However my English is not enough to understand them all, sometimes it's kinda mind-fcuked -.-
October 17, 2020
What better way to find out what he thought- read his own words!!
August 14, 2024
he struggled for 40 years just to die as his life began to begin, truly truly tragic
i love john lennon
i love john lennon
February 19, 2024
A regular "scrapbook of madness." :) Only debits: all that crap about Being A Genius (right at the start)...and later on the John & Yoko Cult.
November 9, 2012
Molto interessante, soprattutto perchè mi sono resa conto di avere un'idea completamente sbagliata su John Lennon.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews