The Songs of John Lennon: The Beatles Years

John Lennon

Berklee Press, 2002 - Music - 297 pages

(Berklee Press). An essential guide for all songwriters and Beatles fans, this book explores John Lennon's songwriting genius with a guided tour through 25 of his Beatles-era hits. Author John Stevens explains Lennon's intuitive talent from a technical point of view, through the lens of songwriting's three basic elements: melody, harmony and lyric. He shows how Lennon fashioned songs that were at once politically and socially relevant during the '60s, yet remain ageless and timeless today. Features in-depth musical analysis of: A Hard Day's Night * Ticket to Ride * Norwegian Wood * Strawberry Fields Forever * Come Together * and more. John Stevens is a songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music. For more than 20 years, he has taught "The Music of John Lennon," one of the most popular courses in the Berklee curriculum. "You've got the Beatles' records and the John Lennon records; now with this book, you can have the Owner's Manual. This will tell you how the songs are built and how they work. Good stuff." Marshall Crenshaw, Singer/Songwriter

Contents

• INTRODUCTION: 6
• Music Lingo Primer: viii
• 1964 Part I: 8
• 1964 Part II: 54
• 1965: 94
• 1966: 140
• 1967: 176
• 1968: 232
• 1969: 264
• August 20 1969: 274

About the author

Best known for his work with the world-renowned rock group, The Beatles, John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England on October 9, 1940 to Alfred and Julia Stanley Lennon. Lennon was married twice, first to Cynthia Powell in 1962, with whom he had a child, John Julian, and later, in 1969, to Yoko Ono, the mother of his son Sean Taro Ono. Lennon was involved in various late 1950s British musical groups. He helped establish the Beatles in the early 1960s, teaming up with fellow Beatle Paul McCartney to write numerous bestselling popular songs including "Revolution" and "Strawberry Fields Forever." The Beatles' universal fame also resulted in their starring in such films as "Help!" and "A Hard Day's Night." When he met and married Yoko Ono in 1969, Lennon legally changed his name to John Ono Lennon. It was with Ono that he collaborated on several musical projects following the breakup of The Beatles. Lennon and Ono also gained notoriety from such public acts as being filmed and interviewed in bed, as a form of peace protest. John Lennon also had a string of post-Beatle solo music successes and he published satirical poems and stories. He moved to New York City and on December 8, 1980, he was shot to death outside his home in the Dakota building, by a deranged ex-fan, Mark David Chapman. He and Ono had just finished recording a new album "Double Fantasy." After its release, one of the songs, "Starting Over" was released as a single and rejuvenated his musical fame as his fans mourned his passing. Each year, on the anniversary of John Lennon's death, his fans throughout the world hold memorial services. Strawberry Fields, New York City's Central Park, further commemorates him.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Songs of John Lennon: The Beatles Years; Songwriting and Lyrics Series
• Author: John Lennon
• Editor: Susan Gedutis
• Contributor: John Stevens
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Berklee Press, 2002
• ISBN: 0634017950, 9780634017957
• Length: 297 pages
• Subjects: Music / Genres & Styles / Rock; Music / Instruction & Study / Theory; Music / Printed Music / General