Rock musician. Born John Winston Lennon in Liverpool, England. His parents separated when he was four years old, and his mother's sister, Mary Smith (John's famed Aunt Mimi), raised him as her own. Although his mother never lived more than 10 miles from him, he would see her only occasionally. As a teenager, he became caught up in the skiffle craze that was sweeping England at the time. He formed a skiffle band he called The Blackjacks, who later became The Quarry Men. It was at a Quarry Men gig on July 6, 1957, at the Woolton Fete in Liverpool, that he was introduced to Paul McCartney by their mutual friend, Ivan Vaughn (who, incidentally, was born on the same day as McCartney). Neither teen was initially impressed with the other until John learned that Paul could actually tune a guitar. A short time later, Paul joined The Quarry Men. Soon after Paul joined, he introduced John to a younger schoolmate, George Harrison. George was accepted after he auditioned on the top of a bus. Also in 1957, John enrolled in the Liverpool College of Art, where he would meet future wife Cynthia Powell along with future bandmate, Stuart Sutcliffe. The Quarry Men went through numerous lineup changes as well as name changes in 1959 and 1960. Among those were Johnny and The Moondogs, The Silver Beetles, until finally settling on The Beatles circa 1960. They traveled to Hamburg, Germany's seedy Reperbaun district, playing grueling seven-to-eight-hour sets at the Indra and Kaiserkeller clubs. Drummer Ringo Starr, then of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, would come in to watch them play, and would fill whenever then-drummer Pete Best failed to show for gigs. John, Paul, and George all agreed it felt "right" with Ringo as drummer. The Beatles were eventually deported from Hamburg when it was discovered George was underage. During their time in Hamburg, the band tightened their sound, and the Lennon-McCartney songwriting powerhouse blossomed. Back in Liverpool, they were now in demand, and were invited to play the lunchtime sessions at The Cavern Club, which was then a jazz club. It was at the Cavern in November 1961 that Brian Epstein saw the group perform. Epstein became their manager, and set about sharpening their image: Gone were the leather outfits and swearing onstage. In were tailored suits and inclusion of songs from musicals to not appear too threatening to older people. Epstein secured an audition with Decca Records in London on New Year's Day 1962, but the band was rejected. Executives told Epstein, "Guitar bands are out." As a last resort, Epstein went to Parlophone Records with the Decca audition tape, and producer George Martin accepted the band. After listening to the band, Martin wanted to replace Pete Best as drummer, stating he couldn't keep time well. Best was replaced by Ringo Starr before their first recording sessions. Their first single, "Love Me Do," reached the top twenty in late-1962 on the British charts; "Please Please Me" was their first #1. The Beatles would go on to have 11 consecutive number ones on the British charts from 1963 to 1966. American TV host Ed Sullivan witnessed "Beatlemania" at London's Heathrow Airport, and he booked The Beatles to be on his show without ever seeing them perform. Their performance on the February 9, 1964 "Ed Sullivan Show" remains one of the most watched shows in television history, with a viewing audience of 73 million people. The Beatles had the top five positions on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 Singles chart for the week of April 4, 1964, in addition to seven other singles, for a total of 12 for that week. After years of constant touring and, later on, security issues, including death threats, they performed their final concert on August 29, 1966, in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. The Beatles broke new musical ground with such albums as 1965's "Rubber Soul," where the sitar was first heard on John's song, "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," and two years later with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which changed the music industry in every way. Three days after its release, Jimi Hendrix performed the title track at London's Saville Theatre. In 1968, Joe Cocker had a hit with his cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends." John's single, "All You Need Is Love," debuted on the first global satellite TV program, "Our World," in 1967, where The Beatles were chosen to represent England. The Beatles started to disintegrate during the sessions for the "White Album" in 1968. At various points, John, George, and Ringo quit the band. At one point, John became so disgusted, he stated he "wanted a divorce" from The Beatles. John met Japanese-born Yoko Ono in 1966 at the Indica Gallery in London, while they were married to other people. John and Yoko made their relationship public in 1968. Yoko became John's life, going so far as to include her in Beatles studio recordings. They also embarked on various recording and media stunts that included appearing in white bags in public, as well as appearing nude together on their first collaborative album, "Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins." John and Yoko married on March 20, 1969, at the British Consulate in Gibraltar and spent their honeymoon in bed for the now legendary "Bed-In For Peace" at the Amsterdam Hilton in The Netherlands. In April of 1969, John changed his middle name to Ono. In November of that year, John returned his MBE (Member of the British Empire) medal, awarded in 1966, to protest British government policy against Nigeria, the Vietnam War, and the poor chart performance of his latest single. After settling in New York, he released successful solo albums such as "Imagine" in 1971 and "Mind Games" in 1973. John faced deportation proceedings in March 1972, when his visa expired, and he was told to leave the country due to his 1968 British drug conviction. During his fight, many people lined up in support of John, including New York City mayor John Vliet Lindsay. From 1972 until two days before his second son's birth in 1975, John faced a few deportation threats, but on October 7, 1975, the New York State Senate reversed the deportation order and John received his Green Card in July of 1976. John returned to recording in 1980 with "Double Fantasy," his first solo album in over half a decade. On the night of December 8, 1980, John was walking through the archway of The Dakota apartment building in Manhattan, New York City, when a deranged man said, "Mr. Lennon." John turned and was shot multiple times at close range. Rushed to the emergency room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. Posthumously, "Double Fantasy" won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1982. In 1988, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in addition to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Beatles, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994 as a solo artist by Paul McCartney. He received a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 1991. Two of his demo tapes, "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love," were released to the three surviving Beatles to finish in the early 1990s. During his life, he released 11 solo albums (six of which were with Yoko), one live album, and one compilation album. One additional studio album, "Milk and Honey," was released posthumously in 1984. He also released two poetry collections, "In His Own Write" (1964) and "A Spaniard In the Works" (1965). He had two children: John Charles Julian Lennon, born April 8, 1963, with Cynthia, and Sean Ono Lennon, born October 9, 1975, with Yoko. Yoko miscarried two sons, each named John, in 1968 and 1969. John was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at Strawberry Fields in Central Park, across the street from the Dakota.