Being John Lennon

by Ray Connolly

Overview

What was it like to be John Lennon? What was it like to be the castoff child, the clown at school, and the middle-class suburban boy who pretended to be a working-class hero? How did it feel to have one of the most recognizable singing voices in the world, but to dislike it so much he always wanted to disguise it? Being John Lennon is not about the whitewashed Prince of Peace of Imagine legend—because that was only a small part of him. The John Lennon depicted in these pages is a much more kaleidoscopic figure, sometimes almost a collision of different characters. He was, of course, funny, often very funny. But above everything, he had attitude—his impudent style somehow personifying the aspirations of his generation to question authority. He could, and would, say the unsayable. Though there were more glamorous rock stars in rock history, even within the Beatles, it was John Lennon’s attitude which caught, and then defined, his era in the most memorable way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643130538
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	11/27/2018
Pages:	480
Sales rank:	516,253
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Ray Connolly has published a number of books, including Being Elvis (Liveright). He also directed the television documentary James Dean: The First American Teenager and worked with record producer Sir George Martin on the BBC television series The Rhythm of Life. He lives in London. Follow him on Twitter @rayconnolly.

Editorial Reviews

11/26/2018
In this dramatic, insightful biography of John Lennon, Connolly argues that the musician was “a labyrinth of contradictions.” The Lennon remembered by British music journalist Connolly (Being Elvis) is part rocker and part eager-to-impress wannabe avant-garde artist. Connolly details Lennon’s working-class childhood in 1950s Liverpool, depicting Lennon as a low-degree hell-raiser; he then quickly moves on to the formation of the Beatles and Lennon’s role as a bossy and misanthropic brooder. The band honed their aggressive, crowd-pleasing sound in Hamburg in 1960 before they were introduced to an ambitious young manager named Brian Epstein and polished producer George Martin, who turned the Beatles into the superstar group that stormed the world in 1963. Over the next seven years, Lennon’s fruitful songwriting rivalry with Paul McCartney grew more tense, as did his relations with the other band members. The narrative digs into interpersonal drama as Connolly describes the band’s collapse in the face of drugs, big egos, Lennon’s increasing intransigence, and Lennon’s relationship with Yoko Ono (“I’ve finally found someone as barmy as I am,” Lennon told a friend). Connolly’s history is a colorful and balanced portrait of an immensely creative artist. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Rock journalist Ray Connolly’s retelling of the Elvis mythology is largely sympathetic and exceptionally well-written. But like every other aspect of his extraordinary career, this was a trail
Elvis blazed alone.

USA Today [praise for "Being Elvis"]

If you suspect that the pressures and pitfalls of rock stardom might not be worth all the wealth and adulation and that your present life suits you just fine, then Being Elvis is the book for you. After reading Mr. Connolly’s book, I’m more inclined to see Elvis as an American Keats.

Wall Street Journal [praise for "Being Elvis"]