John Lennon's 70th birthday

John Lennon's 70th birthday

Source: MAGANEWS The most controversial [1] Beatle was abandoned by his parents when he was a child, but overcame[2] the hardship [3]and became one of the great legends of the 20th Century

Today is a day to remember, if alive, John Lennon would be 70 years. On December 8th fans and journalists all around the world will mark [4] 30 years since the death of John Lennon, one of the most famous people of the 20th Century. The most controversial of the four Beatles was murdered [5] with four shots [6] fired by fan Mark David Chapman, in front of the Dakota Building, where he lived in New York. The Press considered him the leader of the greatest band of all times and the most creative of the Beatles. However, outside the world of music, his image was not the best. Some biographies published recently (like the ones by Albert Goldman, Rosa Montero, and Cynthia Powell, his ex-wife)portrayed [7] Lennon as an authoritarian and very egocentric man, and often very aggressive, as the result of his addiction [8] to alcohol and hard drugs.

Ex-Beatle had a hard childhood

    The bad behavior (according to some biographies) of this musical genius possibly originated in his childhood. John Winston Lennon was born on October 9th 1940, the son of Julia and Alfred. The couple soon split up [9] and Lennon was abandoned by his parents and raised [10] by an aunt[11]. In 1955 he got together with some friends from school and put together a band called The Quarry Men (which later would change to The Beatles). At the peak of his success, Lennon dared to say that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ. In 1968, he left his wife, Cynthia, to live with Yoko Ono. In 1970, John said, in an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone, something that would go down in history: “the dream is over”, saying goodbye to The Beatles. After the end of the band, Paul continued to have hits and more hits. John, for his part, recorded almost nothing in the 1970s – but got involved in peace campaigns to end the war in Vietnam, and in humanitarians causes. In 1980, he made a come back with the excellent Double Fantasy album, which was highly praised by the critics. The good old Lennon was back. But this would only last until 11PM on December 8^th, 1980.

Vocabulary

1 controversial – polêmico

2 to overcome - superar
3 hardship – sofrimento
4 mark – marca / marcar / lembrar
5 to murder – assassinar
6 shot – tiro
7 to portray – retratar
8 addiction - vício

9 to split up – se separar
10 to raise – criar / educar

11 aunt – tia