John Lennon's Imagine: A Message of Peace and Communal Harmony

Running head: LENNON’S IMAGINE
LENNON’S IMAGINE
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LENNON’S IMAGINE
Pop music emerged in United States. Pete Seeger is to be contributed for enhancing
the clarity of the readers regarding the genre specifications: folk and fine arts. Swing craze
was one of the popular dance forms of pop music in the early twenties. Rudy Vallee was the
first exemplar of pop music star. Typical examples of the pop include The Monkees in 19601.
Along with this, blues, jazz, rock, blues, gospel among others had a significant impact on the
global music culture of America. As a matter of specification, people got the taste of pop
culture in the early 20th century. This was the turning point in the American music, as new
elements were considered for discovering the other genres. During the period of 1940-1980,
people witnessed the emergence of singers like John Lennon, Bob Dylan among others.
1950s was the time, when the people enjoyed the form of rock and roll. In the Blues, there
was a conglomeration of Anglo-Celtic culture and American culture2. The popularity of rock
and roll exerted dominance over American pop in 1960s.
Fusion can also be found in the cultures of Africa and America in the genre of Blues.
The spirituals were also correlated with the spirituals in case of Appalachian music. This was
adapted for the pop audiences, which gained prominence in the beginning of 1920.
John Winston Lennon was an English singer, composer and peace activist. He is
popularly known as the co-founder of Beatles. In teenage, he was engaged in skiffle craze, a
conglomeration of jazz, blues and folk culture. 1957 was the time when he formed the band,
Quarrymen. This band led to the formation of Beatles in 19603. Before the break up of the
band in April 1970, Lennon earned fame by recording his solo performance- Give Peace a
Chance and Instant Karma. This recording enhanced his confidence regarding making
1 Taylor, Timothy D. Global pop: World music, world markets. Routledge, 2014.
2 Cohen, Sara. Decline, renewal and the city in popular music culture: Beyond the Beatles. Routledge, 2017.
3 Lennon, John. "Lennon, John." American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative
Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History (2015): 431.

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LENNON’S IMAGINE
albums- John Lennon/Plastic Ono band and Imagine. This also included songs like Working
Class Hero and Happy Xmas (War is Over). 1969 was the time when he married Yoko Ono.
Lennon’s rebellious nature was reflected in his creations. His beliefs made him one of
the most controversial figures in the American culture. He was a strong believer of
Christianity. Typical evidence of this lies in his claim that Beatles is “bigger than Jesus”. This
statement compelled him to witness decline in the fame for rock and roll. There were mass
protests criticizing Lennon for such blasphemed statement4. In his arguments, he said that it
was just an expression for telling the audience about the importance, which Beatles holds to
him. He grounded his statement through his hard core belief in the Christianity.
His distaste for church was found in his childhood when he was kicked out of the
church for giggling during the mass. In 1972, Lennon indulged in written collaboration with
Roberts for the statements. These statements reflected his spiritual ideas and beliefs5.
The musical revolution that was initiated by John Lennon in the 1970’s was
unparalleled. Imagine is one of the famous creations of Lennon, which was loved and adored
at the same time. The futuristic views of Lennon is rrefle4cted through the track which is
more relevant to the scenario of the present world than the time in which it was created, 30
years back. The simplistic yet deep morphology of the different issues that might be faced by
the world relating to religions and the division of the regions as countries is reflected through
the song. “Imagine” was released in the year October 1971 on Vinyl, which was due to the
high demand for the meaningful lyrics on melody. The song contains a strong political
meaning, which is softened by the melody. Lennon believed that the melody, being softer in
4Lennon, J. (2018). John Lennon: One of Jesus' "Biggest Fans". [online] CBN.com - The Christian Broadcasting
Network. Available at: http://www1.cbn.com/books/john-lennon%3A-one-of-jesus%27-%22biggest-fans%22
[Accessed 4 Jun. 2018].
5 Lennon, John. "Lennon, John." American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative
Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History (2015): 431.