On This Day: John Lennon Was Born on October 9, 1940
Remembering John Lennon on the 86th anniversary of his birth, with a guitar-minded look at the directness behind his songs and solo work.
October 9 marks the 86th anniversary of John Lennon’s birth. The date is a chance to remember a songwriter whose musical identity reached far beyond a single instrument, a single band or a single message.
More than the familiar image
Lennon’s official biography places two songs from his 1971 album Imagine side by side: the title track and “Gimme Some Truth.” One imagines a different world; the other confronts the one in front of it. That contrast offers a useful way into his work without reducing him to either the peace campaigner or the angry rock singer.
For guitar players, the useful question is not simply which instrument appears in a photograph. It is what the song asks the instrument to do. A part can carry urgency, leave space for a vocal or make a simple idea hit harder. Those are different jobs, and technical complexity is not the only measure of success.
A birthday built around the songs
For Lennon’s 80th birthday in 2020, his estate invited musicians and fans to celebrate by performing his songs. That remains a fitting listening prompt six years later: choose one song, then ask what gives it its character before reaching for an effect or a more complicated arrangement.
Which Lennon song would you put in the hands of a guitarist learning how to serve a vocal? His birthday is a good excuse to make the case for your choice.
Historical photograph: John Lennon in 1969, by Roy Kerwood, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.5. Proportionally resized and placed on a matte background; the original photograph is retained in full.
