More Popular Than Jesus | 不朽摇滚传奇── 约翰‧伦农

by Marcus Maurice

John Lennon's life went from ordinary to legendary to tragic in a very short amount of time.

约翰‧伦农短短的一生从平凡走向传奇不朽，然后以悲剧收场。

It's amazing how some teachers will dismiss a student when they are young, only to be surprised by their success later on in life. Known as a happy-go-lucky boy with an affinity for making fun of teachers and other students, John Lennon once brought home a bad report from high school. It read: "Hopeless. Rather a clown in class. A shocking report. He is wasting other pupils' time." Little did this teacher know that a few years later, Lennon would write songs for arguably the world's best rock and roll group, The Beatles.

Lennon established his first band, The Quarrymen, with some of his schoolmates at the age of 16, but the players changed and the band was soon renamed. The other members of the soon-to-be Fab Four were Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison. August of 1960 was vital to the career of The Beatles because they played a 48-gig tour in Hamburg, Germany. By doing so many shows together, the members really got to understand each other's mannerisms.

Lennon and McCartney shared songwriting credit for many of the band's early songs. By 1963, The Beatles released their debut album, Please Please Me, which achieved mainstream success in the UK. The Beatles' popularity grew, and in 1964, they became an international sensation when they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, the most famous talk show in America at that time. By then, Beatlemania was in full swing as the sight of the mop-haired Brits made the American public swoon. For the next two years, The Beatles made movies, toured, and recorded new material. While things looked great from the outside, trouble was brewing between the band members.

说来有趣，有些人在小时候是老师眼中的问题学生，长大后却飞黄腾达，让老师难以置信。约翰‧伦农从小个性不羁，成天喜欢捉弄老师和寻同学开心。伦农高中时曾带着一份糟糕的成绩单回家，上头写着：『无可救药，在班上简直像个小丑。表现惨不忍睹，耽误其他同学的时间。』然而他的老师却不知道，几年后伦农会为堪称史上最佳的摇滚乐团『披头四』创作歌曲。

　　伦农在 16 岁那年和几名同学一起成立『采石工人』，这是他生平第一个乐团。不过随后团员几经更迭，很快地乐团也改了名。之后的『神奇四人组』组员还包括保罗‧麦卡尼、林哥‧史塔和乔治‧哈里森。1960年的 8 月对披头四的音乐生涯来说相当关键，因为他们在德国汉堡展开 48 场巡回演出。密集的同台表演让团员们更了解彼此的风格。

　　伦农和麦卡尼共同创作许多乐团的早期歌曲。到了 1963 年，披头四发行首张专辑《请取悦我》，成功打进英国的主流市场。随后他们知名度日增，1964 年上了当时美国最热门的脱口秀节目《艾德‧苏利文秀》后，披头四俨然成为国际巨星。这 4 个头发篷松的英国男子掀起的披头四热延烧各地，令美国大众心醉神迷。接下来的两年，披头四拍电影、巡回演唱，还录制新歌。虽然表现上看起来一切都很完美，团员间的嫌隙却正在酝酿。