159-517: The Casbah Coffee Club , officially Casbah Club , was a rock and roll music venue in the West Derby area of Liverpool , England, that operated from 1959 to 1962. Started by Mona Best , mother of early Beatles drummer Pete Best , in the cellar of the family home, the Casbah was planned as a members-only club for her sons Pete and Rory and their friends, to meet and listen to the popular music of
318-623: A President bass—with the money he had won in the John Moores art exhibition. Even though the membership list later spiralled to over a thousand, Mona closed the club on 24 June 1962, with the Beatles as the last group to perform. In 2006, Culture Minister David Lammy announced that the Bests' ex-coal cellar was to be given Grade II listed building status and a blue plaque, after being recommended by English Heritage . It has now been opened as
477-518: A Teddy Boy , Lennon sometimes brought a guitar with him into class, and once sang " Ain't She Sweet " directly to Powell. After a college party to celebrate the end of term, Lennon asked Powell if she wanted to "go out" with him. Powell quickly replied that she was engaged to a young man in Hoylake even though the engagement had ended; Lennon replied, "I didn't ask you to fucking marry me, did I?" He later approached her and asked if she would go to
636-417: A distorted electric guitar solo with warm overtones created by his small valve amplifier . However, the use of distortion was predated by electric blues guitarists such as Joe Hill Louis , Guitar Slim , Willie Johnson of Howlin' Wolf 's band, and Pat Hare ; the latter two also made use of distorted power chords in the early 1950s. Also in 1955, Bo Diddley introduced the " Bo Diddley beat " and
795-531: A double bass (string bass). After the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars ("Fender bass") and drum kits became popular in classic rock. Rock and roll had a profound influence on contemporary American lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language, and is often portrayed in movies, fan magazines, and on television. Some people believe that the music had a positive influence on the civil rights movement , because of its widespread appeal to both Black American and White American teenagers. The term "rock and roll"
954-457: A band called the Quarrymen who would play instead. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison went to the club to arrange the booking, to which Mona agreed, but said she needed to finish painting the club first. All four took up brushes and helped Mona to finish painting the walls with spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars, but as Lennon was short-sighted , he mistook gloss for emulsion paint, which took
1113-407: A bed in the spare bedroom, with Mardas joining her and trying to kiss her until she pushed him away. Lennon seemed absolutely normal when she returned home the next day, and steadfastly maintained his love for her and their son, saying: "It's you I love Cyn ... I love you now more than ever before." Lennon went to New York with McCartney shortly after, but as Cynthia was specifically not invited,
1272-458: A blues number), " Baby Let's Play House ", " Lawdy Miss Clawdy ", and " Hound Dog ". The racial lines, however, are rather more clouded by the fact that some of these R&B songs originally recorded by black artists had been written by white songwriters, such as the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller . Songwriting credits were often unreliable; many publishers, record executives, and even managers (both white and black) would insert their name as
1431-697: A castle in Ireland, with George Harrison and his wife Pattie Boyd . Even these were subject to being discovered by fans, and Cynthia and Boyd had to escape the Irish location dressed as maids. As a result of the long recording sessions and tours, Lennon usually slept for days afterwards. When Lennon started filming How I Won the War in Almeria , Spain, he promised his wife and son they could join him there after two weeks of filming. The small apartment they were allocated
1590-480: A cat called "Mimi", named after Lennon's aunt. Cynthia took care of Julian herself, without a nanny, although babysitters were frequently employed. She also did the cooking herself, but employed a housekeeper, gardener, and chauffeur, who lived off the premises. When she passed her driving test, Lennon serially bought her a white Mini , a gold Porsche , a red Ferrari , and a green Volkswagen Beetle , usually as surprises without consulting her first. Cynthia enjoyed
1749-604: A ceremony in Chavasse Park , Liverpool, on 9 October 2010 to celebrate the anniversary of Lennon's 70th birthday. Cynthia lived with her husband, Noel, on the Spanish island of Majorca until his death on 11 March 2013. On 1 April 2015, Cynthia died of cancer at her home in Majorca with Julian by her side; she was 75 years old. Public messages of condolence were made by McCartney and Starr, with McCartney saying, "She
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#17327809948001908-474: A child." Around the time of Julian's birth, the Beatles became a pop sensation across Britain, a phenomenon which became known as Beatlemania . That one of the members was married and had a son was not publicly known at the time; a 1963 "Lifelines of the Beatles" page in the New Musical Express detailed over 25 biographical facts about each member of the group, but never gave any hint Lennon
2067-531: A clear-out, you send it to a car-boot sale, etc. My baggage was in demand and sold at Christie's. When you have to pay the bills, you're not proud and you can't take it with you." Over the years, Cynthia entered some failed business ventures, including in 1988 a perfume named Woman (after the 1980 John Lennon song ) and, in April 1989, a restaurant named Lennon's—at 13/14 Upper St Martin's Lane , Covent Garden —which had menu items such as Rubber Sole (a play on
2226-552: A competition organised by the Liverpool Echo . A year later, she was accepted into Liverpool's Junior Art School, which was also attended by Bill Harry , later the editor of Liverpool's Mersey Beat newspaper. When Powell was 16, her father died following a lengthy bout with lung cancer. Before dying, he told Powell that she had to get a job to support her mother and would not be able to go to art school. As her mother wanted her to receive an education, Powell rented out
2385-409: A composer in order to collect royalty checks. Covers were customary in the music industry at the time; it was made particularly easy by the compulsory license provision of United States copyright law (still in effect). One of the first relevant successful covers was Wynonie Harris 's transformation of Roy Brown 's 1947 original jump blues hit " Good Rocking Tonight " into a more showy rocker and
2544-500: A defiant teen dates a rock and roll-loving boy but drops him for one who likes traditional adult music—to her parents' relief. In Britain, where postwar prosperity was more limited, rock and roll culture became attached to the pre-existing Teddy Boy movement, largely working class in origin, and eventually to the rockers . "On the white side of the deeply segregated music market", rock and roll became marketed for teenagers, as in Dion and
2703-699: A dinner party given by a dentist, John Riley, the Lennons, Harrison, and Boyd were given LSD without their knowledge. Although told not to leave the house, Harrison drove them to various nightclubs, with Riley following them by taxi. At the Ad Lib club , they thought the lift up to the club was on fire and started screaming, before finally crawling out of the lift for which Mick Jagger , Marianne Faithfull , and Starr were waiting. Harrison later drove them back home in Boyd's Mini Cooper at no more than 10 mph, as he
2862-493: A few months living in the attic bedroom. During an interview at Kenwood with Evening Standard reporter Maureen Cleave , Lennon said, "Here I am in my Hansel and Gretel house, famous and loaded, and I can't go anywhere. There's something else I'm going to do, only I don't know what it is, but I do know this isn't it for me." Cynthia knew her husband took drugs like Preludin , and regularly smoked cannabis , but thought of them as not being very dangerous. On 27 March 1965, at
3021-724: A first-ever joint appearance at the opening of the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan , Armenia . On 30 September 2010, Julian opened his "Timeless" exhibition of photographs at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York. In attendance were Cynthia, Ono, Sean, and Pang, which was the first time all five had been in the same room together. The John Lennon Peace Monument was unveiled by Cynthia and Julian at
3180-401: A four-day holiday to Barcelona , with Epstein. Lennon later referred to Julian as a "Saturday night special; the way that most people get here", or said that his son "came out of a whisky bottle," suggesting this as explanation for his poor parenting of Julian as compared to his second son, Sean Lennon : "Sean is a planned child, and therein lies the difference. I don't love Julian any less as
3339-410: A long time to dry in the dark, damp cellar. Cynthia Powell , later the wife of Lennon, painted a silhouette of him on the wall, which is also still there. The Quarrymen played a series of seven Saturday night concerts in the Casbah for 15 shillings each, starting on 29 August to October 1959, featuring Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Brown, but without a drummer, and only one microphone connected to
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#17327809948003498-457: A major influence on British Invasion acts and particularly on the song writing of the Beatles and through them on the nature of later rock music. Many of the earliest white rock and roll hits were covers or partial re-writes of earlier black rhythm and blues or blues songs. Through the late 1940s and early 1950s, R&B music had been gaining a stronger beat and a wilder style, with artists such as Fats Domino and Johnny Otis speeding up
3657-449: A memoir during their time together, A Twist of Lennon , in 1978, about her life before and with Lennon and containing her own illustrations and poetry. Lennon tried to stop the publication of the book after an excerpt was published in a newspaper. Cynthia's memoir gained renewed interest and went to a third printing of 200,000 copies in the weeks after Lennon's death. She and Twist separated in 1981 and were divorced in 1982. Cynthia sold
3816-661: A more intimate biography, John , in 2005. Over the years, Powell held several auctions of memorabilia associated with her life with Lennon. In her later years, Powell lived in Palma Nova , Mallorca, where she died in 2015. Cynthia Powell was born in Blackpool on 10 September 1939, the youngest of three children of General Electric Company employee Charles Powell and his wife Lillian (née Roby), who already had two sons named Charles and Anthony. Her parents were from Liverpool , but her mother (along with other pregnant women)
3975-495: A music group, so Mona bought him a drum kit from Blacklers ' music department and Best formed his own band; the Black Jacks, who later played in the Casbah. Chas Newby joined the group, as did Ken Brown , but only after he had left the Quarrymen. The reason for Brown's exit from the group was that he turned up on the seventh Saturday night of the Quarrymen residency at the Casbah with the flu , so Mona ordered him upstairs to
4134-580: A perkier vocal more appropriate for an audience unfamiliar with the song to which James's song was an answer , Hank Ballard 's "Work With Me, Annie". Presley's rock and roll version of "Hound Dog", taken mainly from a version recorded by the pop band Freddie Bell and the Bellboys , was very different from the blues shouter that Big Mama Thornton had recorded four years earlier. Other white artists who recorded cover versions of rhythm and blues songs included Gale Storm (Smiley Lewis' "I Hear You Knockin ' "),
4293-667: A preacher (October 1957), the departure of Presley for service in the United States Army (March 1958), the scandal surrounding Jerry Lee Lewis ' marriage to his thirteen-year-old cousin (May 1958), riots caused by Bill Haley 's ill-fated tour of Europe (October 1958), the deaths of Buddy Holly , The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in a plane crash (February 1959), the breaking of the Payola scandal implicating major figures, including Alan Freed , in bribery and corruption in promoting individual acts or songs (November 1959),
4452-415: A result heard each other's music and even began to emulate each other's fashions. Radio stations that made white and black forms of music available to both groups, the development and spread of the gramophone record , and African-American musical styles such as jazz and swing which were taken up by white musicians, aided this process of "cultural collision". The immediate roots of rock and roll lay in
4611-610: A rock and roll standard. As interest in rock and roll was beginning to subside in America in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was taken up by groups in British cities like Liverpool , Manchester , Birmingham , and London . About the same time, a British blues scene developed, initially led by purist blues followers such as Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies who were inspired by American musicians such as Robert Johnson , Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf . Many groups moved towards
4770-641: A room to four apprentice electricians. In September 1957, Powell gained a place at the Liverpool College of Art . Although studying graphics, she also took lettering classes, as did John Lennon. He never had any drawing tools with him, so Lennon constantly borrowed pens and pencils from Powell, who discovered that he was only there because other teachers had refused to instruct him. Powell had an air of respectability and moved in different social circles from her future husband. Lennon and an art school friend, Jeff Mohammed, used to make fun of her by stopping
4929-507: A small Dansette record player, which amplified them through a 3" speaker. Mona had booked the Les Stewart Quartet to play the opening night with Harrison on guitar, but they cancelled the booking after Stewart and Ken Brown had a quarrel. Stewart was angry that Brown had missed a rehearsal, because Brown was helping Mona to decorate the club. As 300 membership cards had already been sold, Harrison said that he had two friends in
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5088-476: A time of considerable technological change, soon after the development of the electric guitar, amplifier , 45 rpm record and modern condenser microphones . There were also changes in the record industry, with the rise of independent labels like Atlantic , Sun and Chess servicing niche audiences and a similar rise of radio stations that played their music. It was the realization that relatively affluent white teenagers were listening to this music that led to
5247-586: A tourist attraction in Liverpool, along with McCartney and Lennon's previous homes at 20 Forthlin Road, and 251 Menlove Avenue respectively. The club is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the Liverpool city centre, and only booked groups of visitors are accepted. McCartney was quoted as saying, "I think it's a good idea to let people know about the Casbah. They know about the Cavern , they know about some of those things, but
5406-493: A trip to Pesaro , in Italy, was arranged with her mother. After an evening with Italian hotelier Roberto Bassanini, Mardas was waiting at the hotel to break the news that Lennon was planning to sue for divorce on grounds of adultery, seek sole custody of Julian, and "send her back to Hoylake." She said in 2005: "The mere fact that 'Magic Alex' [Mardas] arrived in Italy in the middle of the night without any prior knowledge of where I
5565-506: A unique electric guitar style, influenced by African and Afro-Cuban music and in turn influencing many later artists. Rock and roll was strongly influenced by R&B, according to many sources, including an article in The Wall Street Journal in 1985, titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues". In fact, the author stated that the "two terms were used interchangeably", until about 1957. The other sources quoted in
5724-432: A white market, or a new hybrid of black and white forms. In the 1930s, jazz , and particularly swing , both in urban-based dance bands and blues-influenced country swing ( Jimmie Rodgers , Moon Mullican and other similar singers), were among the first music to present African-American sounds for a predominantly white audience. One particularly noteworthy example of a jazz song with recognizably rock and roll elements
5883-514: A wider scale than any other single performer and by 1956, he had emerged as the singing sensation of the nation. Bill Flagg who is a Connecticut resident, began referring to his mix of hillbilly and rock 'n' roll music as rockabilly around 1953. In July 1954, Presley recorded the regional hit " That's All Right " at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis. Three months earlier, on April 12, 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets recorded "Rock Around
6042-405: A year by himself, but John Lennon complained that during his time with Pang his ex-wife also wanted to be present, saying, "She [Cynthia] thought she could walk back in 'cos I wasn't with Yoko!" After his reconciliation with Ono, Lennon complained again that his son was not being allowed to visit him. On 1 May 1976, Cynthia married John Twist, a television engineer from Lancashire . She published
6201-519: Is Big Joe Turner with pianist Pete Johnson 's 1938 single " Roll 'Em Pete ", which is regarded as an important precursor of rock and roll. The 1940s saw the increased use of blaring horns (including saxophones), shouted lyrics and boogie-woogie beats in jazz-based music. During and immediately after World War II , with shortages of fuel and limitations on audiences and available personnel, large jazz bands were less economical and tended to be replaced by smaller combos, using guitars, bass and drums. In
6360-466: Is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz , rhythm and blues , boogie-woogie , electric blues , gospel , and jump blues , as well as country music . While rock and roll's formative elements can be heard in blues records from the 1920s and in country records of the 1930s,
6519-482: Is defined by Greg Kot in Encyclopædia Britannica as the music that originated in the mid-1950s and later developed "into the more encompassing international style known as rock music ". The term is sometimes also used as synonymous with "rock music" and is defined as such in some dictionaries. The phrase "rocking and rolling" originally described the movement of a ship on the ocean, but by
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6678-692: Is general agreement that it arose in the Southern United States – a region that would produce most of the major early rock and roll acts – through the meeting of various influences that embodied a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation. The migration of many former slaves and their descendants to major urban centers such as St. Louis , Memphis , New York City , Detroit , Chicago , Cleveland , and Buffalo meant that black and white residents were living in close proximity in larger numbers than ever before, and as
6837-466: Is often identified with the emergence of teen culture among the first baby boomer generation, who had greater relative affluence and leisure time and adopted rock and roll as part of a distinct subculture. This involved not just music, absorbed via radio, record buying, jukeboxes and TV programs like American Bandstand , but also extended to film, clothes, hair, cars and motorcycles, and distinctive language. The youth culture exemplified by rock and roll
6996-667: Is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the cause of rock and roll existing". In terms of its wide cultural impact across society in the US and elsewhere, Bill Haley 's " Rock Around the Clock ", recorded in April 1954 but not a commercial success until the following year, is generally recognized as an important milestone, but it was preceded by many recordings from earlier decades in which elements of rock and roll can be clearly discerned. Journalist Alexis Petridis argued that neither Haley's "Rock Around
7155-485: The British Invasion would become the superseding forms of rock music during the mid-1960s, a few American artists were nonetheless able to achieve chart successes with rock and roll recordings during this time. The most notable of these was Johnny Rivers , who with hits such as "Memphis" (1964), popularized a " Go-go " style of club-oriented, danceable rock and roll that enjoyed significant success in spite of
7314-501: The Cracke pub. Powell was confused when Lennon ignored her all evening, but eventually invited her into the group with a joke. They began dating, with Lennon now referring to her as "Cyn". In the autumn of 1958, Powell ended her engagement to be with Lennon, and he ended his relationship with another art student, Thelma Pickles. Lennon's jealousy could also manifest itself in violent behaviour towards her, as when he slapped her across
7473-511: The Ruthin School and he later joined the local Combined Cadet Force . During Lennon's separation from Ono in 1973–74, his partner at the time, May Pang , tried to get Lennon to spend more time with his son, forming a friendship with Cynthia in the process, which continued even after John Lennon and Yoko Ono were reconciled. A meeting during this period was the last time Cynthia saw John. Julian had been allowed to visit his father twice
7632-457: The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that abolished the policy of " separate but equal " in 1954, but leaving a policy which would be extremely difficult to enforce in parts of the United States. The coming together of white youth audiences and black music in rock and roll inevitably provoked strong white racist reactions within the US, with many whites condemning its breaking down of barriers based on color. Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding
7791-657: The US pop charts – topped the British charts later that year and again in 1956 and helped identify rock and roll with teenage delinquency. The initial response of the British music industry was to attempt to produce copies of American records, recorded with session musicians and often fronted by teen idols. More grass roots British rock and rollers soon began to appear, including Wee Willie Harris and Tommy Steele . During this period American Rock and Roll remained dominant but in 1958 Britain produced its first "authentic" rock and roll song and star, when Cliff Richard reached number 2 in
7950-613: The Wirral Peninsula , Powell attended the Liverpool College of Art , where Lennon was also a student. Powell and Lennon started a relationship after meeting in a calligraphy class. When Lennon was performing in Hamburg with the Beatles , Powell rented his bedroom at 251 Menlove Avenue in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton from his aunt and legal guardian, Mimi Smith . After Powell became pregnant with their son Julian ,
8109-614: The already-punning 1965 Beatles album ), as well as Sgt. Pepper's Steak and Penny Lane Pâté . It had a short life as a business venture, as it was considered to be far too expensive. She would later blame some of these efforts on the men in her life encouraging her. The Beatles' Hamburg days were the subject of the 1994 film Backbeat , with Jennifer Ehle portraying Cynthia Powell. The film characterises Lennon and Cynthia's relationship as one that will eventually be doomed by their wanting different things from life but with Lennon not wanting to hurt her. Cynthia later complained that
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#17327809948008268-608: The beat music of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from skiffle, like the Quarrymen who became the Beatles , producing a form of rock and roll revivalism that carried them and many other groups to national success from about 1963 and to international success from 1964, known in America as the British Invasion. Groups that followed the Beatles included the beat-influenced Freddie and the Dreamers , Wayne Fontana and
8427-428: The rhythm and blues , then called " race music ", in combination with either boogie-woogie and shouting gospel or with country music of the 1940s and 1950s. Particularly significant influences were jazz, blues , gospel , country, and folk . Commentators differ in their views of which of these forms were most important and the degree to which the new music was a re-branding of African-American rhythm and blues for
8586-415: The tempos and increasing the backbeat to great popularity on the juke joint circuit. Before the efforts of Freed and others, black music was taboo on many white-owned radio outlets, but artists and producers quickly recognized the potential of rock and roll. Some of Presley's early recordings were covers of black rhythm and blues or blues songs, such as " That's All Right " (a countrified arrangement of
8745-861: The 1800s; the recording can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became widely popular. " Bosom of Abraham ", an African-American spiritual that was documented no later than 1867 (just after the Civil War ), uses the phrase "rock my soul" frequently in a religious sense; this song was later recorded by musicians from various genres, including various gospel musicians and groups (including The Jordanaires ), Louis Armstrong (jazz/swing), Lonnie Donegan ( skiffle ), and Elvis Presley (rock and roll/pop/country). Blues singer Trixie Smith recorded "My [Man] Rocks Me with One Steady Roll" in 1922. It
8904-481: The 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality 'at the vanguard' and made him 'a really important figure ' ". After Freed was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , the organization's Web site offered this comment: "He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under
9063-488: The 1965 song " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " about an affair he was having but rendered it in "gobbledegook" so Cynthia would not know. On 31 July 1970, Cynthia married Roberto Bassanini, whom she had started dating after parting with Lennon; the couple divorced in 1973. Cynthia then opened a restaurant in Ruthin , Wales, called Oliver's Bistro, which also had a B&B above the premises. She enrolled her son into
9222-443: The 1990s, Cynthia was appearing at some Beatles conventions but appeared ambivalent about doing so. At times, Cynthia maintained that she was moving on with her life and putting her Beatles past behind her and at other times seemed to embrace continued interest in that past as inevitable. The Daily Telegraph said in a 1999 profile, "In essence, she is a suburban woman who – almost in spite of herself – got caught up with one of
9381-561: The Belmonts ' " A Teenager in Love " (1959). From its early 1950s beginnings through the early 1960s, rock and roll spawned new dance crazes including the twist . Teenagers found the syncopated backbeat rhythm especially suited to reviving Big Band-era jitterbug dancing. Sock hops , school and church gym dances, and home basement dance parties became the rage, and American teens watched Dick Clark 's American Bandstand to keep up on
9540-599: The Best's living room to rest. This caused a massive quarrel with the rest of the group when Mona came to pay them, as they wanted Brown's money to be shared amongst the three of them, as Brown had not played. Mona refused, so the Quarrymen angrily cancelled their residency and stormed out. Colin Manley from the Remo Four was also given a booking to play in the club, which was the only venue that young amateur bands could play at
9699-403: The Bests' ex-coal cellar was to be given Grade II listed building status and a blue plaque , after being recommended by English Heritage . It was opened as a tourist attraction in Liverpool, along with McCartney and Lennon's previous homes at 20 Forthlin Road and 251 Menlove Avenue respectively. In 2024, the Casbah was turned into holiday flats, available to rent on Airbnb . Mona Shaw
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#17327809948009858-672: The Bistro and changed her name back to Lennon by deed poll, later commenting about why it was financially necessary, "Do you imagine I would have been awarded a three-year contract to design bedding and textiles [for Vantona Vyella in 1983] with the name Powell? Neither did they. When it is necessary to earn a living, it is necessary to bite the bullet and take the flack." Cynthia began a relationship with Liverpudlian chauffeur Jim Christie in 1981, who became her partner for 17 years as well as her business manager, living in Penrith , Cumbria. At
10017-471: The Casbah was the place where all that started. We helped paint it and stuff. We looked upon it as our personal club." English Heritage's Head of Heritage Protection in the North of England, Bob Hawkins, stated: "The basement Casbah Club rooms are historically significant because they represent tangible evidence of The Beatles’ formation, their growth in popularity and their enduring cultural influence throughout
10176-547: The Clock" nor Presley's version of "That's Alright Mama" heralded a new genre: "They were simply the first white artists' interpretations of a sound already well-established by black musicians almost a decade before. It was a raucous, driving, unnamed variant of rhythm and blues that came complete with lyrics that talked about rocking". Other artists with early rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry , Bo Diddley , Little Richard , Jerry Lee Lewis , and Gene Vincent . Chuck Berry's 1955 classic " Maybellene " in particular features
10335-466: The Clock". Although only a minor hit when first released, when used in the opening sequence of the movie Blackboard Jungle a year later, it set the rock and roll boom in motion. The song became one of the biggest hits in history, and frenzied teens flocked to see Haley and the Comets perform it, causing riots in some cities. "Rock Around the Clock" was a breakthrough success for the group; traditionally,
10494-780: The Diamonds (The Gladiolas' "Little Darlin ' " and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers' "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?"), the Crew Cuts (the Chords' "Sh-Boom" and Nappy Brown's "Don't Be Angry"), the Fountain Sisters (The Jewels' "Hearts of Stone") and the Maguire Sisters (The Moonglows' "Sincerely"). Some commentators have suggested a decline of rock and roll starting in 1958. The retirement of Little Richard to become
10653-503: The Joint " (1949) (later covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952), " Rocket 88 " by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats ( Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm and sung by Brenston), was recorded by Sam Phillips in March 1951. This is often cited as the first rock n' roll record. In an interview however, Ike Turner offered this comment: "I don't think that 'Rocket 88'
10812-403: The Lennons flew to India, followed by the other Beatles and their partners four days later: Boyd, Asher, and Maureen Starkey. The division between the sexes was emphasised by the male musicians sitting outside at night composing songs, while their partners gathered together in one of their rooms, often talking about life as the wife or partner of a Beatle. The Lennons shared a four-poster bed at
10971-479: The Louis Prima rocker "Oh Babe" in 1950, as well as Amos Milburn 's cover of what may have been the first white rock and roll record, Hardrock Gunter 's "Birmingham Bounce" in 1949. The most notable trend, however, was white pop covers of black R&B numbers. The more familiar sound of these covers may have been more palatable to white audiences, there may have been an element of prejudice, but labels aimed at
11130-480: The Maharishi for two or three months of Transcendental Meditation. Before they left, Cynthia found letters from Yoko Ono to Lennon which indicated he had been having contact with her over a period of some time. Lennon denied he was involved with Ono, explaining that she was just some "crazy artist" who wanted to be sponsored, although Ono kept up a stream of telephone calls and visits to Kenwood. On 15 February 1968,
11289-716: The Mindbenders , Herman's Hermits and the Dave Clark Five . Early British rhythm and blues groups with more blues influences include the Animals , the Rolling Stones , and the Yardbirds . Rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language. In addition, rock and roll may have contributed to the civil rights movement because both African-American and European-American teens enjoyed
11448-608: The West Derby Conservative Club , and was unlike many other family dwellings in Liverpool, as it was set back from the road, had 15 bedrooms and 1 acre (4,000 m2) of land. All the rooms were painted dark green or brown, the garden was totally overgrown, and the cellar was used for storing coal. Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about the 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho, where several singers had been discovered. She decided to open
11607-480: The alienation from Lennon, Cynthia later spoke about her time there, saying: "I loved being away from the fans, hordes of people, deadlines, demands and flashing cameras." During the flight back to England, Lennon got very drunk on Scotch and confessed that he had been involved with other women during their marriage. He went on to detail his liaisons with groupies , friends (such as Joan Baez , actress Eleanor Bron , journalist Cleave) and "thousands" of women around
11766-439: The arrest of Chuck Berry (December 1959), and the death of Eddie Cochran in a car crash (April 1960) gave a sense that the initial phase of rock and roll had come to an end. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the rawer sounds of Presley, Gene Vincent , Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly were commercially superseded by a more polished, commercial style of rock and roll influenced pop music. Marketing frequently emphasized
11925-570: The article said that rock and roll combined R&B with pop and country music. Fats Domino was one of the biggest stars of rock and roll in the early 1950s and he was not convinced that this was a new genre. In 1957, he said: "What they call rock 'n' roll now is rhythm and blues. I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans". According to Rolling Stone , "this is a valid statement ... all Fifties rockers, black and white, country born and city-bred, were fundamentally influenced by R&B,
12084-442: The ashram, with Lennon playing guitar and Cynthia drawing and writing poetry between their long sessions of meditation. "Magic Alex" (Greek-born Alex Mardas, who controlled Apple Electronics ) arrived later, smuggling in alcohol from the nearest village as it was not allowed in the ashram. After two weeks, Lennon asked to sleep in a separate room, saying he could only meditate when he was alone. Every morning, Lennon would walk to
12243-536: The black popular music of the late Forties and early Fifties". Further, Little Richard built his ground-breaking sound of the same era with an uptempo blend of boogie-woogie, New Orleans rhythm and blues, and the soul and fervor of gospel music vocalization. Less frequently cited as an influencer, LaVern Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The Hall remarked that her "fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set
12402-484: The book: " John is Cynthia's attempt to prove how much more she was worth. In theory, the disclosures of Lennon's loyal partner from 1958 to 1968 cannot fail to be valuable. On the page, the potential withers." Rachael Donadio in the New York Times said that the book "paints the picture of a man wounded by the deaths of family and friends, and tells the difficult story of the domestic front during Beatlemania." In
12561-545: The box-room above the front door (which had been Lennon's bedroom), but insisted she also do chores around the house. After her student grant had run out, she took a job at a Woolworths store in Liverpool in order to pay the rent. In the same year, when Lennon was 21 years old, he received £100 (equivalent to £2,800 in 2024) from his aunt Elizabeth Sutherland (whom he called "Mater") who lived in Edinburgh, and went to Paris with McCartney. Powell could not accompany them as she
12720-520: The ceremony began a workman in the backyard of the building opposite started using a pneumatic drill that drowned out anything the registrar, Lennon, or Powell said. When the registrar asked for the groom to step forward, Harrison stepped forward instead. With no photographs or flowers, the wedding party celebrated afterwards, at Epstein's invitation, in Reece's restaurant in Clayton Square, which
12879-563: The charts with " Move It ". At the same time, TV shows such as Six-Five Special and Oh Boy! promoted the careers of British rock and rollers like Marty Wilde and Adam Faith . Cliff Richard and his backing band, the Shadows , were the most successful home grown rock and roll based acts of the era. Other leading acts included Billy Fury , Joe Brown , and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates , whose 1960 hit song " Shakin' All Over " became
13038-469: The closeness of Pattie Boyd and Maureen Starkey (Ringo Starr's wife), as both lived nearby, often going on holiday together or shopping. She was often photographed at Beatles' movie premieres and special occasions, and sometimes with Lennon and Julian at home, which meant she had the role of a Beatle wife, as well as being a mother. The Lennons often went to a nightclub in central London until nearly dawn, after which she took Julian to school. Kenwood became
13197-402: The club's small PA system. The opening night concert was attended by about 300 local teenagers, but as the cellar had no air-conditioning, and people were dancing, the temperature rose until it became hard to breathe. After the success of the first night, Mona gave the Quarrymen a residency, and paid the whole group £ 3 a night. Every Saturday thereafter, queues lengthened onto the street, which
13356-509: The club, which was located in her cellar, on 29 August 1959, for her sons, their friends and young people to meet and listen to the popular music of the day, unlike the Cavern Club, which had a jazz-only policy at that time. Mona charged half a crown annually for membership—to "keep out the rough elements"—and served soft drinks, snacks, cakes, and coffee from an espresso machine , which no other club had at that time. Records were played on
13515-632: The concept of rock and roll had been defined, Billboard magazine columnist Maurie Orodenker started to use the term to describe upbeat recordings such as "Rock Me" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe ; her style on that recording was described as "rock-and-roll spiritual singing". By 1943, the "Rock and Roll Inn" in South Merchantville, New Jersey , was established as a music venue. In 1951, Cleveland , Ohio, disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style, and referring to it as "rock and roll" on his mainstream radio program, which popularized
13674-547: The conversation when she walked in the room, saying: "Quiet please! No dirty jokes; it's Cynthia." Powell once overheard Lennon give a compliment to a girl with blonde hair in the college, who looked similar to the French actress Brigitte Bardot . The next Saturday, Powell turned up at the college with her hair several shades blonder. Lennon noticed straight away, exclaiming, "Get you, Miss Hoylake!" (Lennon's nickname for her, along with "Miss Powell" or "Miss Prim"). Dressed like
13833-585: The couple married in August 1962, and they lived at Kenwood in Weybridge from 1964 to 1968, where she kept house and participated with Lennon in a London-based social life. In 1968, Lennon left Powell for Japanese artist Yoko Ono ; the couple's divorce was granted in November 1968 on the grounds of adultery. Powell had three further marriages. She published a book of memoirs, A Twist of Lennon , in 1978, and
13992-415: The crossover of African-American "race music" to a growing white youth audience, the popularization of rock and roll involved both black performers reaching a white audience and white musicians performing African-American music. Rock and roll appeared at a time when racial tensions in the United States were entering a new phase, with the beginnings of the civil rights movement for desegregation , leading to
14151-436: The day. Mona came up with the idea of the club after watching a TV report about the 2i's Coffee Bar in London's Soho where several singers had been discovered. The Quarrymen — John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison , and Ken Brown —went to the club to arrange their first booking, to which Mona agreed, but said she needed to finish painting the club first. All four took up brushes and helped Mona to finish painting
14310-588: The development of what was to be defined as rock and roll as a distinct genre. Because the development of rock and roll was an evolutionary process, no single record can be identified as unambiguously "the first" rock and roll record. Contenders for the title of " first rock and roll record " include Sister Rosetta Tharpe 's " Strange Things Happening Every Day " (1944), " That's All Right " by Arthur Crudup (1946), " Move It On Over " by Hank Williams (1947), " The Fat Man " by Fats Domino (1949), Goree Carter 's " Rock Awhile " (1949), and Jimmy Preston 's " Rock
14469-416: The early 20th century was used both to describe the spiritual fervor of black church rituals and as a sexual analogy. A retired Welsh seaman named William Fender can be heard singing the phrase "rock and roll" when describing a sexual encounter in his performance of the traditional song " The Baffled Knight " to the folklorist James Madison Carpenter in the early 1930s, which he would have learned at sea in
14628-427: The electric guitar as its centerpiece, adapting his rock band instrumentation from the basic blues band instrumentation of a lead guitar, second chord instrument, bass and drums. In 2017, Robert Christgau declared that "Chuck Berry did in fact invent rock 'n' roll", explaining that this artist "came the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together". Rock and roll arrived at
14787-511: The electric guitar, creating what is instantly recognizable as rock guitar. This proposal by Richards neglects the black guitarists who did the same thing before Berry, such as Goree Carter , Gatemouth Brown , and the originator of the style, T-Bone Walker . Country boogie and Chicago electric blues supplied many of the elements that would be seen as characteristic of rock and roll. Inspired by electric blues , Chuck Berry introduced an aggressive guitar sound to rock and roll, and established
14946-455: The electronic treatment of sound by such innovators as Joe Meek , and the " Wall of Sound " productions of Phil Spector , continued desegregation of the charts, the rise of surf music , garage rock and the Twist dance craze. Surf rock in particular, noted for the use of reverb-drenched guitars, became one of the most popular forms of American rock of the early 1960s. While the sounds of
15105-419: The face (causing her head to hit a wall), after watching her dance with Stuart Sutcliffe . After the incident, Powell broke up with Lennon for three months, but resumed their relationship after his profuse apology. Powell's work at art school began to suffer, and teachers told her the relationship with Lennon was doing her no good. Lennon continued to be casually inconsiderate towards Powell, later saying, "I
15264-404: The film made her out "as a clingy, dim, little girlfriend in a headscarf." In another film covering the early years of the pre-fame Beatles, the 1979 Birth of the Beatles , Cynthia was portrayed by Wendy Morgan . Cynthia was portrayed in 2000 television film In His Life: The John Lennon Story by Gillian Kearney ; the negative aspects of John's treatment of her were not overlooked. Cynthia
15423-462: The first definition. In the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. These instruments were generally replaced or supplemented by the electric guitar in the mid-to-late 1950s. The beat is essentially a dance rhythm with an accentuated backbeat , almost always provided by a snare drum . Classic rock and roll is usually played with one or more electric guitars (one lead , one rhythm ) and
15582-490: The first time that his father had visited the NEMS office, Epstein's business, a few weeks before. Three years after the meeting in the NEMS office, Alfred Lennon (who was then 56 years old) turned up at Kenwood again with his fiancée, 19-year-old student Pauline Jones. He asked if the Lennons could give Pauline a job, so she was hired to help with Julian and the piles of Beatles' fan mail. Lennon's father and his fiancée then spent
15741-422: The floor in matching white robes, staring into each other's eyes, and then found Ono's slippers outside the Lennons' bedroom door. Shocked, she asked Jenny Boyd and Mardas if she could spend the night at their apartment. At the apartment Boyd went straight to bed, but she and Mardas drank more alcohol, with Mardas trying to convince her to run away together. After she had vomited in the bathroom, she collapsed on
15900-551: The foreword, Julian Lennon wrote, "If there is to be a balanced picture of Dad's life, then Mum's side of the story is long overdue." In 2006, Cynthia and Julian attended the Las Vegas premiere of the Cirque du Soleil production of Love , which marked a rare public appearance with Ono. In 2009, Cynthia and Julian opened an exhibition of memorabilia at The Beatles Story exhibition in Liverpool, and she and Pattie Boyd staged
16059-446: The genre did not acquire its name until 1954. According to the journalist Greg Kot , "rock and roll" refers to a style of popular music originating in the United States in the 1950s. By the mid-1960s, rock and roll had developed into "the more encompassing international style known as rock music , though the latter also continued to be known in many circles as rock and roll." For the purpose of differentiation, this article deals with
16218-634: The globe. Although not wanting to hear Lennon's confession, she knew women were attracted to him, "like moths to a flame." Two weeks later, in May 1968, Lennon suggested Cynthia take a holiday in Greece with Mardas, Donovan , and two friends, as he would be very busy recording songs for what would become the White Album . She arrived back at Kenwood from Greece earlier than expected, at 4 o'clock on 22 May 1968, to discover Lennon and Ono sitting cross-legged on
16377-463: The greatest Black musicians like BB King, Arthur Crudup and Fats Domino. His style of music combined with black influences created controversy during a turbulent time in history. Many other popular rock and roll singers of the time, such as Fats Domino and Little Richard , came out of the black rhythm and blues tradition, making the music attractive to white audiences, and are not usually classed as "rockabilly". Presley popularized rock and roll on
16536-481: The hallway and have to push through them when leaving or arriving. Powell accompanied Lennon to the United States in the first Beatles' tour there, with Lennon allowing the press to photograph them together, which infuriated Epstein, as he had wanted to keep their marriage a secret. On the tour, she was left behind in New York when Lennon and the other Beatles were quickly ushered into a car, and in Miami she had to ask
16695-544: The help of fans to convince a security guard who she was. Lennon's response was, "Don't be so bloody slow next time—they could have killed you." It would be the only time Cynthia would go on tour with them. At the Emperor's Gate address the situation grew worse, with fans sticking chewing gum in the lock of the flat and tearing at any article of clothing when she or Lennon were leaving or arriving. American girls would write her letters proclaiming their desperate love for John;
16854-567: The last time a few weeks later, on the way to a party at Epstein's country house in Warbleton , East Sussex . Although she hated the psychological effects of the drug, from this point she could see the change taking place in her husband: "It was like living with someone who had just discovered religion ... Tensions, bigotry, and bad temper were replaced by understanding and love." In 1970, Lennon confessed that he had probably taken LSD one thousand times since 1965, saying: "I used to just eat it all
17013-468: The latest dance and fashion styles. From the mid-1960s on, as "rock and roll" was rebranded as "rock", later dance genres followed, leading to funk , disco , house , techno , and hip hop . Cynthia Lennon Cynthia Lennon ( née Powell ; 10 September 1939 – 1 April 2015) was a British artist and author, and the first wife of John Lennon . Born in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on
17172-399: The levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm". In discussing Alan Freed's contribution to the genre, two significant sources emphasized the importance of African-American rhythm and blues. Greg Harris, then the executive director of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, offered this comment to CNN : "Freed's role in breaking down racial barriers in U.S. pop culture in
17331-515: The local post office to see if he had received a telegram from Ono, who sent one almost daily. Cynthia found out about these secretive trips much later, saying: "I had thought our magical interlude with the Maharishi would be the making of our marriage – but in reality it just presaged the end." Paul Saltzman later published a book of photographs, The Beatles in Rishikesh , showing Lennon deep in thought, and Cynthia's confused expression. Despite
17490-460: The men I have fallen in love with have never been good at earning a living" – more of her memorabilia of Lennon went up for auction in 1991, including antiques from Kenwood. Cynthia said at the time, "I've enjoyed these things for 30 years. But it's time for a change." Another set of items, including some of Lennon's drug paraphernalia, brought over $ 60,000 for her in 1995. Cynthia later said, "I think in life we collect so much baggage, when you have
17649-484: The most extraordinary men of modern times. More than 30 years since her marriage to John Lennon ended, she is as entangled as ever." In 2002, Cynthia married Noel Charles, a Barbadian nightclub owner. In September 2005, she published a new biography, John , re-examining her life with Lennon and the years afterwards, including the events following his death. Michel Faber , writing in The Guardian , said of
17808-581: The music. Many early rock and roll songs dealt with issues of cars, school, dating, and clothing. The lyrics of rock and roll songs described events and conflicts to which most listeners could relate through personal experience. Topics such as sex that had generally been considered taboo began to appear in rock and roll lyrics. This new music tried to break boundaries and express emotions that people were actually feeling but had not discussed openly. An awakening began to take place in American youth culture. In
17967-666: The name of rock and roll". Not often acknowledged in the history of rock and roll, Todd Storz , the owner of radio station KOWH in Omaha , Nebraska, was the first to adopt the Top 40 format (in 1953), playing only the most popular records in rotation. His station, and the numerous others which adopted the concept, helped to promote the genre: by the mid 50s, the playlist included artists such as " Presley , Lewis , Haley , Berry and Domino ". The origins of rock and roll have been fiercely debated by commentators and historians of music. There
18126-474: The ongoing British Invasion. Another example was Bobby Fuller and his group The Bobby Fuller Four , who were especially inspired by Buddy Holly and stuck with a rock and roll style, scoring their most notable hit with "I Fought the Law" (1965). In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture. It shared a common language , had been exposed to American culture through
18285-623: The other Beatles, who had an almost unspoken ability to understand one another). Cynthia once complained, saying: "What I'd like is a holiday of our own ... John, Julian and me." Lennon replied with, "OK, I know, we'll all retire to a little cottage on a cliff in Cornwall , all right?" Then adding, "No, I've got these bloody songs to write. I have to work, to justify living." She understood his temperament, but felt frustrated at never having developed her own career by using her art college background. The Beatles were scheduled to fly to India to visit
18444-418: The phrase. Several sources suggest that Freed found the term, used as a synonym for sexual intercourse, on the record " Sixty Minute Man " by Billy Ward and his Dominoes . The lyrics include the line, "I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long". Freed did not acknowledge the suggestion about that source in interviews, and explained the term as follows: "Rock 'n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on
18603-512: The physical looks of the artist rather than the music, contributing to the successful careers of Ricky Nelson , Tommy Sands , Bobby Vee , Jimmy Clanton , and the Philadelphia trio of Bobby Rydell , Frankie Avalon , and Fabian , who all became "teen idols". Some music historians have also pointed to important and innovative developments that built on rock and roll in this period, including multitrack recording , developed by Les Paul ,
18762-427: The place to visit for the other Beatles, various American musicians, and total strangers who Lennon had met the previous night in London nightclubs. In 1965, she opened the front door of Kenwood to see a man who "looked like a tramp", but with her husband's features. He explained that he was Alfred Lennon , the father whom Lennon had supposedly not seen for years. Lennon was annoyed when he came home, telling her for
18921-528: The same period, particularly on the West Coast and in the Midwest , the development of jump blues , with its guitar riffs, prominent beats and shouted lyrics, prefigured many later developments. In the documentary film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll , Keith Richards proposes that Chuck Berry developed his brand of rock and roll by transposing the familiar two-note lead line of jump blues piano directly to
19080-573: The song has been seen as the major breakthrough for the rock and roll genre, as its immense popularity introduced the music to a global audience. In 1956, the arrival of rockabilly was underlined by the success of songs like " Folsom Prison Blues " by Johnny Cash , " Blue Suede Shoes " by Perkins, and the No. 1 hit " Heartbreak Hotel " by Presley. For a few years it became the most commercially successful form of rock and roll. Later rockabilly acts, particularly performing songwriters like Buddy Holly , would be
19239-494: The stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties". "Rockabilly" usually (but not exclusively) refers to the type of rock and roll music which was played and recorded in the mid-1950s primarily by white singers such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash , and Jerry Lee Lewis , who drew mainly on the country roots of the music. Presley was greatly influenced by and incorporated his style of music with that of some of
19398-626: The stationing of troops in the country, and shared many social developments, including the emergence of distinct youth sub-cultures, which in Britain included the Teddy Boys and the rockers . Trad jazz became popular in the UK, and many of its musicians were influenced by related American styles, including boogie woogie and the blues . The skiffle craze, led by Lonnie Donegan , used amateurish versions of American folk songs and encouraged many of
19557-540: The story of Lennon from 1955 to 1960 but focused on his relationships with his aunt and mother. In 1995, Cynthia made her recording début with a rendition of " Those Were the Days " which, produced by McCartney, had been a number one hit for Mary Hopkin in 1968. It failed to chart. Whilst she was living in Normandy, an exhibition of her drawings and paintings were displayed at Portobello Road 's KDK Gallery in 1999. By
19716-516: The subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat musicians to start performing. At the same time British audiences were beginning to encounter American rock and roll, initially through films including Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Rock Around the Clock (1956). Both movies featured the Bill Haley & His Comets hit " Rock Around the Clock ", which first entered the British charts in early 1955 – four months before it reached
19875-744: The time, Cynthia said, "Jim has never felt he's living in John Lennon's shadow. He's four years younger than me and wasn't really part of that whole Beatles' scene." They later lived on the Isle of Man and then in Normandy for some years but separated in 1998. Cynthia had kept mementos of Lennon for years but began auctioning them off after his death. This included a personally drawn Christmas card from Lennon to her, which fetched £8,800 at Christie's in August 1981. With Cynthia's finances in an unsteady state – she would say in 1999 that "Apart from John,
20034-711: The time. Other artists and groups like Cilla Black , Rory Storm and the Hurricanes , the Searchers and Gerry & the Pacemakers later played in the club. The Black Jacks became the resident group at the Casbah, although the Quarrymen occasionally played there again and often visited. It was in the Casbah Club that Lennon and McCartney persuaded Stuart Sutcliffe to buy a Höfner 500/5 model—known in Europe as
20193-471: The time. When she told Lennon he said, "There's only one thing for it Cyn, we'll have to get married." Powell and Lennon were married on 23 August 1962 at the Mount Pleasant register office in Liverpool. Fellow Beatles McCartney and George Harrison were in attendance, as was their manager, Brian Epstein , who was best man ; no parents were there. The wedding was farcical, because as soon as
20352-403: The time." In the decades ahead, Cynthia would always maintain that John's drug use was the beginning of the end for the couple. By 1967, Lennon's aggressive edges from his childhood had disappeared, and he spent considerable amounts of time sitting in his sunroom or garden and daydreaming for hours on end. He became somewhat uncommunicative towards most people, including Cynthia (but not with
20511-400: The trip to Hamburg, Powell's mother Lillian said Powell's cousin and her husband were emigrating to Canada with their newborn baby, and that she, Lillian, would be going with them while they studied to become teachers. Powell waited until Lennon came back from Hamburg before she asked Smith—who had taken in lodgers before at 251 Menlove Avenue —if she would rent a room to her. Smith rented out
20670-433: The use of his flat at 36 Falkner Street , Liverpool, and later paid for a private hospital room when the pregnancy was coming to term. Although still unknown outside Liverpool, by now the Beatles had a fanatical following among girls within the city. Epstein had one condition which the Lennons had to follow: the marriage and the baby were to be kept a close secret, so as not to upset any of these fans. One time when news of
20829-455: The walls with spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars. In addition to the four boys' artistic contributions, Cynthia Powell , later to become Cynthia Lennon, painted a silhouette of John on the wall, which can still be seen today. The group often played at the Casbah as other venues, like the Cavern Club , had a jazz-only policy at that time. The cellar—with its original decoration—still exists. In 2006, Culture Minister David Lammy announced that
20988-451: The way for desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and shared experience. Many authors have argued that early rock and roll was instrumental in the way both white and black teenagers identified themselves. Several rock historians have claimed that rock and roll was one of the first music genres to define an age group . It gave teenagers a sense of belonging, even when they were alone. Rock and roll
21147-490: The wedding leaked out, the group denied it. The Lennons' son, Julian , was born at 7:45 a.m. on 8 April 1963, in Sefton General Hospital. Lennon, being on tour at the time, did not see his son until three days later, and when he finally arrived at the hospital, said: "He's bloody marvellous, Cyn! ... Who's gonna be a famous rocker like his Dad then?" Lennon then explained that he would be going on
21306-804: The white market also had much better distribution networks and were generally much more profitable. Famously, Pat Boone recorded sanitized versions of songs recorded by the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard, the Flamingos and Ivory Joe Hunter. Later, as those songs became popular, the original artists' recordings received radio play as well. The cover versions were not necessarily straightforward imitations. For example, Bill Haley's incompletely bowdlerized cover of " Shake, Rattle and Roll " transformed Big Joe Turner's humorous and racy tale of adult love into an energetic teen dance number, while Georgia Gibbs replaced Etta James ' tough, sarcastic vocal in "Roll With Me, Henry" (covered as "Dance With Me, Henry") with
21465-490: The women in the lives of the other Beatles received equivalent missives. As late as 1967, Beatles' wives were still dealing with occasional physical danger from female Beatles fans, with Cynthia being kicked in the legs by one who demanded she "leave John alone!" As Lennon was either touring or recording, supposed family holidays in 1966 were spent skiing in St. Moritz , with producer George Martin and his girlfriend, or staying at
21624-608: The world. The club survives in a remarkably well-preserved condition since its closure in 1962, with wall and ceiling paintings of spiders, dragons, rainbows and stars by original band members along with 1960s musical equipment, amplifiers and original chairs. We know of no other survival like it in Liverpool or indeed anywhere else." 53°25′57″N 2°54′43″W / 53.4324°N 2.9120°W / 53.4324; -2.9120 Rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll , rock-n-roll , rock 'n' roll , rock n' roll , Rock n' Roll or proto-rock )
21783-540: Was a lovely lady who I've known since our early days together in Liverpool. She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all", and Starr saying, "Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia." Ono issued a statement, emphasising the position she held in common: "Being a single parent of a strong and intelligent boy is never easy. Cynthia and I understood each other in that way, wishing well for our sons and their future." Beatles biographer Hunter Davies , who had spent considerable time with Cynthia and Lennon in
21942-401: Was a recurring source of concern for older generations, who worried about juvenile delinquency and social rebellion, particularly because, to a large extent, rock and roll culture was shared by different racial and social groups. In America, that concern was conveyed even in youth cultural artifacts such as comic books . In "There's No Romance in Rock and Roll" from True Life Romance (1956),
22101-440: Was also feeling the effects of the drug. They stayed up all night at Kenwood, experiencing the full effects of their first LSD trip. Lennon then started taking LSD on a regular basis in addition to his daily use of cannabis. After much encouragement from him, Cynthia agreed to try LSD one more time, but the adverse effects were the same. Although she said at the time she would never take the drug again, she relented and took it for
22260-580: Was born on 3 January 1924, in Delhi , and married John Best in India before moving with him and their two children, Pete Best (b. 1941) and Rory Best (b. 1944) back to Liverpool in 1945, where they lived in various houses. After moving to Queenscourt Road in 1948—where the Bests lived for nine years—Mona was told by Rory about a large Victorian house for sale at 8 Hayman's Green, in 1954. The house (built around 1860 by an unknown architect), had previously been owned by
22419-491: Was financially good for Mona, as she charged one shilling admission on top of the annual membership fee. As there was no amplification, Lennon later persuaded Mona to hire a young amateur guitar player called Harry to play a short set before the Quarrymen, but this was only so they could use his 40-Watt amplifier . Pete Best was studying at the Collegiate Grammar School when he decided he wanted to be in
22578-454: Was granted on 8 November 1968. The financial settlement was hampered by Lennon's refusing to offer any more than £75,000 (equivalent to £1,642,900 in 2024), telling her on the phone that the payment was akin to winning the football pools and that she was not worth any more. The settlement was then raised to £100,000 (equivalent to £2,190,600 in 2024), £2,400 annually (equivalent to £52,600 in 2024), and custody of Julian. A further £100,000
22737-426: Was in sort of a blind rage for two years. I was either drunk or fighting. It had been the same with other girl friends I'd had. There was something the matter with me." Tony Bramwell—a friend of Lennon's since his youth—later said: "Cynthia was beautiful, physically, and on the inside. Although she knew he [Lennon] was apt to find love on the road, she was totally dedicated to his success... and extremely influential. He
22896-435: Was insecure and Cynthia was there to pump him up, to buttress, sort of, his weak side." The Beatles' first Hamburg residency took place in 1960, with Lennon writing frequent and passionate letters back home to Powell. After returning home, Lennon's aunt and legal guardian, Mimi Smith , threw a hand-mirror at him for spending a lot of money on a suede coat for Powell. Smith later referred to her as "a gangster's moll ", and
23055-492: Was married, even reporting "girls" as one of his hobbies. The press heard rumours about Lennon's wife and child at the end of 1963—after Beatlemania had already swept the UK and Europe—and descended on her mother's house in Hoylake (where mother and son were staying), in November and December. Friends and neighbours protected their anonymity, but Powell was often approached by journalists. In November, she had Julian christened at Hoylake Parish Church, but did not tell Lennon (who
23214-461: Was no "innocent little flower." McCartney visited her and Julian that year, and on the way to Kenwood he composed a song in his head which later became " Hey Jude ." Talking about their divorce, McCartney later said: "We'd been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life." Cynthia recalled, "I was truly surprised when, one afternoon, Paul arrived on his own. I
23373-514: Was often unpleasant towards Powell. The Beatles went to Hamburg for a second time in 1961, and both Powell and Dot Rhone ( Paul McCartney 's girlfriend at the time), visited them two weeks later, during the Easter holidays. They had to stay up all night because of the long sets, both taking Preludin to stay awake, which the group was also taking. Lennon and Powell stayed with Sutcliffe's girlfriend, Astrid Kirchherr , at her mother's house. After
23532-441: Was on tour at the time), because Powell feared a media circus. She told him two days after, and Lennon was angry as he had not wanted his son to be christened, even though Epstein had asked to be Julian's godfather. Not long after the christening, every newspaper was full of the story about Lennon's secret wife and son. Brian Epstein told the other Beatles to make the best of the situation, and hoped newspapers would not say Cynthia
23691-545: Was pregnant before marrying him. After living at Lennon's aunt's house for some months, the couple moved to London and found a three-bedroomed flat at 13 Emperor's Gate, off Cromwell Road . The top floor flat was the third of three, which were each built over two floors. This meant climbing six flights of stairs, as the building had no lift. Cynthia firstly had to carry Julian up to the flat, and then go back down to collect shopping bags. The Beatles' fans soon found out where they were living, and she would find them camping out in
23850-683: Was put into a trust fund which Julian would inherit at age 21, and until then his mother would receive the interest payments. The trust deed had a codicil which provided for any further children by Lennon, so when Sean Lennon was born in 1975, Julian's inheritance was cut to £50,000 (equivalent to £1,095,300 in 2024). Cynthia lived for a few months in a flat Starr owned at 34 Montagu Square , central London, but returned to Kenwood as Lennon and Ono preferred to live there instead, rather than in isolated Weybridge. Lennon and Cynthia had one last short meeting at Kenwood (with Ono alongside Lennon), where Lennon accused her of having an affair in India, saying she
24009-561: Was sent to the safer area of Blackpool after World War II had been declared and lived in a small room in a bed-and-breakfast on the Blackpool seafront. After the birth, with Liverpool becoming a frequent target of German air raids , the Powell family moved to a two-bedroomed semi-detached house in Hoylake , a middle-class area on the Wirral Peninsula which was considered "posh" by those in Liverpool. At age 11, Powell won an art prize in
24168-420: Was so modern and complicated, someone had to be sent to explain how everything worked, and during the extensive renovations the couple had to live in the attic bedroom for nine months. Although Cynthia enjoyed entertaining in the larger rooms, Lennon could usually be found in a small sunroom at the back of the house overlooking the swimming pool, which was similar to his aunt's conservatory in Liverpool. They had
24327-452: Was staying made me extremely suspicious. I was being coerced into making it easy" ... [for Lennon and Ono] "to accuse me of doing something that would make them not look so bad." As Lennon had initiated divorce proceedings, it prompted her to exclaim: "Suing me for divorce? On what grounds is he suing me?" When the news of Ono's pregnancy broke, Cynthia started her own divorce proceedings against Lennon on 22 August 1968. Their decree nisi
24486-416: Was studying for her final exams. When Lennon went to Hamburg again in April 1962, Powell found a bedsit in a terraced house at 93 Garmoyle Road, Liverpool. In August 1962, shortly after having failed her art teacher's diploma exam, Powell learned that she was pregnant by Lennon. She later explained that she and Lennon had never used contraception, had never talked about it, and did not think about it at
24645-435: Was subsequently portrayed in the troubled, Ono-centric 2005 American musical Lennon , with her character – played by Julia Murney – gaining a little more prominence during one of the show's rewrites. Cynthia's life had a more central role in the 2010 BBC Four film Lennon Naked , with Claudie Blakley playing the part. Cynthia's character was absent from the 2009 British film Nowhere Boy , which purported to cover
24804-608: Was swiftly replaced by a villa when Ringo Starr and his wife joined them. The Beatles' accountant told Epstein the group members should move to houses near his in Esher , so Lennon bought a house called Kenwood in July 1964. It was a mock- Tudor-style house on three acres in Weybridge , where Cliff Richard already lived. Lennon then spent twice the original £20,000 purchase price (equivalent to £511,900 in 2024) on renovations for Kenwood, reducing its 22 rooms to 17. The new kitchen
24963-746: Was the place Lennon's parents, Alfred Lennon and Julia Lennon , had celebrated their marriage in 1938. Lennon was 21 years old, and Powell was 22. The newlyweds had no honeymoon, as Lennon had to play an engagement at the Riverpark Ballroom in Chester the same night. They travelled to the Hotel George V in Paris for a belated honeymoon on 16 September but were accompanied by Epstein, even though he had not been invited to join them. During Powell's pregnancy, Epstein offered her and Lennon
25122-445: Was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare ... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us." Cynthia was once asked if Lennon had written any songs about their time together and answered: "It was too soppy when you were young to dedicate anything to anybody. Macho Northern men didn't do that in those days." In contrast, Lennon said that he wrote
25281-473: Was used in 1940s recordings and reviews of what became known as " rhythm and blues " music aimed at a black audience. Huey "Piano" Smith credits Cha Cha Hogan , a jump-blues shouter and comic in New Orleans, with popularizing the term in his 1950 song "My Walking Baby". In 1934, the song "Rock and Roll" by the Boswell Sisters appeared in the film Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round . In 1942, before
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