John Lennon is most credibly known and has garnered worldwide fame as one of the founding members of English rock band, The Beatles. He was an Academy Award-winning musician, singer and songwriter. Alongside with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, they formed one of the most successful musical partnerships of all time. Lennon was known for his rebellious personality and provoked controversy through his work as a peace activist and artist.

Once The Beatles took a stab at solo careers, Lennon released well-known albums such as John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. He decided to retire in 1976 but picked back up again in 1980 debuting Double Fantasy, which won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Just one month after the album’s release, Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980 at the age of 40.

Although his life came to an unfortunate and tragic end, Lennon’s music and history will almost certainly live on forever. In 2002, he was ranked number 8 from a BBC poll on the “100 Greatest Britons.” In 2004, he was ranked number 38 in a Rolling Stone magazine poll of “The Immortals: The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time” with The Beatles stealing first place. In addition, Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth greatest singer of all time in 2009, an honor supported by his induction into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.