Jump to content

Sean Lennon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.211.30.88 (talk) at 06:18, 18 February 2007 (→‎Musical Influence). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Sean Lennon

Sean Taro Ono Lennon (aka Sean Ono Lennon, born October 9, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is the son of musicians and peace activists John Lennon and Yoko Ono (Kyoko Chan Cox and Julian Lennon are his half-siblings).

Biography

Early life and education

Lennon was born in New York City on October 9, 1975, his father's 35th birthday. After Sean's birth, John became a house husband, doting on his young son until his murder in 1980. Sean was educated at two exclusive private boarding schools, at Institut Le Rosey (which Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, King Albert II of Belgium, Dodi Al-Fayed and Strokes members Julian Casablancas and Albert Hammond, Jr. also attended) in Switzerland, and at the Ethical Culture School and Dalton School, in New York City.

His first appearance on record was on Ono's album Season of Glass (1981), reciting a story that his father used to tell him. At the age of 9, he performed the song "It's Alright" on the Yoko Ono tribute album Every Man Has A Woman (1984). In 1988 Sean was featured in the cast of Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. He has recalled working with Jackson as a positive experience. Later in life, his initial efforts as a serious musician came as collaborations: he appeared on Lenny Kravitz's album Mama Said (1991) and formed backing-band IMA for his mother's album Rising (1995).

Cibo Matto and Into The Sun

In 1997 Lennon (along with fellow IMA member Timo Ellis) joined New York-based Japanese duo Cibo Matto (Miho Hatori & Yuka Honda) for their second EP, Super Relax. Through his association with Cibo Matto, he was approached by the Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch, who expressed an interest in his music. Lennon's debut solo album, Into the Sun, was released in 1998 on the Beastie Boys' record label, Grand Royal Records. The album garnered positive reviews from the music press as well as minor mainstream media attention[citation needed]. Regarding Grand Royal, Sean has said, "I think I found the only label on the planet who doesn't care who my parents are and what my name is. It's a good feeling to know that I wouldn't have gotten the offer if they wouldn't have liked my songs. That's pretty rare in the music business!". Into the Sun was produced by fellow Cibo Matto member and then girlfriend, Yuka Honda, who Sean claimed was his inspiration for the album. A music video for "Home", a single from the album, was directed by Spike Jonze and enjoyed extended airplay on MTV. Cibo Matto played as Sean's backing band on Into The Sun and joined him during the closing scene in the "Home" music video.

In 1999, Sean's EP Half Horse, Half Musician was released featuring new tracks such as "Heart & Lung" and "Happiness" as well as remixes of songs from Into The Sun. Later in the year, Cibo Matto released their second album Stereo Type A. To the dismay of many Cibo Matto fans Stereo Type A was to be their final album and the group has since disbanded. The Millennium saw Sean briefly stepping into the world of Hip Hop, contributing vocals to Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and Handsome Boy Modeling School (in which he performed a duet on "Sunshine" with musician Josh Haden). In 2001, Sean performed "This Boy" and "Across The Universe" live with Rufus Wainwright and Moby for Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music. In the following years (up to 2005), Sean collaborated and produced with various artists such as Dopo Yume, Esthero, Money Mark, Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, and Metal band Soulfly.

Today

After Grand Royal Records' demise in 2001, Sean signed with Capitol Records, yet no material surfaced until early February 2006 on his MySpace page]. A song called "Dead Meat" was the first single from his new album, Friendly Fire. A promotional trailer for the CD/DVD package of Friendly Fire was leaked online in early 2006. The trailer featured scenes from the film version of the album, a DVD of music videos. Friendly Fire went on to be released in October, 2006. Though mixed reviews (however mostly positive) came from the music press, the album was highly praised by fans and many[who?] consider it to be Sean's strongest work to date. The night the album was released, Lennon made his first major television appearance since 2001, performing "Dead Meat" live on the Late Show with David Letterman. Lennon has since appeared on The Sharon Osbourne Show (UK) and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Aside from his solo music, 2006 also saw Lennon collaborating with Dopo Yume for their album The Secret Show as well as The Strokes guitar player Albert Hammond, Jr. on his debut solo album Yours to Keep. For 2007, Lennon is set to produce Irina Lazareanu's debut album Some Place Along the Way.

Musical Influence

Lennon has said that Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys are a major influence in his music and he even interviewed Brian Wilson on a limited edition CD entitled Words and Music. During the release of Into The Sun, Sean often talked about his admiration for Brazilian band, Os Mutantes. While in Brazil Sean performed live with Arnaldo Baptista (Bass Guitar player and Vocalist of Os Mutantes) and later designed the artwork for the Os Mutantes album, Tecnicolor (2000). He has also noted The Beatles and his parents as musical influences, though this is usually brought up in interviews.

Solo discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

  • "Home" (1998)
  • "Queue (Radio Mix)" (1999)
  • "Dead Meat" (2006)
  • "Friendly Fire" (2006)

Producer

Album artwork

Filmography

Bibliography

  • Part Asian, 100% Hapa (Sean is credited with writing the Foreword) (2006)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sean_Lennon&oldid=109014970"