Sean Taro Ono Lennon is the son of BeatleJohn Lennon and his second wife, artist/musician Yoko Ono. He was born in New York City on October 9, 1975, on his father's birthday. A musician like his parents, Sean's first efforts were collaborations, appearing in 1991 on Lenny Kravitz's album, Mama Said, and in 1995 on his mother's album, Rising. He became the temporary touring bassist for the New York-based Japanese Duo "Cibo Matto." Sean's debut solo album, the alternative pop/rock collection Into the Sun, was released in 1998 on the Beastie Boys' record label, "Grand Royal Records." He was signed by Capitol Records to produce future albums.
As the son of John Lennon, perhaps the most beloved Beatle, and avant-garde musician Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon was a celebrity before he had even begun his recording career. That may be the reason why he didn't choose straight-ahead pop as his musical vocation, like his half-brother Julian did. Instead, he cleverly positioned himself between pop and experimental, taking his cue from such kaleidoscopic '90s multiculturists as the Beastie Boys, Beck, and Cibo Matto. To many ears, his 1998 debut album, Into the Sun, had unexpectedly eclectic roots and a laid-back vibe, earning him positive critical reviews and securing a modest place in the post-alternative hierarchy.
Ten years before Into the Sun, such a transformation seemed unlikely. But toward the end of the '80s, Lennon began to emerge from the seclusion that marked the years following his father's assassination. During his childhood, he was educated in Swiss boarding schools, but occasionally appeared on his mother's albums and sang on the 1984 Ono tribute Every Man Has a Woman. In his early teens, he was occasionally seen decked out in a plastic Thriller jacket and hanging out with Michael Jackson, but his first official step into the spotlight was in the form of filmed interviews for the 1988 documentary John Lennon: Imagine.
Three years later, he organized -- with Ono and Lenny Kravitz -- a star-studded re-recording of his father's "Give Peace a Chance" as a protest to the Gulf War. That year, he also appeared on Kravitz's album Mama Said. Shortly afterward, he retreated from the spotlight again, deciding to attend Columbia University. He spent only a few semesters at college before he dropped out of school to hang out in the New York indie rock scene. He encouraged his mother to begin performing again, supporting her in a noise rock trio named IMA; the trio was featured on Ono's 1995 album Rising and backed her on her subsequent tour. During that time, Lennon met Cibo Matto, who were hired to remix a song on Ono and IMA's EP, and he became Cibo Matto's touring bassist as well as the boyfriend of their keyboardist, Yuka Honda. For a short while in the mid-'90s, he was touring with both IMA and Cibo Matto; it was the first time he was on the road playing music for an extended period of time.
Once the touring was completed, Lennon played some of his songs to Beastie Boy Adam Yauch. Impressed with the demos, Yauch asked Lennon if he wanted to record a solo album for the Beasties' label, Grand Royal. He accepted the offer and had Honda produce the resulting album, Into the Sun. A mellow, eclectic album that bounces between bossa nova and alternative rock, Into the Sun was released in the spring of 1998. Journalists and observers were ready to spot musical similarities between Sean and his father, but perhaps the clearest shared trait was an ability to unwittingly stick his foot in his mouth just like his dad. Shortly before Into the Sun, he gave an interview with The New Yorker claiming his father was assassinated by the American government. It helped stir up interest for his debut album, but he didn't need it, since the rock press was already eager to run stories about him -- not only was he the heir to rock royalty, he had the Grand Royal stamp of approval. Consequently, Into the Sun received strong reviews and, on the basis of those reviews, earned a small following, debuting at number 153 on the charts.
When Grand Royal folded in 2001, Lennon found himself without a label, but Capitol soon signed him. However, it wasn't until 2006 that he released new material; his second album, the mostly piano-driven Friendly Fire, appeared that fall and featured contributions from Honda, Ono, Money Mark, and Vincent Gallo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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. 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 EPHalf 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, Jurassic 5 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 Sean stayed out of
the spotlight (aside from gaining minor media attention when he dated Elizabeth
Jagger). However he collaborated with various bands and artists either as a session
musician or as a producer.
Today
After Grand Royal Records' demise in 2001, Sean signed with Capitol Records (whose
parent company EMI has released his father's entire musical output, group and solo), yet no solo
material surfaced until early February 2006, when "Dead Meat" was released as 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 comprised into a film. In actuality, the videos were screen tests for Coin Locker Babies, another project on which
Lennon is working, and rather than waste film, he decided to create a cinematic counterpart to his new album.[1]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 [attribution needed] 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 Jordan Galland and his band 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. Since October 2006, Sean has been touring extensively in promotion of Friendly Fire and while in France
remixed his song "Parachute" in collaboration with French artist -M-. The remix is
entitled "L'éclipse" [2].
Musical influence
Lennon has said that Brian Wilson and the Beach
Boys are major influences 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). Lennon has stated that The Beastie
Boys album Check Your Head was a source of inspiration, with its varied music
styles contained in one album.
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