All the Beatles Children Who Took Up the Family Business
Each of the Beatles had children, and, as with many celebrities, they found careers similar to their parents. While some have found success in other industries — notably fashion and photography — many of the Beatles’ children also became musicians. Here are the Beatles children who followed in their fathers’ footsteps.
Julian Lennon
John Lennon’s first child, and the firstborn Beatles child, Julian Lennon, began his music career in 1984, not long after his father’s death. His debut album, Valotte, found great success and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 1985.
Julian released several other albums, though Valotte remains his most successful. Like his father, he primarily sticks to the rock genre. He also tackled one of Lennon’s most famous songs in 2022. He had initially vowed to never cover “Imagine,” but with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, he felt it was time to go back on his promise.
“[I] just felt, this is it,” he said on Elton John’s Rocket Hour podcast. “And once I’d said yes, if I had anxiety before, once I’d said, yes, I went, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to do this, that honors it, and is different and is my own take, but still respects it in every way, shape or form? For me, the only way to do that was to take it away from the piano, the plunky piano, and do it as raw, as unproduced, and as heartfelt as possible. For me, that was the way to do it.”
Sean Lennon
Lennon’s younger son, Sean, also became a musician, though he got his start earlier than his half-brother. Sean frequently collaborated with his mother, Yoko Ono, on her solo albums. After forming a band and collaborating with the group Cibo Matto, Sean released his debut solo album in 1998. Since then, he has released a number of other albums, both as a solo artist and with others. In 2014, his group Ghost of A Saber Tooth Tiger, released the album Midnight Sun to high acclaim.
Sean has released multiple albums, worked as a session musician, and composed film scores, but he admitted that much of his income comes from The Beatles.
“I’m very lucky in that I don’t have to worry about money, simply from the inheritance,” he told Rolling Stone. “I inherited the [song] publishing, so I make money from The Beatles’ stuff. That’s where my bread and butter comes from.”
James McCartney
Paul McCartney has five children, but only one, his son James, followed him into the music industry. Similar to Sean Lennon, James started his career playing on some of his father’s solo albums, playing guitar and drums and co-writing songs. He played a solo on McCartney’s song “Heaven On a Sunday.”
He released his debut album, Available Light, in 2010 to mostly positive reviews. Since then, he has released four other albums and admitted that he draws inspiration from The Beatles.
“The music was inspired by The Beatles, Nirvana, The Cure, PJ Harvey, Radiohead — and all good music,” he told the Independent. “It is basically rock n’ roll, clean sounding and vocal.”
Zak Starkey
Ringo Starr’s eldest son, Zak Starkey, didn’t welcome comparisons to his father, but he also became a successful drummer. Drawing on inspiration from Starr’s drummer friends like Keith Moon, Starkey began his career with the Spencer Davis Group. Since then, he has drummed for several other successful bands, including The Who, Oasis, and his father’s All-Starr band. He also founded the record label Trojan Jamaica with his wife, Sharna Liguz-Starkey.
Like many of the Beatle children, Starkey wanted to be seen as an artist in his own right, outside of his father’s shadow. More recently, though, he warmed to the idea that he was like his father.
“I’ll be honest, it’s great being Ringo’s son,” he told Modern Drummer. “He’s the greatest living drummer as far as I’m concerned.”
Jason Starkey
Starr’s second child, Jason Starkey, also became a drummer. Growing up, his father wasn’t as confident in his potential for success, believing he was too shy to be a musician.
“I’ve been telling Jason he’ll have to get over that if he wants to appear on stage,” Starr said, per the book The Beatles: The Authorized Biography by Hunter Davies. “The other day he came to me and said he had this idea. He would play the drums in one room, on his own, while they filmed him on video, then he could be shown with the group on stage. He had it all worked out.”
On top of being a drummer, Jason has worked as a road manager and photographer. In that way, he is also like his father, who released his book of photographs in 2013.
Dhani Harrison
Dhani Harrison, George Harrison’s only child, also got his start in the industry while working on his father’s album, Brainwashed. After Harrison’s death, Dhani performed in a number of tributes to his father, including performances at the Concert for George and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Dhani formed the band thenewno2 and also collaborated with artists such as Jakob Dylan, Tom Petty, Ben Harper, and Jeff Lynne. Like Sean Lennon, Dhani began composing film scores in 2013. Though he has had a fruitful career in music, it wasn’t a path that immediately called to him.
“I did everything I could to not be a musician,” he told Billboard in 2009. “I went to university (Brown), I worked as a designer, I competed in Olympic sport (rowing)… and I ended up being a musician. It’s in the DNA, I guess.”
