The Story of John Lennon’s First Guitar and First Band
When John Lennon was in his late teenage years, he had one thing on his mind and one thing only — rock and roll. He was obsessed with music, Elvis in particular, and getting his hands on a guitar. Here’s the story of his first guitar, and the story of his first group, the Quarrymen.
John Lennon’s Aunt Mimi broke down and bought him a guitar
As soon as the Elvis craze got to Liverpool, Lennon was bought in. It was all he wanted to talk about at his Aunt’s house (where he grew up) and his mother and stepfather’s house. Mimi quickly grew weary of all the Elvis talk.
“Elvis Presley’s all very well, John, but I don’t want him for breakfast, dinner and tea,” she told him, according to the book The Love You Make by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines.
But though Mimi grew tired of hearing about Elvis, she saw how passionate her nephew was about music and finally broke down and bought him his first guitar. The two went to a music store in Whitechapel and selected one for £17 (about $21).
John practiced playing his first guitar incessantly
Once Lennon actually owned a guitar, it was hardly ever separated from his body. It was a small Spanish model with cheap wire strings. His mother taught him some chords she knew from playing banjo, and that acted as his jumping off point. He played until his fingers bled. He’d play on his bed for hours and hours. Mimi would encourage him to get outside and feel the sunshine. So he’d go out to the porch and play there. He’d sit on the porch with his back against a brick wall for so long that Mimi worried he’d rub off part of the brick.
Eventually, Mimi, who tried to run a tight ship of a household, was sorry she ever bought her nephew the guitar.
“The guitar’s all very well, John,” she said, “but you’ll never make a living out of it.”
John Lennon’s first band: the Quarrymen
It wasn’t long before Lennon found himself in a band. They called themselves the Quarrymen, after the high school. The group consisted of his local friends Pete Shotton, Nigel Whalley, and Ivan Vaughan, as well as some other boys from school who cycled in and out as needed.
They played everywhere, hoping to be paid but mostly for free. At school dances, in the backs of trucks, in competitions, and at churches. It was at a church performance that the Quarrymen were first witnessed by teenage Paul McCartney (invited by Ivan Vaughan with the promise that the afternoon would be a good opportunity to pick up girls). After the show, McCartney was messing around with a guitar and everyone was impressed. Even, begrudgingly, Lennon. A few days later he was invited to join the Quarrymen.
