Kipp Lennon

Kipp Lennon
Lennon performing at the 2006 Ilse DeLange fanclub day on 26 November 2006 in 013 concert hall, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Joel Lennon
Born	(1960-03-12) 12 March 1960 (age 57) Venice, California, United States
Genres	Rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	Venice, Pine Mountain Logs

Christopher Joel "Kipp" Lennon (born March 12, 1960) is an American musician, and a founding member of the folk rock band Venice. His role in the band includes performing as a lead vocalist and percussionist.

Lennon was born in Venice, California, the son of William and Isabelle Lennon. His given name is Christopher. The explanation he gives for his nickname is: "When I was brought home from the hospital as a brand new baby, March 1960, everyone was calling me 'Chrissy', like people do with newborns. You add an 'e' or 'y' or whatever to their name as an instant nickname. Okay, so my brother Joe was 3 years old and he couldn't say 'Chrissy', and kept saying 'Kippy'. My brother Dan, who was ten, thought that was hilarious, and from that day on, literally my first day at home, I was dubbed Kippy, never to be called Christopher again except by doctors, teachers, cops, and my mom if she was mad at me."

When Lennon was nine years old, he and his family endured the shooting death of their father, William. Chet Young, a stalker who believed himself to be married to Kipp's sister Peggy (of The Lennon Sisters) felt that the father stood in the way and had to be eliminated. Lying in wait, Young shot him in the parking lot of the Marina Del Rey golf course and two months later used the same gun to commit suicide. The family later discovered an unopened letter having a cutout of Mr. Lennon, a picture of a gun pointed at his head, and the words "High Noon" (the time of the murder) (source Dr. Doreen Orion, I Know You Really Love Me).

Venice was founded in 1977; the band was initially founded by him and his cousin Michael Lennon. The following year Michael's brother Mark joined, with Kipp's brother Pat joining in 1980. Since that time, the two pairs of cousins have performed and released albums, in 1978 sharing lead vocals with his cousin Michael Lennon, in 1977 by cousins Michael and Kipp Lennon. Kipp plays percussion and writes songs for the band Venice, with whom he has released 13 albums and other works since 1986. He also sings for the Pine Mountain Logs, a band containing many of the members of Venice and playing only cover versions of rock songs.