The Dakotas is a collective term that refers to the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota together. The term has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and continues to be used to describe the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, the economy, and even cuisine among the two states.

The two states combined have a population of 1,459,227, a little less than Idaho, or at the 40th place. The number of inhabitants increased by 13,552 from the year before. The Dakotas have a total area of 147,878 square miles (383,177 square kilometres), which rank 4th among U.S. states, right before Montana. The two states also have a population density of 9.8 per sq. mi (3.8 per km²).

The name "Dakota" comes from the Tipi Sapa, a Native American clan that is a branch of the Sioux nation.

A sub-region of the Frontier Strip, the Dakotas are also within the Midwestern United States, with the western portion in the High Plains. According to the Public Broadcasting Service, important areas within the Dakotas include the Black Hills, the town of Deadwood, Fort Buford, Standing Rock Reservation and Wounded Knee. The Upper Missouri River and the Upper Missouri River Valley are important geological features in the area, as well.

John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE (9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founder members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Together with Paul McCartney, he formed one of the most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.

Born and raised in Liverpool, Lennon became involved as a teenager in the skiffle craze; his first band, The Quarrymen, evolved into The Beatles in 1960. As the group disintegrated towards the end of the decade, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically acclaimed albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". After his marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name to John Ono Lennon. Lennon disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to raising his infant son Sean, but re-emerged with Ono in 1980 with the new album Double Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release.

Billy J. Kramer (born William Howard Ashton, 19 August 1943, Bootle, Liverpool, England) is a British Invasion/Merseybeat singer. In the 1960s he was managed by Brian Epstein, who also managed The Beatles, and he recorded several original Lennon and McCartney compositions.

He grew up as the youngest of seven siblings and attended the St George of England Secondary School, Bootle. He then took up an engineering apprenticeship with British Railways and in his spare time played rhythm guitar in a group he had formed himself, before switching to become a vocalist. The performing name Kramer was chosen at random from a telephone directory. It was John Lennon's suggestion that the "J" be added to the name to further distinguish him by adding a 'tougher edge'. Kramer soon came to the attention of Brian Epstein, ever on the look-out for new talent to add to his expanding roster of local artists. Kramer turned professional but his then backing group, the Coasters, were less keen, so Epstein sought out the services of a Manchester-based group, The Dakotas, a combo then backing Pete MacLaine.