Mary Elizabeth "Mimi" Smith (née Stanley) (24 April 1903 – 6 December 1991) was the maternal aunt and parental guardian of the English musician John Lennon. Mimi was born in Liverpool, England and was the oldest of five daughters. She became a resident trainee nurse at the Woolton Convalescent Hospital, and later worked as a private secretary. On 15 September 1939, she married George Smith, who ran his family's dairy farm and a shop in Woolton; a suburb of Liverpool.

After Mimi's younger sister, Julia Lennon, separated from her husband, she and her son (Lennon) moved in with a new partner, but Mimi contacted Liverpool's Social Services and complained about little John sleeping in the same bed as the two adults. Julia was eventually persuaded to hand the care of Lennon over to the Smiths. Lennon lived with them for most of his childhood, and remained close to her, even though she was highly dismissive of his musical ambitions, his girlfriends, and wives.

She often told the teenage Lennon that "The guitar's all right John, but you'll never make a living out of it". Despite later losing touch with other family members, Lennon kept in close contact and telephoned Mimi every week until his death in 1980. Lennon bought her a bungalow in Poole, Dorset, where she lived until her death in 1991. The Smiths' house in Liverpool was later donated to the The National Trust.

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.

Johannes Martin Smith (17 March 1933 - 5 August 2008), affectionately known as Smithie, was a Namibian journalist, editor and publisher. He was first reporter at, then the editor of, the Windhoek Advertiser until 1978 when he and Gwen Lister founded the Windhoek Observer, the country's only Saturday paper at that time. He remained the owner and editor of the Observer until his death.

Smith was born in Grootfontein, Otjozondjupa Region on 17 March 1933. His parents were Angolan boers that participated in the Dorsland Trek. A White Namibian, Smith was known for being a muckraker and anti-establishment journalist that took on both the apartheid government of South Africa and the post-independence government of the Republic of Namibia, especially President Sam Nujoma.

In August 2003, President Nujoma and Smith became involved in a conflict regarding the events which are called the Old Location Massacre. Nujoma wrote in his autobiography, Where Others Wavered: The Autobiography of Sam Nujoma that wounded blacks were denied medical treatment by white medical staff, including those at the small Red Cross Society clinic. Smith, a young reporter in Windhoek at the time of massacre, refuted that claim, stating that he had personally witnessed Black Namibians receiving treatment. Nujoma hit back at Smith, accusing him of blackmail and of lying.

Osborne Earl "Nikko" Smith (born April 28, 1982) is a singer-songwriter who was the ninth-place finalist of Season 4 on American Idol.

Smith, the son of Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, is currently working on an album entitled The Revolution.

On October 26, 2006, Smith performed the The Star-Spangled Banner prior to Game 4 of the World Series, at the home field of the St. Louis Cardinals for whom his father had played 15 seasons.

Smith auditioned for American Idol in 2005 with the song "All I Do" by Stevie Wonder. Smith made it to the third round of the semi-finals, but was voted off on March 9 along with Travis Tucker.

Days later, Smith got a phone call from the producers asking him to come back in place of Mario Vazquez, who left for "family reasons". After returning, Nikko was dubbed "The Comeback Kid" by judge Paula Abdul after a performance of "One Hand, One Heart". However, in the same week, Nikko was voted off the show, placing ninth overall.

^Note 1 : Nikko was originally eliminated in a semi-finals results show, He was called back after Mario Vazquez withdrew from the show and he replaced Mario on the final 12.

Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), better known by her stage name Erykah Badu /ˈɛrɨkə bɑːˈduː/, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical stylings and sense of fashion. She is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo-Soul".

Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps. For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared to jazz great Billie Holiday. She was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules and House of D. She also speaks at length in the documentary Before the Music Dies.

Erykah Badu was born Erica Abi Wright in Dallas, Texas, on February 26, 1971. Her mother raised her and her brother and sister alone; their father, William Wright, Jr., had deserted the family early in their lives. To provide for her family, the children's grandmother often helped looking after them while Erykah's mother, Kolleen Maria Gipson (Wright), performed as an actress in theatrical productions. Influenced by her mother, Erykah had her first taste of show business at the age of 4, singing and dancing with her mother at the Dallas Theatre Centre. Erykah Badu was the owner of Focal point in Dallas, Texas.