It will be 25 years ago tomorrow that John Lennon was shot in the back by a coward named Mark David Chapman on the evening of December 8, 1980 in front of his New York City home. Though Lennon has been gone for a quarter of a century now, his music continues to live on in the hearts, minds and souls of his many fans. I thought as a tribute to John, everyone should share what him and his music means to each of us.

I don't remember John Lennon's death. I was a only a little four year old boy in 1980 when he was taken from us. And since my parents hate rock music of any kind, unlike most of my friends, I did not grow up hearing the Beatles. Still, Lennon is the songwriter who has had the biggest impact on my life both musically and personally. Be it his music with The Beatles or his solo work. It was John Lennon who inspired me to learn the guitar, write songs and grow my hair long (to the irritation of my dad). Lennon also stood for all the same things I stand for. In a Chicago Tribune article last Sunday the paper's rock critic, Greg Kot, wrote that though Lennon's music has stood the test of time, his massage is outdated and irrelevant. I could not believe this. What is irrelivant about peace and love?

As far as being turned on to The Beatles, I have my older sister to thank for this. When I was a freshman in high school and she was a junior I one day heard her playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and that did it for me. So, thanks sis.

I was born in 1947 and, as a teenager, discovered The Beatles in the sixties.
Actually, it was my nephew (less than a year younger than me) who turned me
on to their music; and I began collecting their records in 1965 (about the time
their second movie, HELP!, came out). I even loved THE BEATLES TV cartoon
show (and wrote and drew a series of BEATLES comics based on the show in
my spare time, while attending college). YELLOW SUBMARINE was the first
movie I went to see in nearly a decade. I continued collecting their records
until the breakup in 1970 and beyond, collecting solo singles and albums by
John, Paul, George and Ringo. (There isn't another band that has had hits by
all of its individual members.) I saw all their movies (A HARD DAY'S NIGHT,
HELP!, YELLOW SUBMARINE and the "rockumentary" (before that was a word)
LET IT BE). John Lennon has been hailed as a genius and as the "heart and
soul of The Beatles." All true. Watching John in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT can
still bring a tear to my eyes. I've read the books, incl. their story in their own
words, "THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY." John once modestly said, "We were just
a band that made it very, very big. That's all." But how different so many
lives would have been without the songs of love and peace that they gave us.

It will be 25 years ago tomorrow that John Lennon was shot in the back by a coward named Mark David Chapman on the evening of December 8, 1980 in front of his New York City home. Though Lennon has been gone for a quarter of a century now, his music continues to live on in the hearts, minds and souls of his many fans. I thought as a tribute to John, everyone should share what him and his music means to each of us.

I don't remember John Lennon's death. I was a only a little four year old boy in 1980 when he was taken from us. And since my parents hate rock music of any kind, unlike most of my friends, I did not grow up hearing the Beatles. Still, Lennon is the songwriter who has had the biggest impact on my life both musically and personally. Be it his music with The Beatles or his solo work. It was John Lennon who inspired me to learn the guitar, write songs and grow my hair long (to the irritation of my dad). Lennon also stood for all the same things I stand for. In a Chicago Tribune article last Sunday the paper's rock critic, Greg Kot, wrote that though Lennon's music has stood the test of time, his massage is outdated and irrelevant. I could not believe this. What is irrelivant about peace and love?

As far as being turned on to The Beatles, I have my older sister to thank for this. When I was a freshman in high school and she was a junior I one day heard her playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and that did it for me. So, thanks sis.


That is a lovely tribute! Thanks!:wave:

I wasn't born when John Lennon died, but I grew up with his music. I was always most attracted to John out of the 4 lads, but loved them all just the same. There was just something about John's inner beauty that captivated me...he was a wonderful song writer, deeply spiritual, complex, and yet so relatable. I miss him so much :crying:

That is a lovely tribute! Thanks!:wave:

Thank you. I appreciate it. :)

I was 2 years old when John Lennon was shot to death in his Dakota home near Central Park.