December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed in New York. I woke up the next morning and turned on the radio and was totally shocked to hear this. This was the first thing that I heard on this day that should have normally be a happy day for me, as it was my 14th birthday, but now it is really the only thing that I remember from that day. In a short period of time following John Lennon's murder, there were attempts on the the lives of the Pope and President Reagan (both unsuccessful). I wasn't arround when President Kennedy was assiginated, but I know that I was so shocked that someone would kill John Lennon and I think that people were probably as shocked when President Kennedy was killed.
In 1980, John released his "Double Fantasy" album. This marked his return after taking a few years off from the music world to be a stay at home father and raise Sean. The album signaled that he was back, it had a lot of promise and gave us a glimpse of where his music might have gone. Looking at the promise that was there after the release of "Double Fantasy", this makes his death that much more traggic.
Being shot down seems like a very ironic way to die for someone that was so peace oriented. It doesn't really seem fitting for someone known for wanting to "give peace a chance" and for saying that "War is Over, if we want it", should die in such a way.
There have been very few song writting teams that have come even close to matching the success fo Lennon/McCartney. Few bands or artists have been nearly as popular and loved as the Beatles. John's post Beatles musical career was pretty fruitful and you have to wonder if he had lived today, if Paul would have had the most successful post Beatles career or if John would have been more successful? You also have to wonder where he would have gone with his music? What projects would he have done? I also wonder, if he was such a controversial person that he was bound to be killed, if not on December 8, 1980 than another time?
I've really enjoyed working on the JOHN LENNON - IMAGINE event at Globaljammerz.com, putting together the daily online radio shows and telling people about the event. I hope that you'll check out my shows that are running at 9 pm (U.S. Central time) through December 12th. I also hope that you'll share what John and the Beatles have meant to you, what your favorite songs are, what your favorite memories and stories are, and I hope that you'll join the other Beatles fans at the Fab Four group at Globaljammerz. It doesn't cost anything to join, so why not check it out. With the remaining shows I'd like to do a couple of requests shows, so I've been collecting songs requests at various places along the web. I'd also like to do a couple of shows of people covering the Beatles and John Lennon songs, so your input is most welcome.
I remember making a vow on the day that I heard about John's death, that his death wouldn't be in vain and that I would someday find meaning in his loss (our loss). Thirty years later I'm still trying to find the meaning and make something out of my life. Who knows, maybe I'll find it by the the 60th Anniversary! I think that John would have loved our social web today and being able to connect with his fans in a totally different way than musicians did in the past would be something he'd appreciate. John, thank you for all the great music. Thanks to you, I can imagine all the people living for today and I can picture myself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies and so much more.
Photocredit: The John Lennon collage is posted in the Fab Four group at Globaljammerz.
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