John Lennon Killed 37 Years Ago

 John Lennon Shot dead at the age of 40, December 8, 1980. So much music would never be, so much wisdom silenced. 

It's hard to believe that John Lennon has been gone 37 years. He was only 40 years old when he was killed. I remember that night, the local news announcing his murder. Murder? What? Why? 

I guess you could say, I watched the Beatles "grow up." My oldest brother was (still is) a huge Beatles fan. Our family watched as the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. According to the Ed Sullivan Show  "At 8 o'clock on February 9th 1964, America tuned in to CBS and The Ed Sullivan Show. But this night was different. 73 million people gathered in front their TV sets to see The Beatles' first live performance on U.S. soil."

Seeing them go from the "Fab Four" with those Beatle hairstyles, then in 1968, they traveled to Inidia. Wikipedia: {In February 1968, the Beatles travelled to Rishikesh in northern India to attend an advanced Transcendental Meditation (TM) training session at the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Their visit was one of the band's most productive periods and received widespread media attention. The Beatles' interest in the Maharishi was led by George Harrison's commitment, and it changed Western attitudes about Indian spirituality and encouraged the study of Transcendental Meditation.}

The Beatles' breakup was just a matter of time. It was time for each of them to move on as individual artists. John was a stay at home dad at the time he was killed. He was making a huge comeback with his album Double Fantasy.

John autographed thie album for Mark Chapman, as he and Yoko Ono left the Dakota apartment building in New York for a recording session at 5pm. They returned home at 10:50 pm. Chapman shot John at the enterance of the apartment building four times in the back. He was taken to the hosptial and 10 minutes later, pronounced dead.

Bill KIng said it perfectly. It is still hard for me to grasp the fact that a man of peace and love, was shot and killed.

The Beatlefan Club blog Something New "In Memormiam: John Lennon 35 years December 8, 2015 by Bill King

It’s hard to come to grips with the fact that it’s been 35 years since we lost John Lennon. Here’s a piece I wrote that originally was published in Beatlefan #13, December 1980, the special Commemorative Issue published two weeks after Lennon’s death.

I lost a very dear friend Monday night, Dec. 8, 1980 — one that I had never met.

Some people don’t quite comprehend just what that means to those of us who grew up with The Beatles and who are hurting so badly right now. They don’t understand the bond between performers and audience that developed over the nearly 17 years since Lennon and cohorts Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr left the obscurity of Liverpool for the international limelight.

It is the bitterest of ironies that Lennon, a childhood ruffian who grew up to be one of the world’s most ardent pacifists and a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War, died at the hand of a gunman.

 Imagine Peace Tower   Yoko Ono's creation in memory of  John Lennon 

Imagine

John Lennon, Plastic Ono Band

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to dotle
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world, you
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Songwriters: John Winston Lennon