Remembering John Lennon...The Day the Music Died!

December 8, 1980: The day the music died.

John Lennon was arriving home to his New York apartment after what would be his last recording session. John’s wife, Yoko Ono, was with him as a crazed fan, Mark David Chapman, walked up as they were entering The Dakota where they lived, and shot John four times in the back (shooting in the back, what a cowardly act!). Adding to the cruelty of the act was the fact that John Lennon had just autographed his Double Fantasy album for Mark David Chapman earlier that evening.

I remember where I was when I heard the news: Do you remember? Where were you? I was listening to the radio in my apartment when the DJ interrupted a song for the news flash that John Lennon had been shot and rushed to the hospital. Quickly, I turned on my TV for any further news. John Lennon died en route to the hospital. I called my sister; we cried on the phone. It was just too shocking to imagine...John Lennon shot to death on the streets of New York, the city he loved...on his way home to see his little boy, Sean (Yoko later said that instead of going out to dinner, John wanted to go home first to see his son). We wanted to believe it was all just a bad dream; it wasn’t.

I read somewhere that Yoko has never really gotten over what happened to John. I may not have been a Yoko Ono fan all those years ago, but I understand the grief, I understand the pain, and above all else that John Lennon and Beatles fans may have thought of John and Yoko together: She loved him and he loved her, and that’s all that really matters in the end.

“All you need is love, love … love is all you need.” Beatles

On the 30th anniversary of his passing, I want to say: Thank you, John Lennon, for the music, for the magic, for imagining a better world!

“You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one.” from Imagine by John Lennon

Yoko Ono released this statement on the 30th anniversary of John's death: "On this tragic anniversary please join me in remembering John with deep love and respect. In his short lived life of 40 years, he has given so much to the world. The world was lucky to have known him. We still learn so much from him today. John, I love you!"

Yeah, so do we!

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