John Lennon certainly had an impact on people, and I number among those people. I was only a little less than a year old when The Beatles arrived in the United States, and I cannot remember a time when I was not a Beatles fan. The first album I ever bought with my own money was even a Beatles album. I will not pretend John Lennon was perfect. He was not always the best husband to either of his wives. He could have been a better father to his son Julian. He could often be difficult with his friends. In the end, however, he truly cared about for people, and it was often the friends on whom he was the hardest that he cared the most about. He certainly cared about his fans. Even given the level of his fame, he remained approachable. He was known to graciously talk with his fans and sign autographs for them. He would even express concern for them. Sadly, it was this very openness that led to his death on December 8 1980. I was 17 years old when John was murdered, and I cried on and off for the next three days. Since then there has only been one celebrity over whom I have cried more than John Lennon, and I knew her intimately. Because she loved the song, I asked that John's song "In My Life" be played at her first memorial.
I wrote extensively of John Lennon's influence on my life on the occasion of his 70th birthday, so I will not revisit the subject in depth here. I will instead leave you with some of my favourite songs John Lennon wrote, along with my gratitude for way his work has enriched my life.
1 comment:
Lennon was something of an aberration in the sense that he was deeply ingrained in the countercultural ethos of the era. That meant he was part of the anti-authoritarian, free love, let it all hang out bathos of the time. But little known was the fact that he was a strong supporter of the NYPD around the time that he died. I had heard rumors during the time fo his death that he was contemplating a run for public office in NYC.
Post a Comment