JOHN

Cosmo

I was just a mere baby when I was told by my tearful mother that an important man had died. I really couldn't understand the concept of death but from the pain in her face I began to, that day, understand the enormity and finality of it. I was familiar with the music, as his songs were such an integral part of my upbringing and they were the soundtrack of my childhood. I wanted to speak to my stepfather about it but he was in bed that morning, refusing to get up. It was years later that I learned of the tearful, horror-filled nighttime vigil him and friends held at the bar, in which he threw his heavy scotch glass against the giant mirror, shattering it, complete.

What else can be said about this guy that hasn't been said already? I don't really know, but all I know is that his presence has been a part of the fabric of my life for as long as I've been on this earth. I continue to appreciate him every day, and as I grow older and look forward to having a family of my own, I hope that I can share with my kids one day the voice that has brought me so much joy.

I don't know this guy, but I do, and I love him and I miss him. Thanks John.

onetet

I've only seen my dad cry twice -- when my grandfather died, and when John Lennon died. I was six when it happened, and the experience made me hungry to check out the Beatles' music. Falling in love with their music at an early age, and specifically John's songs, was in turn what put me on my lifelong path as a music addict. Still love his music, and will always be a fan. R.I.P.

Breez

I was 5 yrs old and I remember that day clearly. It was like an absolute silence that fell over the world. I remember trying to understand that the man behind the music that filled my first 5 yrs on earth was not with us any more. At that time, I had just started to understand what had happened to Elvis a few yrs earlier had also happened to the "Walrus Man" (that's what me & my older brother called him when we were kids). There isn't a day that goes past that the man, his music or his image isn't one of the 1st few things that greets me every morning. Even as I'm typing this I am 2 ft from his picture on my wall. He gave us such great music, great views and sparked a lot of thoughts that have shaped this world, for better or worst.

R.I.P. to one of the greatest.

nzshadow

My five year old son loves the beatles, we watch youtube clips and he has a few records.

John was always his favorite, he likes the shades and says that John has a 'good voice'

Today he was upset when i picked him up from school, i asked him why and he told me the following:

"a bad man shot john lennon because his music was too good"

he is still pretty bummed.

tripledouble

the beatles were definitely the cornerstone of music for me. not sure why my parents let me handle their beatles collection, but i handled the hell out of it. revolver and abbey road over and over. and just never getting tired of letting my imagination run with the album covers of sgt pepper and magical mystery tour!

cant really say it better than cosmo already did. so r.i.p. to the legend.
when i have kids, they will definitely grow up with your music

dj_cityboy

yeah i was 6 yrs old as well...i remember my brother being totally bummed out about it all, didnt really understand why....

R.I.P

Rockadelic

This was the same year I moved away from NY.......I got the news via Howard Cosell during Monday Night Football.....I called my friends back in NY and they were going to take the train over to Manhattan and participate in the vigil being held outside the Dakota........one of the few times I regretted leaving NY.

HarveyCanal

I remember when John Lennon was shot, and I remember when Ronald Reagan was shot. Unfortunately of the two, the wrong dude passed away.

bassie

There are two deaths in my childhood that though I was not (yet) familiar with the people and their work, there was an overwhelming feeling of things not making sense. One was Lennon, the other, four years later, Marvin Gaye.

That someone so intent on things being good would be murdered.
That someone's own father would shoot them dead.

If you want to get deep about it, no death makes sense. And not to get Wonder Years on you, but I would say John Lennon's murder was a shift from innocence into ugliness for a lot of us who lead lives sheltered from unjust death.

LaserWolf

RIP

At the time I was 24.
I was kind of detached and it seemed like just another rock star dying to me.
I was surprised by the depth of emotion people were feeling.

This goes deeper for me.
I was the same way when I heard other tragic news.
Oh, people died in a flood, mine disaster, caught in a storm on Mt Hood.
Oh well, to bad these things happen.

It was later in life I learned empathy.

james

bassie said:

One was Lennon, the other, four years later, Marvin Gaye.

So true.

Not too long before John died, I remember my dad saying that we were taking a special trip to KMart. I was sure I had done something extra-good and was gonna get laced with a new G.I. Joe figure. Turned out that we were just buying Double Fantasy on the day it came out. "Aw, man--what a gyp!"

In high school, I knew a real sweet girl who was trying to be artsy and who tended to attract kinda scheming dudes. She and I had a talk one time where she said that she was sick of the bullshit, and was gonna quit with the labored pointillist pictures of Jim Morrison. She was gonna start drawing John Lennon instead. We both agreed that it seemed like a good first step.

I read something a few years back where a photographer commented that photos of John Lennon with his mouth closed are relatively rare--he always seems to be either singing or laughing.

Rest in peace.

rootlesscosmo

james said:

Rest in peace.

tabira

I was 8 but already a beatle fan. It was very tough. Imagine was on constant play on the radios. A biographer of Lennon put it well - the generation that "witnessed" his death will never be able to appreciate that song purely as the innocent plea for peace that it was intended to be. For them it is also forever tinged with a profound sadness. I remember that in the immediate aftermath of his death, just hearing those opening piano chords was almost overbearingly sad. Looking back now it was like with Lennon's death so too died the belief in hope and dreaming of a better world. The fact that today this sound so corny to say suggests in part that it may have some truth to it.

esskay

I was 11 & just returned from a week @ 6th grade camp. Grew up in a liberal family & parents were major fans. I walked off the bus & mom told me. Naturally meant so much more to all of us than Elvis. John was a rebel, poet, & ultimate renaissance man. I will remember that day for the rest of my life. RIP