John Lennon Oct 9, 1940 – Dec 8, 1980

Townhall.com ^ | December 8, 2020 | Derek Hunter

[HandBasketHell]

40 years old when he died.

Killed 40 years ago today.

[PghBaldy]

I was a teen when he was murdered, and it completely shocked me.

[real saxophonist]

In high school, I tried to 'comfort' a girl who was truly devastated by this news. Wasn't able to 'comfort' her as much as I wanted. 8~)

We still maintained a friendship, and I saw that she actually travelled to London to witness William and Kate's wedding.

[Gay State Conservative]

Whenever I visit NYC I try to hit Central Park and when I do I usually pass by "Strawberry Fields".There are always people there regardless of weather or time of day.

Once I went up to the big gate at The Dakota where the two security guards stand.I tried to get them to talk about the day but they wouldn't. I'm not sure if they actually knew nothing or were required to remain silent.

[Doofer]

Never liked them and I grew with that music.

[Gay State Conservative]

Impressive...I wonder if she was on the guest list. The closest I’ve gotten to the Beatles was touring Liverpool and seeing “Strawberry Fields” and the bus shelter where they got a “fish and finger pie”....and also visiting Abbey Road Studios.

[Sir_Humphrey]

I will repeat what I posted yesterday in commenting about Bob Dylan

It's a silly argument to try and prove who was the "best" group of all time. It's all very subjective. I can't convince anyone like the Beatles more than anyone can convince to like Rap pre rock n roll pop music. You either like the music or you don't. If you don't like the Beatles, then don't listen to them. It's as simple as that. It's funny some people can't seem to grasp that simple concept and come off sounding like some angry old fart braying at the moon about the dangers of rock n roll, but I digress

But what is objective and provable is the influence the Beatles had on all modern music. They have, by far, outsold all other artists and have developed a following by the grandchildren of those who first them on Ed Sullivan in 1964. They only had a 7 year run but millennial artists today cite the Beatles as one of their major influences. In addition to Dylan, they may be the most covered artists of modern times.

[Jolla]

He was a great talent and is much missed Double Fantasy was the last LP I bought. Recall well that fateful Monday Night and Howard Cosell making the announcement.

[Rebelbase]

Muzak certainly loved them.

[2banana]

Imagine if there’s no heaven...

[Dan in Wichita]

I first heard about John Lennon's murder while watching Monday Night Football. I believe it was Howard Cosell who broke the news.

The next morning at my college class, the teacher walked in and without saying a word, went to the blackboard and wrote:

RIP John

[real saxophonist]

Not sure about that. She posted a lot of pictures of them on the balcony, and in the parade.

And actually as I type this, the news is running a story about this anniversary.

[ronnie raygun]

It defined a place and a time in history and in our lives. What if George martin were not in the picture? This is where they moved above everyone and everything else at this time.

[ronnie raygun]

It defined a place and a time in history and in our lives. What if George martin were not in the picture? This is where they moved above everyone and everything else at this time.

[Houmatt]

I still remember. John got himself mixed up in politics, which is why certain members of the government didn't want him as a citizen. But he won that fight, got the perfect birthday gift in Sean, and took five years to refocus on what really mattered.

But one man decided to take him away from us.

And we've never been the same.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not old enough to remember the Beatles.

I never "got" their music even years later. There will never be another band like the Allman Brothers, in my humble opinion.

"A Day In The Life" is an epic classic, though.

[Bernard]

As I recall hearing, the reason the Beatles had so many songs in the Top 100 at the same time was because they recorded for many different labels before they became popular in the states, and all of the labels cashed in on the sudden popularity by releasing the 45's in the US at the same time.

Remember how many different labels there were on the Beatles singles released in 1964? After that, it was all Capitol Records until Apple Records took over.

[OttawaFreeper]

I recall the day after quite very well. Regular TV programming even in my locale was preempted to cover the crowds that gathered in NYC to express their grief and shock over the senseless murder.

[nuconvert]

Didn’t get to see the Beatles (John was always my favorite), but did get to see Lennon at the One to One concert for Willowbrook in Madison Sq. Garden.
Also went to the Bangadesh concert at the Garden, so got to see Harrison - Ringo was at that one. Later on saw McCartney. So I guess I’ve seen the Beatles, just not as the Beatles.
I remember hearing on the radio about Lennon being shot. He was a great talent with a lot of personal problems and I think he was finally starting to get his life together when he was killed.