Today it is 32 years ago that John Lennon
was killed
Our party is a small tribute to this legendary
singer/songwriter.
T.R.A.C.S on River Island
John Lennon
John Lennon, one of the world's most
beloved songwriters, would have turned 72 years old October 9th. But on
Through his work with the Beatles, his
collaborations with other artists and his own individual solo output, Lennon
left a musical mark that continues to inspire each new generation as the years
pass.
John Ono Lennon, born John Winston Lennon
(9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English musician and
singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the
Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts
in the history of popular music. Together with Paul McCartney, he formed one of
the most celebrated songwriting partnerships of the 20th century.
Born and raised in Liverpool , Lennon became
involved as a teenager in the skiffle craze; his first band, the Quarrymen,
evolved into the Beatles in 1960. As the group disintegrated towards the end of
the decade, Lennon embarked on a solo career that produced the critically
acclaimed albums John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine, and iconic songs
such as "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine". After his
marriage to Yoko Ono in 1969, he changed his name to John Ono Lennon. Lennon
disengaged himself from the music business in 1975 to devote time to raising
his infant son Sean, but re-emerged with Ono in 1980 with the new album Double
Fantasy. He was murdered three weeks after its release.
Death of John
Lennon
The morning of
December 8, 1980 Annie Leibovitz visited the New York apartment of John Lennon
and Yoko Ono to do a photo shoot for the Rolling Stones. Annie Leibovitz originally
tried to just get a shot of Lennon without Yoko but Lennon insisted that she be
on the cover to. Annie would recall that, "nobody wanted her on the
cover". She then thought of trying to recreate the kissing scene from his
album cover, Double Fantasy an image that moved Annie Leibovitz very much.
"What is
interesting is she said she'd take her top off and I said, 'Leave everything
on' -- not really preconceiving the picture at all. Then he curled up next to
her and it was very, very strong. You couldn't help but feel that she was cold
and he looked like he was clinging on to her. I shot some test Polaroids
first," Leibovitz wrote a month later in Rolling Stone, "and when I
showed them to John and Yoko, John said, 'You've captured our relationship exactly'.
I looked him in the eye and we shook on it."
After taking the pictures, Leibovitz left their apartment at 3:30pm.
After the photo shoot, Lennon gave what would be his last interview, to San
Francisco DJ Dave Sholin, for a music show to be broadcast on the RKO Radio
Network. At 5:00 pm , Lennon and Ono left their apartment to mix the song "Walking
on Thin Ice" (an Ono song featuring Lennon on lead guitar), at the Record
Plant Studio.
Mark David Chapman
As Lennon and Ono walked to their
limousine, they were approached by several people seeking autographs, and among
them was Mark David Chapman. It was common for fans to wait outside the Dakota
to meet Lennon and ask for his autograph. Chapman, a 25-year-old security guard
from
The Lennons spent several hours at the
Record Plant studio before returning to the Dakota, at approximately 10:50 pm. Lennon had decided against dining out so he could be home in time
to say goodnight to his son, before going on to the Stage Deli restaurant with
Ono. Lennon liked to oblige any fans who had been waiting for long periods of
time to meet him with autographs or pictures, once saying during an interview
with BBC Radio's Andy Peebles on 6 December 1980 : "People
come and ask for autographs, or say 'Hi', but they don't bug you". The
Lennons exited their limousine on 72nd Street
Chapman later said he was incensed by
Lennon's "more popular than Jesus" remark, calling it blasphemy, and
the songs "God", and "Imagine", because of the incongruity
between the lyric "Imagine no possessions" and Lennon's personal
wealth. Chapman even sang the song with the altered lyric: "Imagine John
Lennon dead."
The Dakota's doorman, ex-CIA Agent Jose
Sanjenis Perdomo, and a nearby cab driver saw Chapman standing in the shadows
by the archway. Ono walked ahead of Lennon and into the reception area. As
Lennon passed by, he looked at Chapman briefly and continued on his way. Within
seconds, Chapman took aim directly at the center of Lennon's back and fired
five hollow-point bullets at him from a Charter Arms .38 Special revolver in
rapid succession. Based on statements made that night by NYPD Chief of
Detectives, James Sullivan, numerous radio, television, and newspaper reports
claimed at the time that, before firing, Chapman called out "Mr.
Lennon" and dropped into a "combat stance". Later court hearings
and witness interviews did not include either "Mr. Lennon" or the
"combat stance" description. Chapman has said he does not remember
calling out Lennon's name before he fired, but he confirmed taking a
"combat stance" in a 1992 interview with Barbara Walters. The first
bullet missed, passing over Lennon's head and hitting a window of the Dakota
building. Two of the next bullets struck Lennon in the left side of his back,
and two more penetrated his left shoulder. Lennon, bleeding profusely from
external wounds and also from his mouth, staggered up five steps to the
security/reception area, saying, "I'm shot, I'm shot". He then fell
to the floor, scattering cassettes that he had been carrying. The concierge,
Jay Hastings, first started to make a tourniquet, but upon ripping open
Lennon's blood-stained shirt and realizing the severity of his multiple
injuries, he covered Lennon's chest with his uniform jacket, removed his
blood-covered glasses, and summoned the police.
Dr. Stephan Lynn received Lennon in the
emergency room at Roosevelt Hospital
The surgeon also noted—as did other
witnesses—that at the moment Lennon was pronounced dead a Beatles song
("All My Loving") came over the hospital's sound system.
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band
formed in 
They built their reputation playing clubs
in 
The Beatles have had more number-one albums
on the British charts and sold more singles in the 
In My Life
by the Beatles
“There are
places I remember
All my life
though some have changed
Some
forever not for better
Some have
gone and some remain
All these
places had their moments
With lovers
and friends I still can recall
Some are
dead and some are living
In my life
I've loved them all.”
John Lennon
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