TMO Remembers John Lennon Who Died 20 Years Ago Today

Today is the 20th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon, guitarist/singer/songwriter of The Beatles. John was shot on December 8th, 1980. I was 14 years old when John died and I had just gotten very into the Beatles about 3 months before that. My mother had told my grandparents that I wanted Beatles albums for Christmas, which they then found were in short supply. The managed to find me a copy of Abbey Road. I had been a fan for some time before that, but my own growing interest in playing music had ignited a passion for the pop combo.

Some of my favorite Beatles memories include listneing to each "new" album as I got it, finding out about the original Butcher Album that my brother-in-law had hurled into a state park after finding his entire collection had melted in his car trunk (long story), listening to "Sun King" without any intrumentation, and listneing to some of their songs ("Strawberry Fields," "Sheis A Woman," and "I Am The Walrus,") without George Martinis arrangements. If you ever get the chance to hear them like that, do so.

I shanit pretend that Johnis death hit me as hard as it did the millions of fans who were of the previous generation, but 20 years later I sttll find myself with tears in my eyes and a lump the size of an iMac DV in my throat when I think about it. There are few things that have brought as much joy and fun to my life as listening to The Beatles, and for that I shall always be grateful. Perhaps I speak for many of us when I say that the phrase "It was 20 years ago today" has a whole new meaning. I wish it didnit.