On a Monday not unlike any other on December eighth John Lennon was shot 5 times by Mark David Chapman, fatally wounding him. On the Anniversary of his departure from this world, it is important to remember him for his contributions to the world’s culture.
John Lennon was the founder and de facto early leader of the Beatles, often considered one of, if not the, greatest bands of all time. The Beatles had a very large impact culturally, being so popular from 1963-1966 that the term beatlemania was coined as a way to refer to the intense international frenzy of fans and support particularly seen in their performances— with one concert reportedly having over 55,000 fans present. Furthermore, the Beatles were also known as pioneers in the rock industry in their later years due to their use of experimental techniques, instruments, and genres of music. This can be seen especially in the album Revolver, where they experimented with artificial double tracks and unconventional instruments, incorporating classical instruments in Elenore Rigby and adding Indian instruments such as the sitar to Love You To.
Another reason to remember John Lennon is for his impact as an activist on the front lines of the peace movement. Lennon actively opposed the Vietnam war through his music and other projects. During his solo career after the end of the Beatles, he and his wife, Yoko Ono, produced multiple songs such as Give Peace A Chance and Imagine that became anthems for the anti-war movement in the United States. He also performed protests like the ‘bed in for peace’ and the billboard protest, the latter of which was a series of billboards with the lyric: War is over if you want it. This was a lyric in another anti-war song entitled Happy X-Mas (War is over). Even before John Lennon entered his solo career, he produced with the Beatles certain songs in protest of other problems. A notable example is the song Taxman, which was a way for the bBeatles to protest against exorbitant taxes in the United Kingdom.
As a final note, John Lennon’s ashes were spread in New York’s Central Park where the Strawberry Fields memorial can be found.
