John Lennon 1940-1980

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. John Lennon challenged us to Imagine. Each man was shot dead for his troubles…(I considered not starting with that intro. Should I really give a musician who isn’t Bono any credit as a relevant human being? See Maddox for an honest, if biased, assessment of U2’s recent contribution to music).

On a personal level, I would have to say that I have enjoyed The Beatles' music ever since I was a little kid. Before I even knew anything about anything, I knew that The Beatles were good. Now, as an adult (technically) I have come to realize that I was wrong…they’re actually incredible! (But like I said, I didn’t really know anything yet)…I still listen to them almost every day…I’m amazed at how much they accomplished in a mere 7 years…Sometimes you have to wait that long for the next album with some of today’s “artists”…We are not likely to see the likes of them again any time soon…if ever.

In addition to being a great songwriter, John Lennon was also a man of peace. Ironically, it was on this day in 1980 that Mr. Lennon met a violent end at the hands of some guy with mental problems…who managed to get a gun somehow…but to this day has not yet managed to get a personality of his own. But enough about that waste of space.

So it came up at work that today that this was the day that Lennon was gunned down. One of the English fellows I work with mentioned it and someone said something like, “It doesn’t matter to me.” So I said, “It should only matter if you like good music.” (She doesn’t). She joked that she was too young to recall the event. We had a little chuckle, and then the English guy asked another lady if she remembered the day that John Lennon was killed. She said no, but she remembered Lady Di’s death…Then a bit of a discussion ensued. She said something like Lady Di’s done more than John Lennon…I wanted to let it slide, but I just couldn’t…I stood up and said, “What did you just say?”…trying not to be too confrontational…I think she realized that maybe she didn’t know what she was talking about…But she repeated her statement, only with less conviction this time. I wanted to give her a chance to convince me. I politely asked her if she wouldn’t mind explaining her point. I didn’t want to bully her. I just wanted to hear her opinion. She couldn’t think of anything to say and just gave up…
My opinion is that the “princess” was basically the equivalent of a rich housewife with a lot of time on her hands. And when she wasn’t busy banging “the help”, she did some highly publicized good deeds in lovely outfits and smiled a lot. Good for her. But now she’s gone. Sure she had quite a following and did a lot of charitable stuff, but I’ve never understood what the big deal was. Besides the storybook wedding that contributed to perpetuating the clichéd “little girl fantasy” that even a sham wedding should be a spectacular event, I’m not really sure what she actually did that demonstrated anything other than being born into a privileged lifestyle, doing good deeds to keep busy…Sure her death was the catalyst for the adventures of that adorable "Amélie" we fell in love with…but when it’s all said and done, Diana should be a footnote in the pages of human history. A tragic, cautionary tale perhaps.

But the Beatles? Come on. They were “bigger than Jesus” for Christ’s sake! Their music was written about 40 years ago and all their work was done in a 7 year span! That’s right, seven years! And I would argue that nothing produced today can even touch its greatness. I guess there will always be talk of the Yoko factor…Nobody’s perfect. They were in love though. Not some arranged marriage that started in spectacle and ended in misery, then twisted metal. When Lady Di…uhh…died, I actually didn’t feel anything…I did, however, feel really bad when JFK Jr. died for some reason…and his own negligence even caused his death! I felt for his surviving family members, who had already endured so much senseless death (and the shame of Chappaquittick)…It was totally avoidable and he took two other lives with him…but I still felt something…I remember footage of him as a little boy saluting his fallen father’s coffin…Perhaps I let sentimentality get the better of me. But Diana didn’t really do it for me in any way. Maybe I’m just still bitter that her storybook wedding pre-empted all of my favourite TV shows that day…and then ended in divorce...Perhaps I’m being too hard on her though…But it’s somewhat like comparing Leonardo Da Vinci to Oprah Winfrey…(Only Oprah earned her way to the top of her game, so I can respect that...I don't think Di ever held a real job). Did Diana get a raw deal? Maybe. Did she earn anything in her life? Nothing I can think of at the moment…Please let me know if I'm way off base here...

I have lost sight of my mission, but I think I'm back now…Basically John Lennon was a musical genius who was also an influential advocate of peace. He's been gone for a while, but I hope that he's never forgotten. (If you went to that "bigger than Jesus" link, you'll notice the controversy sparked by a simple statement about religion. John Lennon may have also created "the modern rock star", expected to have opinions on more than just music...which isn't necessarily always a good thing)...

So R.I.P. Mr. Lennon. I’ll listen to your music for the rest of my days. Thanks.

Also, R.I.P. Lady Di. It’s nothing personal. I wouldn't have even thought of you if your name hadn't been mentioned today. Don't worry, you'll be forgotten soon enough...(by me at least)...

Your Pal,

Zambo.