In October, we celebrated John Lennon’s birthday, remembering the musician who would have been 75 years old this year. But grief and memory being what they are, we can’t help but also remember his death, 35 years ago Tuesday. His killer, Mark David Chapman, remains in jail. Lennon has now been dead almost as long as he was alive. An entire generation has elapsed since then. The anniversary can’t help but make you wonder. What would he make of our time? Would he have reveled in electronica and hip-hop the same way he rejoiced in the B-52s? Would he have joined the Beatles “Anthology” project — 20 years ago! — Or dismissed it as “garbage”? Would he and the other Beatles have played together again? What about his sons, Julian and Sean? Or his politics? Who would John Lennon be now? We can mourn AND celebrate, of course. The mourning lies in the shock of the event, a man cut down in his prime just as he was reemerging as a public figure. Listen to Elton John’s “Empty Garden” or Paul Simon’s “The Late Great Johnny Ace” or his old partner Paul McCartney’s “Here Today” and you are once again thrust back into those dark days of December 1980, when time seemed to stop and the streets were filled with thousands of keening, sobbing followers.
John Lennon gave his last interview to Westwood One News on the day he died, 35 years ago on December 8, 1980. In his final interview, Lennon said he was content with his life.
