On this day 40 years ago, John Lennon was heading home to his New York apartment when the unthinkable happened. A fatal gun shot took his life on December 8th, 1980. His murderer, he-who-shall-not-be-named, shot him 4 times in the back, then waited for police to arrive while reading ‘Catcher In The Rye’. A surreal murder in every sense of the word. The biggest question on everyone’s mind was ‘Why?’

 

 

The answer is not simple. A troubled man who as a fan of Lennon, struggled with John’s ideals and believed him to be living a life of hypocrisy, then decided to end Lennon’s life because he was inspired by a fictional character’s ideals from a book. It’s not fair, it doesn’t really make sense, but one fact remains: The legendary Beatle John Lennon died suddenly and before his time 40 years ago. The world in shock, felt the impact.

 

 

From shooting to stardom as a pivotal member of The Beatles, to a successful solo career, John Lennon has been dubbed many things over the span of his career. A dreamer. An activist. A hypocrite. A legend. An inspiration. A rebel. A man ahead of his time. He certainly didn’t fit any one box, contributing to rock n’ roll in ways that other musicians and artists to this day take inspiration from. John Lennon remains undefinable because he never wanted to be defined as any one thing in the first place. He always preferred for you to just think for yourself and what you stand for instead.

 

 

The world misses Lennon not just because of his contributions through music, but because of what he stood for. His ideas still resonate with us today like they did 40 years ago. Imagine if he was still here today; what do you think he would say about the current state of the world? Do you think he’d be proud? He would probably be just as busy now as he was 40 years ago trying to make a lasting change. We need more people like John Lennon in the world, but if Lennon can leave a lasting impact with fans across generations, then there’s still hope for us yet. So thank you for what you left behind, and we’ll keep trying to make you proud John. A gun may have taken your life, but you are still very much alive.

 

 

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