John Lennon

John Lennon Dies at 40

Why? Why? Why?

John Lennon is dead at the age of 40. Why?

New York police say that a 'screwball with a gun' shot Lennon seven times in the chest as he and wife Yoko stepped out of their limousine to enter their home in the posh New York area known as the Dakota, across the street from Central Park.

John and Yoko were on their way back home from the Record Plant in New York City where Lennon and producer Jack Douglas were putting the finishing touches on a new single John planned on mastering Tuesday (Dec. 9). John got out of the car and headed for the entrance to the couple’s apartment when the assailant, (whom witnesses said was crouching in the archway of the Dakota), a white male described to be 'a pudgy kind of man' 35 to 40 years old with brown hair, opened fire.

Police say that Lennon was conscious when they put him in the squad car, and apparently the last words this immortal musician ever said was 'Yes, I am John Lennon,' when asked by an officer if he was indeed John Lennon.

John was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Dr. Steven Linn said that the hospital staff gave Lennon a transfusion and tried everything possible to revive the former Beatle, but it was all in vain. Lennon's wounds were too serious for anything to be done.

When something like this happens, it makes me wonder sometimes if there really is any kind of justice in this world, or why God would let something like this happen. Lennon had just released a new album, Double Fantasy, after five years of virtual seclusion on his upper New York farm where John spent his time raising his son Sean. It appeared as though Lennon had found a new sense of meaning in rock and roll, and was about to make a comeback in the world of music that he shunned for so many years. Fate had other plans.

Lennon was born in Liverpool, England October 9, 1940 where he was raised by an aunt and uncle. He met Paul McCartney in 1956 at a Wootton Parish Church Festival and the following year, the two formed a band called the Nurk Twins. Later,. the two formed the Quarrymen that included McCartney's friend. George Harrison. In 1960 they formed the Beatles and two years later, Ringo Starr joined the group replacing Pete Best. The rest of course is history.

Lennon married his first wife, Cynthia Powell in 1962, and the two had a son named Julian. They divorced in '68, and the following year he married Yoko, whom many blamed for the Beatles breaking up, though Lennon claimed in a recent Playboy interview he was ready to leave the group four years earlier.

There is no telling what sort of an impact Lennon's death will have on this country or the world for that matter. Perhaps Lennon foretold his own future when he stated in the Playboy article, "It's better to fade away like an old soldier than to burn out. I don't appreciate worship of dead..."

John Lennon, one of the greatest songwriters the world has ever seen. He wasn't worshiped, he was loved. It will be that way forever.