The Unjustified Assassination Of John Lennon Essay, Research Paper

The Unjustified Assassination of John Lennon On Super Bowl Sunday, December eighth, nineteen hundred eighty, the United States erupted in a wave of grief and shock upon the announcement of John Lennon s murder. There were three witnesses as Mark David Chapman jumped from the shadows. He went into a combat stance, and shot John Winston Lennon four times in the back. Chapman has claimed several reasons for killing Lennon, but none of them are legitimate. Lennon had touched the world in so many ways; he was a preacher of world peace, a musical genius, and most importantly, a husband and father of a five-year-old baby boy.John Lennon led many in a fight against the world for peace. In April, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, the charismatic couple demonstrated the concept of Bagism. Bagism was a movement that they proposed to promote self-worth and justice. It meant that everyone had their own way of life, and that what went on around an individual didn t affect their personal life. With his wife, Yoko Ono, Lennon promoted many charity concerts. For example, on August thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-two, they ran a charity concert in Madison Square Garden in New York City. The concert was filled with brother and sisterhood. Everyone joined in the final song Give Peace a Chance . The proceeds of the series of rock concerts that the Lennons preformed in all went to charities for the needy. The concerts were statements of peace and love, and to talk about social issues. In one movement to join the east and the west, they planted two trees next to each other so that they would intertwine and grow together. Yoko Ono planted one tree and John Lennon the other, with Ono symbolizing the East, and Lennon the West. Together, the Lennons used many crazy and eccentric methods to promote peace. Lennon was a musical genius who helped make Rock and Roll what it is today. The Beatles, the sensational rock group he led with co-song-writer Paul McCartney, were a major part in the publicity and birth of Rock and Roll. The entire group (consisting of John, Paul, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in nineteen hundred eighty-eight. John was not only a great music writer, but also an excellent pop artist who did much for the Rock and Roll community. After the break-up of The Beatles, he successfully recorded on his own. In nineteen hundred ninety-four, John Lennon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist for his works after the Beatles. The album Imagine was Lennon s dream for the world. It was his way of speaking his mind to the public. It was the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed of all Lennon s post-Beatles work. He also worked with others on their albums. Some of these artists were Ringo Starr, Elton John, and David Bowie, on his Fame album. Double Fantasy was Lennon s last piece of work. He wrote all of the music for it in three weeks. It was his starting over album. He was starting a new way of life, as portrayed in the song Just Like Starting Over . Lennon had said, I had no idea about doing music as a way of life until Rock and Roll hit me. That changed my life . . . . Little did he know that he d have an everlasting effect on the music industry, even after his death.

Before his assassination, Lennon was starting a new life with his wife, Yoko, and his five-year-old son, Sean. The Lennons were recently reunited after he left to be on his own for fourteen months. Sean was born on October ninth, nineteen hundred seventy-five. For the next five years, Lennon gave up music altogether to raise his son. He became the average househusband. Together, the Lennons were beginning a new life. They planned to cut back and eventually end their lives of drugs and alcohol in order to be better role models for their son. He released the song Cold Turkey for this occasion. John was more than a musician. He was an artist. A poet. A writer. A father. A husband. A visionary. A creative spirit. A sense of humor. A genuinely honest person who had nothing to hide. The writer of Imagine was all of these and more and his positive influence will always be remembered. The entire world mourned the death of John Lennon. It was an international tragedy that hit the United States and Britain especially hard. Fellow rock stars will always remember the influence of their friend. Elton John wrote the song Empty Garden as a tribute to his British companion. The only person not sorry about Lennon s death was his murderer, Mark David Chapman. Chapman, the man who changed music history by killing this legend, is due out on parole next year. According to various interviews with Chapman, he feels no pain for what he did. Apparently, he is oblivious to the rest of the world, who will be mourning this unimaginable loss to the music industry, and the world, for generations to come. It is sad to think what this man, who some say was a genius, could have produced for the world if he was still alive today.