John Lennon

It was tragic yes. I was really ashamed of myself that I did not care more at the time. I was having other problems right then. There was trouble all over at Maxs Kansas City. I had met a band member myself and I was sick of them bothering. It is too bad. He had been my favorite in the beginning. It was talent.

The tragedy of John Lennon's death is that he seemed to have finally found peace in his life.  He dealt with an unhappy childhood.  He had a miserable bout with his superstardom.  He spent 5 years in a self destructive lost weekend in the early 70's that saw the demise of his marriage with Yoko.  But in the last half of the 70's he reconciled with Yoko and was living a life of domestic bliss with their young child.  He had decided to return to making music after a 5 year hiatus and seemed poised to start the second act of his life with fresh optimism when he was shockingly gunned down.

The problem with fame the size of John Lennon or the other Beatles is it can develop some very twisted, insanely twisted fans. To be shot by someone who claimed to be a fan.....disheartening. Tragic. What a waste.

We lost not just a great Musician,but a man who had the courage to speak out for what he thought was right.He did not die of bad ahbits or misadventure,but was gunned down in front of his own home by a sicko.Tragic indeed!

I remember this quite vividly, even though I was only in the 4th grade or something. Apart from his music, a funny, deeply caring, artistic man with a lot of balls who told the truth about a lot of bad stuff going on in the world. And, aside from the fact that he was one of the true icons of rock in every aspect, anyone who makes both Strom Thurmond and J. Edgar Hoover's sh** lists is automatically Hall of Fame material in my book. Not perfect, but his like hasn't been seen since in rock. R.I.P.

I was watching "Help" the other day. Not a great movie, I guess, but plenty of good-natured, nostalgic fun. I'm not nearly the Beatles fan I was as a child, but it was ultimately depressing to watch this film, and remember Lennon, probably my favorite Beatle, dying in such a hideous, pointless manner. I'm essentially a pacifist, and against the death penalty, but I can't say I'd have shed any tears if the contemptible, slimy insect who killed Lennon had been pulled apart piece by piece by a vengeful mob. I know that's not a sentiment in keeping with my pacifism, but there are times when the enormity of it all...the sheer, utter waste of murder, and the multitude of other horrible things that we human beings do to each other...is just overwhelming. To call such as Mark Chapman, or anyone who kills another human in cold-blood, an animal denigrates animals.

This tops my personal list of most tragic. The poor guy was just living his life, tries to be personable and then POW...gone. I feel bad but much less so for people who had a hand in their own demise by playing with fire. John Lennon appeared to have found a certain amount of contentment and did NOT deserve to go this way.

His death still makes me angry. To think of what he could have done, but was killed for some freak's idea of fame. In his first wife's book, a psychic had predicted he was going to be shot in the mid-60s. When nothing happened after a year of worry, everyone breathed a huge sigh of releif.

Politically naive somewhat, Lennon wouldn't hurt anyone and had a great musical career- certainly a shame he was cut down early. . .if only the shooter had placed the bullet 4 feet to the left he would have been a hero. . .

I think one of the biggest trageties of his death is that he lived for peace and died by violence.