Music fans across the world are paying tribute to John Lennon on the 39th anniversary of his death. Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono posted a statement saying: “The death of a loved one is a hollowing experience. After 39 years, Sean, Julian and I still miss him”, she wrote. Ono, who formed a Plastic Ono Band together with Lennon, also called for legal reforms on possession of firearms. She posted a photo with a caption that read: “1.400.000 people have been killed by guns in the USA since John Lennon was shot on 8 December, 1980".
Music fans, meanwhile, inundated social media platforms with messages about Lennon, praising his skills and touting him as the most creative musician.
Lennon’s criticism of the US war in Vietnam almost got him deported from the United States and his songs about peace were adopted as anthems of the anti-war movement. People online lauded Lennon for his peace activism, saying the world would have been a different place if he had been alive.
RIP John Winston Lennon, murdered 39 years ago today in what was the JFK moment for my generation. An advocate of love and peace, I wonder what he’d make of the world we live in today.
Many people shared the experience of how they learned about Lennon’s death and how it greatly affected them.
The Beatles and Lennon are said to have influenced most of the popular and successful bands and musicians playing in various genres, ranging from rock to electronic music. Many music fans spoke about how Lennon’s songs had influenced their art and inspired them to get into music.
John Lennon was killed on 8 December 1980 by Mark Chapman, a fan who had stalked him for months. He shot the singer four times in the back as Lennon was returning home from a recording session with his wife. The musician was rushed into hospital, but numerous attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Mark Chapman, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, is still serving his sentence. Last year he was denied parole for the 10th time.