Steely Dan Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 From my daily History Channel Email: December 8: General Interest 1980 : John Lennon shot John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, the rock group that transformed popular music in the 1960s, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City. The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day and voluntarily remained at the scene of the shooting until he was arrested by police. For a week, hundreds of bereaved fans kept a vigil outside the Dakota--Lennon's apartment building--and demonstrations of mourning were held around the world. John Lennon was one half of the singing-songwriting team that made the Beatles the most popular musical group of the 20th century. The other band leader was Paul McCartney, but the rest of the quartet--George Harrison and Ringo Starr--sometimes penned and sang their own songs as well. Hailing from Liverpool, England, and influenced by early American rock and roll, the Beatles took Britain by storm in 1963 with the single "Please Please Me." "Beatlemania" spread to the United States in 1964 with the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand," followed by a sensational U.S. tour. With youth poised to break away from the culturally rigid landscape of the 1950s, the "Fab Four," with their exuberant music and good-natured rebellion, were the perfect catalyst for the shift. The Beatles sold millions of records and starred in hit movies such as A Hard Day's Night (1964). Their live performances were near riots, with teenage girls screaming and fainting as their boyfriends nodded along to the catchy pop songs. In 1966, the Beatles gave up touring to concentrate on their innovative studio recordings, such as 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, a psychedelic concept album that is regarded as a masterpiece of popular music. The Beatles' music remained relevant to youth throughout the great cultural shifts of the 1960s, and critics of all ages acknowledged the songwriting genius of the Lennon-McCartney team. Lennon was considered the intellectual Beatle and certainly was the most outspoken of the four. He caused a major controversy in 1966 when he declared that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus," prompting mass burnings of Beatles' records in the American Bible Belt. He later became an anti-war activist and flirted with communism in the lyrics of solo hits like "Imagine," recorded after the Beatles disbanded in 1970. In 1975, Lennon dropped out of the music business to spend more time with his Japanese-born wife, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean. In 1980, he made a comeback with Double-Fantasy, a critically acclaimed album that celebrated his love for Yoko and featured songs written by her. On December 8, 1980, their peaceful domestic life on New York's Upper West Side was shattered by 25-year-old Mark David Chapman. Psychiatrists deemed Chapman a borderline psychotic. He was instructed to plead insanity, but instead he pleaded guilty to murder. He was sentenced to 20 years to life. In 2000, New York State prison officials denied Chapman a parole hearing, telling him that his "vicious and violent act was apparently fueled by your need to be acknowledged." He remains behind bars at Attica Prison in New York State. John Lennon is memorialized in "Strawberry Fields," a section of Central Park across the street from the Dakota that Yoko Ono landscaped in honor of her husband. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Did he publish the copyrighted works of others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson_golden2002 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 It was 28 years ago today....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I am a fan. Huge loss. I miss him. Just one of those stupid totally senseless things. Looking back, 12/8/80 was kind of a personal jump-the-shark moment for me. I was ten years old. I remember thinking it was so cool that we were in this whole new decade and there seemed to a lot of optimism for the 80's. Then Lennon got shot and it was a big shock to me. I know it's just a coincidence, but the rest of the 80's turned out to be a complete disaster for me personally and I can't help but remember this event as a bad omen. I hope you get shiv'd to death and rot in hell, Philip Michael Thomas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wacka Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 A friend worked at the Cavages (record store chain for the youngsters) HQ in Cheektowaga. They had a program where inmates at Attica could buy albums from them. Chapman ordered all the Lennon albums. The boss there said no F'n way they would send them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Did he publish the copyrighted works of others? What are you getting at Cincy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 In the film, and in the longer, original booklet, Paul McCartney when in uniform sits behind a desk with the words "I was" in front. Above his head there is a cross of flags. Crosses bring to mind ideas of gravestones, and death. Another picture is of John Lennon in the tour ticket shop, with the words "The Best Way To Go Is By M & D Co" to his right. "M & D Co." is said to be the initials of a British funeral director - but this is a tenuous link. What does remain scary is that the company's initials - M D C - are also the initials of Mark David Chapman, John Lennon's murderer. Magical Mystery Tour was released as an album on December 8th 1967 - 13 years later, to the exact day on December 8th 1980, John Lennon was murdered. Weird. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I am a fan. Huge loss. I miss him. Just one of those stupid totally senseless things. Looking back, 12/8/80 was kind of a personal jump-the-shark moment for me. I was ten years old. I remember thinking it was so cool that we were in this whole new decade and there seemed to a lot of optimism for the 80's. Then Lennon got shot and it was a big shock to me. I know it's just a coincidence, but the rest of the 80's turned out to be a complete disaster for me personally and I can't help but remember this event as a bad omen. I hope you get shiv'd to death and rot in hell, Philip Michael Thomas! Yeah! Death to Phillip Michael Thomas! Wait.....who? Is he related to Mark David Chapman? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 28 years of great music missed? You haven't listened to much of his post-Beatles work, have you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molson_golden2002 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 28 years of great music missed? You haven't listened to much of his post-Beatles work, have you? Since 1980? Paul McCartney has been down right awful in the last couple of decades. Not all that much from the other blokes either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Yeah! Death to Phillip Michael Thomas! Wait.....who? Is he related to Mark David Chapman? He played Tubbs in the original Miami Vice (i.e. not the movie. Miami Vice was a TV show well before you were born, in case you didn't know). On those grounds alone, he should probably be killed...but I don't think he had anything to do with Lennon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 He played Tubbs in the original Miami Vice (i.e. not the movie. Miami Vice was a TV show well before you were born, in case you didn't know). On those grounds alone, he should probably be killed...but I don't think he had anything to do with Lennon. Aw, come on! Just ask yourself what effect did MDC have on the 80's. Now ask yourself what effect did PMT have. You can see that they were working together. Don't get me started on Jim J. Bullock and Sammy Hagar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Did he publish the copyrighted works of others? Sorry Cincy, fixed the attribution to the article. Didn't think anyone would possibly think I wrote that. What are you getting at Cincy? He's saying I'm a plagiarist. He played Tubbs in the original Miami Vice (i.e. not the movie. Miami Vice was a TV show well before you were born, in case you didn't know). On those grounds alone, he should probably be killed...but I don't think he had anything to do with Lennon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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