John Lennon was a founder of and singer in the popular band, The Beatles. He produced lyrics that have been remembered worldwide for decades. Extremely popular in the 1960s, the Beatles consistently produced number one hits. The Cavern Club, where they got their start performing nightly, has become one of Liverpool’s top tourist attractions.
Elliott (1998) describes John Lennon’s life and times, and his move to New York, with his wife Yoko Ono and their son. On December 8th, 1980, Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman outside of his apartment building and later pronounced dead in hospital. After Lennon’s death Yoko Ono elected not to hold a memorial service for him; instead asking fans for a moment of silence to honor his memory (Elliott, 1998).
In cities across America, vigils were held to commemorate the life and work of Lennon. In New York's Central Park, a crowd of more than 100,000 joined together in a minute of silence to remember Lennon. A crowd of approximately 30,000 people joined in prayer and sang "Give Peace a Chance" outside the St. George's Hall church on Lime Street in Liverpool after the musician passed away. In Toronto, 35,000 people gathered in the snow for a candlelight vigil. Radio stations everywhere played the Beatles and Lennon (Kendall, 2003). Lennon’s death has become symbolically known as “the death of the sixties” (Elliott, 1998). Lennon’s memory is still with the millions of fans who followed his musical career.
Sources
Elliott, A (1998). Celebrity and Political Psychology: Remembering Lennon. International Society of Political Psychology. Political Psychology, 19 (4). pp. 833-852.
Kruse, R (2003). Imagining Strawberry Fields as a Place of Pilgrimage. The Royal Geographical Society . Blackwell Publishing. 35 (2). pp. 154-162.
By Melissa Jacobson
