New York (AP) – Much in the area around the posh Dakota apartment complex on the Upper West Side in New York is still reminiscent of John Lennon.
Photos of the Beatles singer hang in shops and restaurants, a tree was knitted with wool in his honor and fans and musicians often meet at the “Strawberry Fields” memorial in Central Park, built by the widow Yoko Ono, who still lives in Dakota sing Beatles songs together. Right outside the Dakota, Lennon was murdered 40 years ago on Tuesday, December 8th.
Mark David Chapman, a then 25-year-old from Texas, fired the fatal shots. Chapman waited in front of the Dakota with an edition of JD Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” and first had a record signed by Lennon. When the singer passed him again a few hours later, Chapman shot. “I was hit”, Lennon’s last words are said to have been – shortly afterwards the singer dies in the hospital. Chapman remains seated in front of the Dakota until the police arrest him.
The news of the death of Lennon – a cult music figure and avowed pacifist – causes shock and horror worldwide. “It was like waking up from a dream and I’ve never been a kid since,” said son Sean Lennon, then five years old, later in an interview.
Lennon was just 40 years old at the time and had become a cult figure for a whole generation. His time as a singer and songwriter for the Beatles, his solo albums and his art happenings fascinated and polarized millions of people around the world. At the age of 15 he had founded his first band in Liverpool, then he met Paul McCartney and it became the Beatles – those with songs like “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Help!” or “All You Need Is Love” celebrated worldwide success and wrote music history.
In 1970 the Beatles split up, and Lennon is already more interested in his newlywed wife Yoko Ono and a solo career. The family life together in New York was dominated by music, art and peace activism until Lennon’s death.
The now 65-year-old murderer Chapman was sentenced to “20 years to life” in prison for the act and has been in custody ever since, currently in a prison in upstate New York. He has already applied for parole eleven times and has been refused eleven times – also because widow Yoko Ono spoke out against it every time. Chapman can apply for parole again in two years at the earliest. He was sorry for the act, Chapman said according to media reports this year. “I have no excuse. It was about fame for myself.”
Lennon remains a cult figure revered by millions of fans worldwide. In his honor, a few weeks ago, on the day the musician would have celebrated his 80th birthday, even the top of the New York Empire State Building shone blue and a peace sign could be seen on the building.
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