Today was the 29th anniversary of the murder of John Lennon.
So incredibly hard to believe it has been so long, but if there is such a thing as true immortality, it is in an unparalleled musical legacy like this.
My dad gave me copies of 'Abbey Road' and 'Let It Be' for - I think - my 12th birthday, just as I was seriously getting into 'real' music (I remember seeing the Sgt Pepper album cover in our house when it came out, but I was too young to get why it was important).
And I remember dad waking me up that morning in 1980 with the news of Lennon's death. Teary-eyed, he was just shaking his head with the senselessness of it all.
Perhaps the saddest thing about losing John when we did was that he seemed to be so re-energized about the music he was making, and may have been on the verge of a new phase in his creative and personal life. Who knows what was really taken from us.
What he left, though, in addition to the music of a generation, was a lesson in humanity and a reminder that, truly, all you need is love.
I was saddened to hear recently about the passing of Thom Manno, guitar player for The Meetles, Eric Paulin's Beatles tribute band. I had the pleasure of running into the band during my stint on the subway, and here's what I wrote about them at the time, including a couple of video clips of the band. My sympathies go out to Thom's family and friends.
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