It was twenty-seven years ago today that John Lennon was shot four times in the back by Mark Chapman. As my blogging years advance, it becomes harder to write these annual-type entries without repeating myself. As a result, I'm blatantly ripping off this entry I wrote four years ago today.
I was quite young at the time, but I remember a brief discussion in grade one that one of the Beatles had died. I knew the Beatles were famous and that this was a significant event, but only years later would I realize how significant it was.
A brilliant, peaceful man, it's terribly tragic that he'd be murdered at the young age of 40. Without a doubt my favourite Beatle, his songs had the most depth and sounded cooler than any of Paul's. His solo work was awesome as well and he always had a special relationship with the city of Toronto and Canada. He came here in May 1969 promoting world peace, praised Canada as the first nation to embrace his campaign for peace, played his first live performance outside of the Beatles at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival at Varsity Stadium and wrote and recorded "Give Peace A Chance" in Montreal.
Chapman has thus far cheated us of twenty-seven years of John Lennon's music. That really, really sucks.