Remembering John Lennon

Dateline interviewed different people who knew, admired, and crossed paths with John Lennon. Below, are excerpts of their remembrances of the music legend, as told to "Dateline."

How did John Lennon—the man and the music— touch your life?

Max Weinberg, drummer, Bruce Springstreen and the E Street band; Max Weinberg Seven
"I think were always attracted to John Lennon because he was someone who truly made a difference.  Whether you liked him on the Beatle level or the politically-active level— the songwriting level, the cultural level, he was someone who always spoke his mind, was always honest. And if you remember back to the early Beatle pictures, he was always the one with his tie askew or his jacket unbuttoned. He was different. He was an iconoclast.  He didn’t fit the mold.  And in so many ways, he broke the mold."

Jane Pauley, Beatles fan, who reported Lennon's murder the morning after on the Today Show
"The Beatles came to Indianapolis where I grew up, to the State Fair Coliseum.  It was levitating with screaming, preadolescent girls of whom I was one. It was just packed.  And, we bought those records en masse.  We just absorbed this group.  It’s different than Elvis— Elvis kinda belonged to everybody.  In a way, The Beatles, I thought were ours.  “We” being anybody that was 14 years old, give or take 7 years, when The Beatles arrived in America. [At the time Lennon was shot] nobody thought that The Beatles getting back together. But imagine, to use his word, what was ahead for us.  Lennon really had re-emerged as the musician with gifts for us. And so short— it was so brief, his return. When my first son learned to count (and I don’t remember being responsible for this), he'd go, 'One, two, three, four, can I have a little more.  Five six, seven, eight, nine ten, I love you.' Boy, they saw 'Yellow Submarine' a lot. And now my children do not acknowledge that The Beatles are mine. They’re universal now."

Viewer e-mails
When the Beatles first came to America, I was 10 years old, in the 4th grade. My older sister and I begged our Mom to take us to see them. And she did! Three years in a row we went, to Chicago, Kansas City and our hometown of St. Louis. I remember waiting outside Busch Stadium after the show trying to catch a glimpse of them leaving in the limosine. In Kansas City, our seats were behind a TV camera - I was one of the "hysterically crying" fans they showed on the news. And my ,om still has the movies she took on her now-ancient Brownie movie camera! Oh, how we loved them, and still do. I think we all died a little the day John was killed. The rose colored glasses came off. Yes, life went on, but it was never quite the same. And all these years later, I still ache at the loss of what could have been. The world still misses you, John. Peace. --Patty Ernst, St. Charles, Mo.

I was only 6 years old when John died, but having grown up in a home where the Beatles were loved, and often played, I was still very aware of what his death meant and was very sad. I remember my aunts going to local candle lit viguals in near by parks in Los Angeles and wanting to go. I am still a huge Beatles and John fan, who throughout the years have gotten to know the man I could not meet through his works both written and painted. His memory and legacy will live on longer than I think his killer intended, and the "stardom" his killer sought after, died that night with John Lennon. John... you will always be loved and missed.... --your friend and fan Jennifer Green

While I was too young to realize what the world lost on that tragic day, I continue to feel the emotion from the songs that John Lennon sang, and the words of his solo career. I feel that his words are timeless, and almost prophetic to his own life. While the world is constantly changing, the respect for a life taken too soon will remain steadfast. We were robbed of a man with a spirit and an influence that was contagious, and for that, I am forever sorry. --Elaine Grimes, Cary, N.C.

The loss of this man still hurts as much today as it did 25 years ago. In 1980, I was 17 and had been first experiencing the Beatle albums slowly and chronologically since the previous summer. I found out John died the morning of the 9th on my way to classes. I strove to complete my Beatles and Lennon album collection ASAP, and it took nearly 6 months as the stores just couldn't keep them all in stock for that many months after. As much as the Beatle catalog influences me and still inspires my creativity, John's "Plastic Ono Band" album truly revealed his individual genius. This album showed the true soul of the man, raw and uncensored. This album was him letting go of of The Beatle period and releasing his lifes pain. John will always have an impact on me, may we never forget his message. --Pete Gentile, Hudson N.H. 

The day John Lennon was taken from us I had just turned 10. It came across the bottom of our TV screen. At that time, I felt as my life ended also. I have never felt that same kind of emptiness and I hope never too. John was my inspiration and a big part of my soul. As long as his music is still with me, I continue to live with the hope that maybe one day the world will learn. --Star Dixon, Mesa, Ariz.

Of course John Lennon was a phenomenal human being. I learned to not take life so serious from him or not to fret the little stuff. For about 10 years, I could do a fairly good likeness of him. I even had a Asian girlfriend named Oko. It was great to go out and turn peoples heads briefly. It's about the music and his uncanny ability to be such an interesting person in our time of history. The idols of today seem rather manufactured in some warehouse in Hollywood and stamped "Made in China." John Lennon came out of the Post WWII era at a time when the world really could appreciate his unique ability to coin a lyric and set it to a great beat. --Thomas Nelson, West Jordan, Utah

When I was at the tender age of 13, I fell in love with John Lennon. To this day, 42 years later, I love him still. Not in the way I love my husband and son, but love nonetheless. From the first time I heard 'I want to hold your hand' in 1964, I knew something magical was happening. Lennon went on to be one of the most gifted song writers of modern day. The music surely died on December 8, 1980. --Melody, Richmond, Ill.

I am only 25 years old, but I am a big Beatles fan! I was raised on the music and I think Mark David Chapman was a coward. He robbed the world of the greatest singer/song writer/person we will ever see. John was right when he said "All you need is love."--Christine, Council Bluffs Iowa

I can trace the loss of my innocence to the moment I saw that terrible headline in the newspaper: "Beatle John Gunned Down." As a child, I was drawn to the combination of acid wit, candor and lyricism that made John Lennon stand apart from most other songwriters. He served as a model of what honesty in art could achieve. That headline ripped my heart out. If I had never seen the headline, I might have stayed a child forever. Even today, almost 25 years later, I can feel a little part of me die each time I remember seeing the news. But then I'll play one of his songs and damn if I don't feel like I can march right out and change the world. Thanks, John, old friend. --Craig Belanger, Avondale, Ariz.

I was a true Beatle fan. But, John Lennon was my favorite as he had that truly wicked sense of humor that I admired even as a 12 year-old. I saw the Beatles at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville Florida. My late father drove 5 screaming girls to the show. I was working on cruise ships in the Caribbean when I saw the newspaper that he was dead. I cried. --Sharen Repetto, Jacksonville, Florida

I was living in Longview, Wa. When I heard the news of his death. It was devastating. I was hooked on the Beatles from the moment i heard "Love Me Do". John & Yoko's "Give Peace A Chance" was the greatest proposal for a solution to the war in Vietnam. I believe he touched most everyone's life of my generation and will continue to have influence on many more lives for many years to come. --Mark Coy, Decatur, Ala.

Driving to work the next morning (Cleveland Ohio), Heard it on the radio and thought the DJ was into some sick kind of joke until I realized he was very emotional. I was stunned. Took the day off. Been into music since I was 9 (born 1953), and lived the British invasion. Beatles today are still number 1 in my book. --Jeff Masch, Aurrora, Ohio

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