# Happy Birthday to John Lennon; Musical Genius, Cultural Icon and Peace Activist Would Have Been 70 on Saturday

- Link: https://indierockcafe.com/2010/10/happy-birthday-john-lennon-musical-genius-cultural-icon-peace-activist-70-today/
- Published: 2010-10-08T14:15:02-04:00
- Author: Max Hammer

A brilliant musician. One of music’s most genius songwriters ever. An activist for
peace. A husband and a father.

Tomorrow, Oct. 9th, **John Lennon** would have been 70 years old. Unfortunately,
Lennon’s family, and the world, were robbed of getting to see him grow old. The 
way he died, 30 years ago this December, was a shock to the world – murdered outside
his home in NYC by a deranged fan.

During the second half of the 1970’s, Lennon took a break from recording, spending
most of his time raising his son Sean, and taking his yacht on voyages to the south
Atlantic. In 1980, Lennon returned with a new album, _Double Fantasy_, that he wrote
and recorded with **Yoko Ono **(see IRC’s[ interview with Yoko](https://indierockcafe.com/2010/04/yoko-ono-talks-to-irc-about-her-dance-hits-musical-collaborations-sean-and-john-lennon-and-her-childhood/)
earlier this year).

![lennonremastered](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/article-1193108-
054185F4000005DC-899_468x403.jpg)

In the weeks following his tragic death, Lennon’s _Double Fantasy_ went on to become
a number one album with songs like “(Just Like) Starting Over”, “Woman” and “Beautiful
Boy”. In the days before _Double Fantasy_ was officially released, Lennon was enjoying
the early buzz and positive reviews from deejays, fans and critics. But also during
this time, his assassin, Mark David Chapman, was in New York, stalking Lennon, and
waiting outside the Dakota where John, Yoko and Sean lived, with a plan to carry
out a violent murder that shocked the world. On December 8, 1980, as Lennon returned
to the Dakota following a radio interview about the release of his new album, Chapman
emerged from the dark, cold night, walked up from behind, and shot John Lennon five
times.

But his shortened life was not wasted; he left us with volumes of wonderful music,
a significant contribution to the cause of world peace, and even drawings, paintings,
books and film. Putting aside for a moment the inarguable contributions of the other
Beatles, especially, of course, the second half of the celebrated Lennon-McCartney
songwriting duo, **Paul McCartney**, no other single musician (with the exception
of **Bob Dylan**) in the annuals of modern popular music wrote and recorded as many
memorable, successful and iconic songs as Lennon – songs that are recognized and
enjoyed by millions of people worldwide to this day.

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![doublefantasyremastered](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/51MoAO20KXL.
_SL500_AA300_.jpg "doublefantasyremastered")

John & Yoko's classic LP, Double Fantasy, Remastered, only $12.99

In addition to the dozens and dozens of songs Lennon wrote with McCartney during**
The Beatles’** reign of the pop music world for a solid seven years, Lennon is revered
for timeless songs like “Give Peace A Chance”, “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War is
Over)”.

While his life ended way too soon, John Lennon still lives on in the hearts of millions,
if not billions, of people from every corner of the earth. His music is as relevant
and timeless today as it was decades ago.

One can only imagine what the world would be today, and what music Lennon would 
have produced over the past three decades, had he been alive to celebrate his 70th
birthday. Thank you for all the magnificent music that will live on forever.

[“Revolution”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/revolution.mp3) – **
The Beatles**

“And Your Bird Can Sing” – **The Beatles**

[“Girl”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/girl.mp3) – **The Beatles**

“Imagine” –** John Lennon**

[“Ballad of John and Yoko”](https://indierockcafe.com/wp-content/uploads/ballad.mp3)–**
The Beatles

“Strawberry Fields Forever” – **The Beatles**

“Woman” – **John Lennon**

[“Happy XMas (War is Over)”](https://indierockcafe.com/2010/10/happy-birthday-john-lennon-musical-genius-cultural-icon-peace-activist-70-today/ http://amthenfm.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/john-lennon-and-yoko-ono-happy-xmas-war-is-over.mp3)–**
John Lennon & Yoko Ono**

On November 12th, the **30th Annual John Lennon Tribute **will take place at New
York’s Beacon Theater, and feature performances from artists like Jackson Browne,
Patti Smith and Cyndi Lauper. Proceeds from the tribute show will benefit the **
Playing for Change Foundation**, an organization whose mission is to promote peace
around the world.

#### ⌊johnlennonsignaturebox⌉⌊johnlennonsignaturebox⌉Limited Time Discount at Amazon for Lennon’s _Signature Box _collection

If you are a serious John Lennon fan, we propose that you may wish to grab your 
box set of John Lennon’s **remastered solo albums**. The sound quality is freaking
amazing. And, for full disclosure, if you buy _Signature Box_ via this website, 
we get a little bit of coin from it to help us pay for web hosting fees.

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