John Lennon was an amazing man and truly unique in his work, life, humor and honesty.

If you can get past the musical genius, which is mindblowing in itself, you learn about what a wonderous man he was. He had his faults, like all of us, yet his were on display for the world to see. I am only 30 years old and I've been alive almost as long as he has been gone, yet the Beatles and especially John, have become a huge part of my life.

I have read tons of books, collect memorabilia and somehow manage to incorporate them into every aspect of my life. John and his music make me happy. There is pure joy from learning about him, listening to him and seeing him. I often wonder what he would think about our world today, and that he would be such a great force of humanitarianism in this strange time. As Larry Kane put it so eloquently, John wasn't so much against anything, as he was FOR something.

His message is timeless: "All we are saying, is give peace a chance." A chance, a small opportunity to change the world. John Lennon was a visionary in many aspects. I am proud to be a Lennon fan, and feel his truth lives on in all his fans.

If you love John, you love his message and are a better person for it.

I used to think that the Beatles were just a wildly popular band from the '60s, a craze fueled by a new sound in rock and roll...and one that, today, sounded dated and boring. I never really listened to their music; when it was on the radio or somewhere, I tuned it out, wondering why anyone would be interested in music that was so 'simple.' Even when I first saw Yellow Submarine, I scratched my head, asking: who would like this stuff?

It is, I hope, a sign of my maturity that I can look back on that and see just how wrong I was. I'm still not a huge Beatles fan, but I recognize their contribution to music. But mostly, I've become enraptured by John Lennon. A man of such compelling character and stature...a man who admitted his faults (such a rare thing) and knew his weaknesses, and yet rose above them. He was a wealthy man...but he was still a 'working class hero.' He was an abuser of drugs and alcohol...but his wit and his music and philosophy was more sober than most people I know. He was a dreamer, but a realist; a genius but a humble one; an artistic giant, but the most common man you could hope to meet.

I was born a year before he died, so I don't remember it at all, but I've begun to mourn his passing recently, if belatedly. As a budding musician, and an accomplished poet/writer, I know that Lennon will be a continuing inspiration for me, now that I've been formally introduced to him (thanks to your wonderful book!).

I would say that I have come to idolize John Lennon, but I know he wouldn't want that. Instead, I've come to think of him as a friend I'll never meet, but have the rest of my life to get to know better. I'm reminded of a Buddhist anecdote: a student once asked the Buddha "Are you a man, or a God?" To which the Buddha replied simply: "I am awake." I think Lennon would have liked that, and I think he would have said something similar.

Thank you, Mr. Kane, for giving me a new perspective on a man I may have otherwise overlooked.

We love you John!

JP

When I was 11 I was introduced to John Lennon's music and the first song I ever heard was Imagine. It gave me chills. I never heard someone sing so beautifully. So, I looked into him and his music and now there isn't a day that goes by that I dont play at least 2 songs and just zone out listening.

To me he was more than just a singer, though he had such a beautiful way with words and passions. I once had a dream that I was standing alone on a street and I saw someone walk by and I looked closer and it was John. All I could get out was "hello" and he just smiled, kept walking, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I could never imagine being able to do or say things the way he did. I am now 18 years old and I think John Lennon has been the biggest influence in my life. There never was, and I don't think there ever will be, anyone that could speak to the world and live on for so long like he did.

That's all I have to say.

I grew up listening to the Beatles. They made up the musical fabric of my childhood. I recall crooning Eight Days a Week at age 6 but for some reason thought that it was "Ain't Day Da Wee." My mom corrected me and I actually received a lyrics book the following Christmas. That came in handy. That book was to begin my extensive collection of Beatles paraphanalia.

I was 7 years old when John Lennon died. It was the saddest day of my short little existence. My mom told me when I woke up the morning after it happened. She hugged me and we cried. She told me what an important man he was and I believed her. I skipped school and listened to Double Fantasy.

I get a little sad every year on December 8th. I always think of what could have been had we not lost this musical giant.

I go to the Dakota annually when I visit my brother in NYC. It still gives me goosebumps.

There will never be another John Lennon. Thankfully his music and stories live on.

Hi Everyone!!!

My name is Amy and even though I was born seven years after the death of the great John Lennon, I feel as though I share a special connection with him.

In August of 2005, I went to New York City for the first time to see the Dakota Building and the Imagine memorial. I was driven to tears as I realized how much I miss John every day.

I fell in love with the Beatles ever since I saw the Beatles Anthology on television in 1996 when I was nine years old. I saw Paul McCartney in concert in October 2005, which was fantastic. John Lennon will always be my favorite Beatle.

I am seeing Sean Lennon in concert in December 2006.

And I love Julian Lennon so much!!!

Much peace and love,
~Amy
///O-O\\\

I'm 54 and at age 12 on my birthday I remember getting introduced to music on The Ed Sullivan Show featuring the Beatles.

Never before did I experience anything like it. If there hadn't been a John Lennon, there would not have been The Beatles.

I grew up in their music, buying all they put out. I have a rare album titled The Four Seasons VS The Beatles and the 45 with 4 singles on it. Never has there been an artist that could deliver such words in music.

The song, I Am The Walrus, John stated here's a little tune that will entertain you for 100 yrs. How right he was, but their music will be around for as long as this world is.

I thank God for John and what he has given us all. I can lay down at night or wake up in the morning hearing his song Dear Prudence and somehow that seems to make these stressful days better.

Thank you John Lennon and thank you Yoko for being that big part of John's life.

I was 16 years old in 1964 when my mother won a ticket to the Beatles concert and since it was close to my sister's birthday, she gave it to her.

We were both avid Beatles fans, reading everything we could about John, Paul, George & Ringo, waiting for the next song on the radio and begging our father to let us listen to the stations that played their music.

I was upset to miss the trip but went with my sister and parents to the aiport and happily got on the plane when someone did not show up. I feel it was the luckiest day of my life, because I got on that WFUN plane to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville 9/11/64. That was our first plane trip, it was a charter flight of 100 lucky listeners and the WFUN DJ's.

Joe Johnson was nice enough to send me a DVD recently of a newsclip of the contest winners boarding that plane.

Reading Ticket to Ride brought back so many memories and I can't wait to read Lennon Revealed.

John Lennon was such a caring person and he lives on in his songs that I still listen to them with my sons.

In May of 1975 I played music and sang in the parking lot behind the WFIL Radio studio as part of the "Helping Hands" fundraiser.

While on a break, I went inside and climbed the stairs to the office control room area.

Just then, someone was leaving. While the electric door was closing, I decided to walk in and have a look. There at the opposite end of thee office area, several desks away, was John Lennon slowly walking around and playing his harmonica.

He finally wound his way in front of where I stood and stopped playing.

I remember being awestruck, yet telling him "you're pretty good on that thing, can you come outside and sit in with our band?" He cocked his head to one side, and said "are you kidding? I'm here to do interviews, take pledges on the air."

About that time someone called him to the studio; I told him our band did the Lee Dorsey tune Ya-Ya, which he and Harry Neilsson had released on an album. He seemed genuinely interested about this and said back to me "Oh yeah?" then we both turned to leave.

Larry, you did it again!

John is a big reason why I am a musician.

He was real. Blunt. Honest!

When I first saw the IMAGINE moasic in Central Park, I cried because John was a treasure.

I am proud of who I am and I have to thank John for inspiring me.

I want to inspire others like he did.

Together, we really can change the world.

IMAGINE!!!

I was at the vigil for John Lennon that was held in Central Park.

While waiting for the 10 minutes of silence, they played through loud speakers songs by the Beatles and Lennon in the following order:

In My Life
Across the Universe
Dream#9
Watching the Wheels
Norwegian Wood
You've Got to Hide Your Love
All You Need Is Love
Give Peace A Chance

Then 10 minutes of silence for the greatest rock and roller of our time.

Imagine finished the set and every one joined hands and sang.

As we left the park flurries of snow started falling.

It was like a sign from John, smiling and crying snow flurries.

It still haunts me to this day.

I finished the book Lennon Revealed and I really enjoyed it so much.

I read in the book that Mr. Lennon was very forgiving and very caring towards people.

Thank you so much Mr. Lennon for your wonderful beautiful music that is so timeless and loving; your memory and your soul will live on in my heart forever. And, I know that you are looking down from Heaven too see all the fans that remember you as a songwriter and as a friend to many people.

And thank you for making me a good and forgiving person towards others.

I miss you so much Mr. Lennon; you are my favorite Beatle, always and forever.

Rest In Peace :)

It was 1964 and the country wasn't over the assassination of JFK.

We as a nation needed something to look forward to. There was still the threat of war with USSR and Cuba. We, as children, were still playing "duck and cover" under our school desks and in the hallways of our schools.

We heard the music of The Beatles on the radio. In my area it was WFIL and WIBG AM radio. We didn't have FM radio at that time, or at least we (I) didn't know of it at that time. But Ed Sullivan was the show in my house and it was always music from my parent’s time and Western European brothers jumping around the stage. Oh, and the mouse, not Mickey but the Topo Gigio. And there was Lassie and the Cartwrights.

Most shows, if not all, were black and white. I remember all my sister’s friends’ friends sitting around the living room watching, my mother saying, "that one has a devilish look in his eyes", meaning Paul. How Ringo looked like he was having "such a good time" in the back. My father sitting in his chair looking like he had no idea what was going on and wondering what was the big deal.

I remember wanting to grow my hair long but being told that, "no son of mine will have long hair as long as they live in my house." Not a hip mother. My sister said it was just a "fad and nobody I know is letting their hair grow."

I knew when I first saw them it was NOT a fad and this was a breath of fresh air to the youth of the country and to music. Motown was great. I liked The Temptations, Four Tops, and Gladys Knight and the Pips, but it was time to get out from under the doo-wop cloud and leave it and my sister’s music behind.

I remember the huge deal that was the build-up on the radio when Hey Jude was coming out. "Only 3 more weeks till The Beatles new single Hey Jude is aired hear on WFIL" said Dr. Don Rose the morning DJ. When the day came it was, to me, the most unbelievable song I had ever heard. There was no doubt in my mind that The Beatles would go on for ever.

When they broke up it felt like the music world had just died for me. What will I do without The Beatles? I was told that now you can have 4x's The Beatles music because they will all be making their own music.
Even though the boys said they didn't want to influence the youth they did exactly that. I started to use drugs, give my point of view against “tricky dick” and Vietnam, and not trust anyone over 30. It was with their music and John Lennon's voice and his stand against the establishment that aided me to become the man I am today. A man with an opinion. The drugs and alcohol may have been in my future without John but through drugs I have spent the 20 years clean and sober. Also it leads me to 17 years as a drug and alcohol MHT and counseling addicts.

I believe I had to "walk the walk" in order to help and John Lennon still aids me in my own sobriety. I have his words on my wall and always in my mind that led me on my lifetime road. "There are no problems, only solutions."

I still have Beatles Posters in my home. My daughter listens to The Beatles’ music all the time and now my 3 granddaughters are being raised loving Beatles music and movies. Little did I know so many years ago that I was right The Beatles will live forever and it wasn't "just a fad."

I just finished Larry Kane's book about John Lennon and it was a look inside where we could not see. It was very good and very enjoyable.

I thank John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney for making music and molding me into the person I've become. I have an opinion and I voice it, like it or not.

John Lennon and Me

It is painfully hard to go on each day without John Lennon in the world.

For most people he was a musical genius and a deep and caring man. For me, John Lennon is all of that and the friend I have been looking for all my life. His music, his thoughts, his life, and his music are all very much a part of me.

I lived my entire life without a role-model, a hero, any inspiration or even a close, deep friend until I found John Lennon. And believe me it has been very hard. I am not like most people, I really believe in true love and an honest person. That's why my highest esteem goes to John. It all started when the 25th anniversary of his death was broadcast on channel 3 and I heard John's signature song, Imagine.

I bought the book, Lennon Revealed, I have watched the interviews on Dick Cavett, and I am buying Lennon's music and studying it. I bought the Imagine DVD. I don't seem to get this message across to many people, so I am hoping that you will understand me Larry, because you were close to him. The message is that it seems most people don’t understand true love, but I do and John Lennon did. I am so deeply moved by him I can not express my feelings adequately in words. Finding a real friend for the first time for a person like me is a very moving and emotional experience.

When you are lost all your life like me, and you find this incredible man, you feel like your life has meaning for a change and you can for once validate your feelings. It's not only the relating of feelings, it’s the fact that we are like brothers. I feel exactly as he did on just about everything in life. The lyrics in his music are so much me, it is shocking. We are both serious thinkers, we take the world seriously, we know what true love is, both advocate a peaceful existence, and both are lost souls wanting to be found.

John says, "you know life can be long and you have to be so strong" and "at times he wants to give up,” that's me too. And, we both have an internal frustration and rage that is unlikely to end, because we value true love but are probably never going to find it. We both experienced tragedies when we were young. For I too had a mother who had many problems and I often felt abandoned and at times rejected. I think John Lennon never really ever got over the earliest and most painful rejection of his life with his mother and father and was looking for that missing love all of his life. To me he was the greatest of men.

I also believe John was at least bisexual. I hear it in his voice, I see it in his face, it is in his music if you know what to look for. I think the reason John beat up Stuart Sutcliffe was not just the break from the band, but once again it represented John Lennon having to face painful rejection. I believe the love between Stuart and John was intense and physical. I am gay. But I am not talking about sexual love for John Lennon on my part. I know the pain and anger that John faced because I face it too. Being a champion for blacks, woman, the working class and all the forgotten groups of society earned him the love and respect he wanted. It's one of the things that a serious thinker, like John and I, do to gain acceptance when they aren't exactly straight.

I believe Yoko Ono, helped save John. She cared deeply for him and tried to help him cope with a world so unloving, especially to gays and bisexuals. I see why he liked her so much. She was an intellectual and could relate well to his feelings, because John wasn't just a guy after sex, he believed in true love; the love that Yoko could give him. Like the love he experienced with Stuart, Yoko understood this and John's need to reclaim the love he lost by the rejection of his mother and Stuart. John may have had suicidal tendencies, being so dissatisfied from his early years with his mother and his teen years in high school and the break from Stuart. And, I think this depression, although not evident at most times, lasted and followed him for all of his life. In his music, he is up and down, positive and negative, a serious dreamer who never quite finds fulfillment anywhere. Lost like me. Yet, for a person who never ever really seems to find that true love, John Lennon wrote the most profound love music imaginable. Your absolutely right Larry, John Lennon's life was all about one thing, Love. It’s what I’m all about too. I've never found it, true love that is, and that's why I have failed at almost everything. When love becomes the focal point of your life, you either make it or fail. I wish I had the stamina, the strength and the drive that John had, but that's the one area where we are different.

Fortunately, I am not in despair because I listen to John's music all the time and watch his DVD's. He gives me hope knowing we both are of the same mindset most of the time. It makes me feel good that there is someone else in the world like me. I know what he went through and figure I might be able to hang on too. In the song How?, he asks, "how am I suppose to experience love when I don't even know what love is", "how can I go forward when I don't know what direction I am facing, how can I love when my feelings have been denied?” I ask the same questions of myself.

Your very lucky, Larry, you had the privilege of traveling and interviewing one of the finest people who ever lived. That is no understatement. How many people can you honestly say, wrote such deep and inspirational music that they changed the world for the better! Music written by a genius has done that. I don't believe any president or business figure or even the Pope, has had such a monumental impact on peace, love, or music as John Lennon.

Our hearts ache endlessly at the senseless loss of his life. I know for me it is very hard to go on. Maybe John Lennon didn't believe in "heaven" but all lost souls like us wind up in a place of complete happiness. We must, for we suffered immensely here on earth. When my day comes, I as well as all of his devout fans will reunite with him and we will all share his greatness. Like John, I am not afraid of death either, especially when you realize you'll be once again reunited with the legend we call John Lennon.

IMAGINE!

John Lennon was first seen by my young “boy-eyes” on the Ed Sullivan Show on a Sunday night that the whole family looked forward to seeing the entire previous week.

He, at once, struck me as the leader of the band and was without a doubt, a total genius with the foresight to recognize the genius in Paul McCartney's songwriting abilities at such an early age.

What a team, and band, to have created the VOLUMES of excellent music in such a brief period of a few years. The music is still flooding the airwaves 40+ years later and they are still the dominant worldwide standard for other musicians to reach for and will probably be so forever.

I truly believe several generations will pass before people of that time period will see such a world altering phenomenon as the Beatles and of a man as unbendable and unwavering in his convictions, his faults, and honesty, like John Lennon.

I am a musician of 40 years, recording my first CD, and everyone says it "smacks" of Beatle influence, much to my amazement, and liking.

What a compliment!!

I have 5 favorite Beatles songs:

I Want to Hold Your Hand
When I'm 64
In My Life
Here Comes the Sun
Love Me Do

And though I'm just a kid, I love John Lennon!!!!

Wow!

I just read Brooke Halpin's rememberance of John Lennon's birthday party.

I am his friend Lindsay who hasn't seen him in nearly as many years. It was incredible to be at that party. I've never forgotten it.

Seeing the '64 Shea Stadium concert was a kick as well - it my first concert at age 11, (I still have the ticket).

Thanks so much,
Lindsay (Greig) Ward

I never saw John but I do have a jacket that Chris Jagger made for him back in 1967.

It shows how the drugs had a hold on him and part of his dark side. I am looking to find a picture of him wearing it. There were only three of these jackets made. Chris had made one for his brother Mick and one for Jimi Hendrix and last for John.

Can anyone help me find a picture of John wearing this jacket?

I hope to hear from someone soon.

John was the greatest singer ever.

His voice was so pretty.

He wrote good songs and poems.

I really looked up to him.

He was my hero.

I loved him as a fan and like a friend.

Strangely enough the first time I heard a Beatles' song (meaning really heard one) was after they had broke up.

I had watched the Ed Sullivan Show performances with the rest of the world in 1964 but at 9 years old, I just didn’t quite grasp it. I knew it was fun though. I remember feeling happy listening to them and watching them. I also went and saw Help at the movie theatre for 50 cents one Saturday with three other friends and we all ran home acting like lunatics. Our Self consciousness had been wiped away by the film.

Then one morning in 1970 I was lying in bed listening to my homemade radio. I was 15 and heard a song that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I listened and when it was over listened intently to hear who it was…"That was the Beatles with Oh Darling”, and I called for my mother to come in. I said "Mom, I just heard the most incredible singer" I explained it was a band called the Beatles and could I please have the record, please, please. I didn't know then who sang it, Paul or John, but my Mom surprised me with my very first LP, Abbey Road. Can you imagine a certified Beatles fanatic getting his first record after they broke up? Well, it didn't stop me. I just went backwards from there and got them all one after another and of course got a guitar and learned how to play and started a band.

Over the years I have always loved John Lennon for his uncanny intelligence and humor but most of all for his unique musical statements. His voice, which I have heard he disliked himself, was one that I copied whenever I sang. And Paul's voice, fit so perfectly to John's that it just made you get goosebumps all over your skin when they harmonized. Never a flat or sharp note either, not on the released albums anyway. So to this day I am still paralyzed with joy when I hear any of their songs. Those songs that shaped every month and day of my life since hearing Oh Darling for the very first time.

I can imagine how their fellow musicians must have felt when they heard the latest from the Beatles...Probably like me thinking "There is simply no one near them in talent". Sorry Elvis, but I had to let you go at 15 when John, Paul, George and Ringo got through to me. I still cry when I read about John and how much he meant to people. John and the rest of the band meant a lot to all of us and I always feel like some important part of humanity and some part of me was taken away in 1980.

I still mourn and think no one knows how much he meant but I know you all know and have known all along...just like me. We love them always, don't we? We’ll carry them along with us forever.

My cousin and I were in her car during a Thanksgiving weekend in the 70's, riding up and down the streets, in Pottstown, PA.

I pulled my mirrored visor down while at a red light to put on lipstick. After I fixed my long blonde hair a bit, I glanced over to the small white car that pulled up next to us.

My window was down. So was the other cars’, which was so close I could have touched the driver. I looked at the man behind the wheel and couldn't believe my eyes. It was John Lennon staring right at me wearing a black top hat!

Then Yoko leaned just a tiny bit forward to look at me. She also was wearing a black top hat! I SCREAMED at my cousin,
"DONNA! IT'S JOHN LENNON!!" - He took off towards the far right lanes and kept going.

Years later, I bought a book about John and read that he was in that area on a Thanksgiving weekend. Now I know it was him.

I will never forget that day.

Linda S.

Following the careers of John Lennon and Yoko Ono after the demise of The Beatles was a beautiful experience to behold.

Just the communication they conveyed helped shape a method of understanding life in this world. When he came out of retirement in 1980 it was a quaint and refreshing moment in my life.

Then December 8th and a state of confusion set in for me and other admires all over the world, an act of utter brutality had marred the rekindled admiration and tears and memories flowed.

I had a strange haunting dream in which a crumpled photo laid on the sidewalk outside the Dakota in New York, and for a moment the body laid and the women stare in an act of disbelief as to what just happened. When I woke the next morning the crumpled photo was etched in my subconscious so deeply that, as hard as it was to create the photograph, the collage laid clearly before me.

A life had been lost, but the memory of music, art and an extraordinary romance lives on.

Love to Yoko, Sean, and the “spirit” known simply as John Ono Lennon.

It was 3AM and I was startled by my phone waking me from a deep sleep.

"He's dead. Lennon is dead" is what I heard on the other end of the phone.

I was a morning news reporter for an FM station in Albany, New York at the time and December 8, 1980 turned out to be the busiest and most difficult working day of my career. After I realized the overnight jock wasn't kidding (which he was known to do) I was off to the studio and arrived to the newswire machine working in overdrive! Stories about when, why, who and any other bit of information practically covered the newsroom floor.

As one who watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show and becoming a fan, I was in disbelief, maybe even in denial! No, this is crazy!

Twenty-five years after the news of that tragic night (the ultimate rock and roll tragedy) I sit and wonder, if John was alive, how he would have reacted to the crazy events happening in the world today.

I never met him but considered him a friend. He showed his friendship through his words and music.

I lost a buddy on 12/8/80.

John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix: Two American heroes.

Both lived for peace.

Jimi resurrected the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock and during the first 9/11 television tribute Neil Young played Imagine.

Both songs are about us, the country, and the world.

John and Jimi helped teach me to hold my head up, get tougher, and most of all to express positive emotions through words and music.

Imagine what it's like with them together in heaven.

Move over George!

I met John Lennon while he was walking in Central Park.

I was playing soccer and when I said hi, he started talking to me.

I did see this two-dimensional being with properties to be three-dimensional with solid emotions telling me about life while kicking the ball back to me.

We talked about the upcoming World Cup and about life in general, his objective knowledge (his fourth dimension), his positive energy, the nature of his love for humanity, his understanding of universal law that explored religion, science, psychology and music in an effort to understand man and man's creation.

Yes all that...in just five minutes…with John, a soccer ball, and the trees in Central Park!

When I was a teenager I had to spend every summer in New York City and always hated it.

So one day my Aunt took us through Central Park.

It was in June of 1976.

As we were walking we noticed a couple on a park bench with a baby.

My Aunt asked me if I knew who that was.

Being only 13 years-old I said no, but he looked familiar and she said that it was John Lennon, who was in the Beatles.

Then I told her, “Yeah, I knew who he was.”

So I asked him if he would give me an autograph and he did and he asked me where I was from.

I told him and we talked for about 10 minutes until he had to leave.

To this day I have the autograph and a picture so I guess NYC wasn't that bad of an experience after all.

Can you imagine a five year-old girl running through the house singing, "Baby’s good to me you know, she's happy as can be you know, she said so….She's in love with me and I feel fine"? Well, she's writing this story:

I was born Feb.3, 1964…Four days before the invasion.

I fell in love with The Beatles, and particularly Mr. Lennon at a very young age, and I’m pleased to tell you that the love affair is ongoing. I have even passed this love to my children. My fifteen year-old's birthday request was Beatles T-shirts. I of course obliged and with great pride.

My latest child, and “Oops” baby, (because mommy is now 41), has his nursery decorated with John Lennon’s "Real Love" collection. Now, can you imagine a two and a half year-old running around the house singing, "Beep, beep, beep, beep, yeah!"?

I can't only imagine it, I see it everyday.

WE’RE GOING TO A PARTY

It was early October 1971. I was a DJ at the University of Hartford’s FM radio station and a student at The Hartford Conservatory of Music. John Lennon’s Imagine album had just been released, and during my radio show on WWUH, I would play Gimme Some Truth and I Don’t Want to Be a Soldier.

Lindsay, a friend from the art school at the University, asked me what I was doing the weekend of October 9th. Having no specific plans, I asked her what was going on. She informed me that John and Yoko were having an art exhibit/Imagine release party at the Everson Museum in Syracuse New York. The next thing I knew, I was squashed into the back seat of a Karmann Ghia with Lindsay, on a 3 hour drive to Syracuse. It was Friday, October 8th.

I had recently completed recording a solo album. One of the songs entitled The Old Red Wall, was about making changes. The chorus said, "But it’s OK, it’s time to change."
I was telling myself it was OK to make changes in my personal life and thought John could relate to the lyrics, having recently divorced himself from The Beatles. Along with a change of clothes, I brought a reel-to-reel copy of The Old Red Wall along with me. I wanted to give it to John as a gift, a small but personal expression of giving something back to the man who gave me so much over the years.

That evening, we settled in at Lindsay’s friend’s apartment. I soon found out where John and Yoko were staying and with tape in hand, headed over to the hotel. A clerk at the front desk told me John’s room number. I remember it was on the seventh floor. I walked to the room door. Standing right next to the door was a very large man. He asked me what I wanted. I said I had a birthday gift for John and would like to give it to him. He told me John did not want to be disturbed. I pressed on saying I had orders from a NYC recording studio executive to personally hand the tape to John. The guard quickly retorted by saying he had strict orders from John not to be disturbed. He told me to give him the gift and that he would give it to John. Not knowing whether or not I could believe him, I reluctantly handed him the tape. I walked away feeling somewhat defeated.

I went downstairs to the underground parking garage and saw a silver Rolls Royce, with flowers painted on the fenders. I put my hand on the rear passenger side door handle and much to my surprise, it was unlocked. I got in and closed the door quietly. While sitting in the back seat, I noticed that the car was littered with photos of unheard of bands along with audiotapes. Seemed like a lot of people wanted to give John a birthday present. Enjoying the soft leather seat, I pulled out a cigarette and reveled in the extraordinary circumstances of smoking in John’s Rolls Royce. I snuffed out the butt in the side door ashtray and went back to the apartment.

On Saturday, Lindsay and I went to the museum to see Yoko’s new exhibit. There was quite a crowd waiting to get inside. We waited our turn and followed the line while viewing the exhibit. While it was fascinating to see the exhibit, I was hoping to catch a glimpse of John. I wondered, was he here or at the hotel? The end of the exhibit put me on the lower level. I saw two adjoining doors, opened them and saw a black limousine. I figured John and Yoko were somewhere in the museum. I stood on the platform and waited for awhile. Suddenly the doors flew opened and there was John. He walked right past me, to the edge of the platform, looked down at the limo, turned around and went back into the museum. He had a relatively short haircut, wore a grey suit with a carnation on the lapel. He looked like a British banker. Moments later, the doors opened again, and John and Yoko walked to the edge of the platform, down the stairs and got into the limo. I followed them down the stairs and went to the passenger side backseat window where John was sitting. The limo was idling. I knocked on the window. John turned his head toward the window, pointed at me saying something I could not hear, and the limo drove off. I was thrilled – John had acknowledged me even though I had no idea what he said. I went to the hotel. While standing in the ground floor elevator, waiting for the doors to close, someone got in. He looked familiar. I asked him who he was. It was Jim Keltner.

Jim played drums on the Imagine album and had just arrived from LA to attend the party. I said to Jim that I was in LA earlier that year recording some of my new songs at Cherokee studios. Jim said he recorded there regularly. The elevator arrived on the 7th floor. Jim invited me to his room and introduced me to his very pregnant wife. His room was right down the hall from John’s. Jim asked me if I’d like to smoke a joint. How could I say no? He paused and said “let me see if John would like to join us.” He went to John’s room. I was sitting in this hotel room, making idle conversation with Jim’s wife, anticipating smoking a joint with Jim and John Lennon. The door opened, in walked Jim, without John. He informed me that John was tired and wanted to rest before the party. Jim and I got high and he asked me what I was doing later that evening. I told him I had no plans. He asked me if I’d like to go to John’s birthday party. Oh yeah, I’d like to do that. He told me he would put my name on a guest list and to be at the entrance door at 9 o’clock. Feeling very good, I thanked Jim, said goodbye to him and his wife and went back to the apartment.

I told Lindsay about my day’s experiences. I don’t know if she believed me or not. I asked her what she was doing that evening and she responded by saying she had no plans. I asked her if she would like to go with me to John’s birthday party. She burst out laughing, thinking I had no credibility to offer her such an amazing invitation. Undeterred, I asked her a second time. She laughed again, saying that I was living in some kind of fantasy.

It was 8:30PM. I was ready to go the museum. I asked Lindsay if she wanted to go with me. Having nothing else to do, she decided to accompany me. We arrived at the museum door a little before 9 o’clock. There were about 50 people gathered outside the door. I looked at my watch, it was 9 o’clock. I waited with faith. It was now 9:07. I had no doubt about Jim and waited what seemed like forever. Lindsay doubted the entire experience when at 9:12, the door opened up and a guard said, “Is there a Brooke out there?” “Yes,” I exclaimed as I raised my hand. “You’re allowed to come in with a guest.” I turned to Lindsay and asked her “would you like to go to John’s party now?”

We went downstairs and joined the party. There we were with Ringo, Allen Klein, Allen Ginsberg, Phil Spector, and Jim Keltner. I wandered around looking for John and walked into a small exhibit room. There was Yoko, explaining her art work to her parents; John was standing toward the back of the room listening. I walked up and stood right next to John, standing at his left side, listening to Yoko. John turned and looked at me but didn’t say anything. I turned and looked at him. He turned away. I stood there wanting to say something to John, but didn’t want to interrupt or disrespect Yoko’s private moment with her parents. John turned to me again and glared at me. It was an intense force of John’s energy that drove me out of the room. John’s unspoken words to me were: Who the hell are you? What the hell are you doing in this room? and get the hell out of here! I slowly and quietly retreated from the room.

I felt both excited and terrible. I thought it was good fortune to be so physically close to John, but would never want him to be angry with me. I went back to the main room and hung out at the party. I was still determined to meet John and wish him a happy birthday.

The party was starting to wind down. I was downstairs. I looked up and saw John and Yoko walking down the open staircase. I started walking up the stairs and met John head on. I extended my hand, told him I was Brooke, and wished him a happy birthday. He vigorously shook my hand, asked me how I was and thanked me for my birthday wishes.
I was stunned and over whelmed by his intense energy. I just stood there as John and Yoko proceeded down the stairs and out the door.

Twenty-four hours later I was back in Hartford, lying in a bed in a boarding house. It was a shocking contrast to where I was a day earlier. I wondered if it really happened or did I imagine the whole story in my head. But thanks to Lindsay and Jim Keltner it was true: I met John Lennon at his 31st birthday party!

Brooke Halpin
CEO, Strawberry Fields Arts Foundation

Just In Time to Break Her Heart

Seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in February of 1964 was the most invigorating and exciting thing I had ever seen and I still love watching that footage because it brings back those incredible memories. The images of them on that stage, shaking their mop-top heads as they sang "She Loves You" was breathtaking. They had such great energy. I was a seven-year-old little girl from L.A. and totally into the pop scene, sitting cross-legged on my living room floor squealing and bopping up and down as the Beatles sang. I loved the Beatles and didn't realize at the time what a phenomenon they actually were.

They were so different from the music my parents listened to, that everyone felt this was a "passing fad." But the Beatles ended up steamrolling everything in their path, to completely revolutionize popular music forever. I remember thinking since we laughed at our parents' music, our kids would probably laugh at our music. But that has never happened. The generations of Beatles fans keep on coming. That tells you how timeless their music is and what a gigantic impact they have made on society. The Beatles personified a culture that was shifting dramatically.

I didn't truly appreciate who John Lennon really was until he died. By that time, I was 24, married and living in Seattle; I loved Double Fantasy, his new album, and was elated that John looked so good and that he was working again. I even envisioned him working with the Beatles again.

Then on the morning of December 8, 1980, I woke up with the flu, and had to stay home from work. I spent the day in bed listening to the album and reading John's recent Playboy interview. It was a very long article and I kept dozing off and dreaming about him, waking up periodically to find the article still in my hand. I couldn't put it down. I was surprised at what I learned about John from reading that article. He revealed so much about himself. I read about his painful childhood and could relate because my childhood was so similar. I couldn't believe it. Suddenly I began to see a much deeper reality about him that spoke to me, and I understood who he was, not as a Beatle or even the legendary "Man of Peace," but as a man. I was very touched.

I had rediscovered John Lennon on a personal level, and was excited for his future. Something clicked and I felt a deep connection to him that was full of compassion, love, and understanding.

My husband flew through the door around 9 p.m. after I had gone to sleep, and woke me with the tragic and unbelievable news that John Lennon had just been murdered in New York. He was shaking. The shock dropped me to my knees, devastating me beyond description. I sobbed all night long and then for days after, sitting in front of the TV set watching all the footage. The grief was unbearable.

It seemed as though John Lennon had reached me just in time to break my heart. That emotion developed into a passion for discovering him-reading about him, talking to people who knew him, listening to rare tracks, watching his interviews, visiting the places he knew and loved, going to his art exhibitions and tribute events. His spirit is with me everywhere I go.

I soon felt I should be sharing all these experiences with other fans, and I began to write. For the last four years I've been writing for Daytrippin', a popular international Beatles fanzine. This is my way of helping to keep his memory alive, and honoring his quest to connect with the world in an honest way. I still feel his presence. He's still here in some way and I think he wants us to know that. I hope at the end of the day that I've contributed somehow to his legacy, which will go on forever.

His Music—My Voice

Hello, my name is Raeanne Garcia, and I am 21 years old. Although John Lennon died nearly 1 year before I was born, his life and music has still affected me in a deep and profound way. His music, thanks to my parents, has been my music. I have listened to it and learned that all this world really needs is love. He was not only a talented man, but a beautiful man, who expressed his feelings and beliefs through his music and lyrics. He was a passionate, artistic, and simple man, whose voice has been the voice for many generations—past, present, and future. Thus, his music has, ultimately, become my voice. I don’t think I would be the person I am today without him and his music. John Lennon has taught me to be a dreamer, a creator, and someone who was always be experimenting. Those qualities are what I have taken from him as a human being. I only wish that I could have been born 20 years earlier to experience, in the present, John Lennon and his presence.

The Definition of Cool

My name is Matthew Ruta and I am 15 years old and to me John Lennon is the definition of cool. All my friends think I'm crazy idolizing someone from that era. I was lucky enough to have my parents be sort of John Lennon fans. My mother and father bought the Shaved Fish album, and every Christmas they always woke me and my siblings playing "Happy Xmas (war is over)" and they were dancing. The song brought them so much joy. I was curious so I "borrowed" the album from them when I was about 11 and I listened to it one day. I found out that this man had the greatest voice ever. While I was listened to the album there was a lyrics list and I found out that this man really meant what he wrote. Through the album I found out that I've heard most of these songs before on the radio or my parents playing them like "Instant Karma," "Cold Turkey," and "Whatever Gets You thru the Night." One song stuck out from the rest, one of the only songs to ever make me cry was "Imagine." "Imagine" was like a private prayer made public.

Later through that week I asked my Mother how popular was this man. She answered "this man was part of the greatest band ever The Beatles." I listened to the Beatles occasionally but I didn't know what people were in the band. So I got even more interested into them and ironically the same week there was an ad on the television for a Beatles CD called 1. I begged my mom to get it, but she refused. So then I forgot about John Lennon and The Beatles for 3 years and then I was in Poland and they had a lot of Beatles CDs over there and luckily they had 1. It was cheap and I had the money so I bought it and fell in love with it from the first day I got it 'till today. My favorite song on the album would probably have to be "The Ballad of John and Yoko" because it was a song that made me very happy. I've collected many of the Beatles albums on CD. I also found 2 John Lennon records at a garage sale (Double Fantasy and Imagine). I have John Lennon pictures in my basement I'm obsessed. He also inspired me into some songwriting and to learn how to play guitar. Other fans at school say I look somewhat like him which to me is a great compliment, but being born in 1988 I could never have been a part in his life but he was a big part in my life bigger than probably any other musician or person. I could never have been a part in his life but the closest thing to being a part in his life would to be in a book about his life and listening to his music and loving him.

Please consider this as a valid entry and sorry if that was a little long and sorry about any spelling and grammar mistakes I'm still just a kid.

The Mother with the Memories

If you're like me you look back on aspects of your life through photographs, scrapbooks and memories. My childhood wasn't typical and it wasn't easy but I have many memories that wrapped me warmly and helped the young child I was through rough times. My bedroom wall was decorated in Beatles memorabilia and I was a Lennon fan at six years of age.

Through my wacky youth Lennon was a constant. Words, music and outcry. When John Lennon died I felt a deep pang. His legendary talent made me joyous, comforted and free.

When my fourteen-year-old son plays Lennon on his MP3 player, I know the world is still better for having had JL in it!