John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as the founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon was characterised by the rebellious nature and acerbic wit in his music, writing and drawings, on film, and in interviews. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.
What were John Lennon last words?
Pretty much every detail of the Beatles singer’s death is precisely determined ,from the damage in his left lung and major blood vessels above his heart to the fact that the Beatles song ‘All My Loving’ came over the hospital’s sound system at the moment Lennon was pronounced dead.
There’s one thing that isn’t known for certain since the speculations vary from one source to another; the last words John Lennon said before he passed away. Many people believe that his last words were, ‘I’m shot!’ before the musician was able to walk the five or six steps into the security office just inside the archway of the building where he collapsed.
On the other hand, according to an interview with one of the two policemen rushing him to Roosevelt Hospital, these weren’t the musician’s last words. The two policemen wanted to keep the Beatle awake and asked him questions such as his name. According to their statements, Lennon answered and said, ‘yeah’ before passing away.
As expected, there’s no way to prove that these are the last words of the rock icon since the two policemen’s statement is questionable because John Lennon most likely lost consciousness due to his injuries almost immediately. As a result, the common belief surrounding the last words of Lennon remains as ‘I’m shot,’ which makes his murder even more heartbreaking.
Why did John Lennon get assassinated?
On the evening of 8 December 1980, English musician John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles, was shot and fatally wounded in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City. His killer was Mark David Chapman, an American Beatles fan who was incensed by Lennon’s lavish lifestyle and his 1966 comment that the Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. Chapman said he was inspired by the fictional character Holden Caulfield from J. D. Salinger’s novel The Catcher in the Rye, a “phony-killer” who despises hypocrisy.
Chapman planned the killing over several months and waited for Lennon at the Dakota on the morning of 8 December. Early in the evening, Chapman met Lennon, who signed his copy of the album Double Fantasy and subsequently left for a recording session at the Record Plant. Later that night, Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned to the Dakota. As Lennon and Ono approached the entrance of the building, Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets from a .38 special revolver, four of which hit Lennon in the back. Chapman remained at the scene reading The Catcher in the Rye until he was arrested by the police. Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital in a police car, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at around 11:15 p.m.
A worldwide outpouring of grief ensued; crowds gathered at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota, and at least three Beatles fans died by suicide. The next day, Lennon was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York; in lieu of a funeral, Ono requested ten minutes of silence around the world. Chapman was convicted of murdering Lennon and was given a sentence of 20-years-to-life imprisonment.
What was John Lennon’s last hit before he died?
Some consider John Lennon’s last song to be “I Don’t Want to Face It” while others regard his guitar performance on Yoko Ono’s “Walking On Thin Ice” — recorded just an hour before his death — as his last recorded track. John Lennon was at the height of his solo career and already considered a famous lyricist and a pop star for his work with The Beatles when he died on December 8, 1980. Because Lennon was still working as a solo artist and a contributor on wife Ono’s work as a guitarist at the time of his death, there is much debate over what should be considered Lennon’s last record.
Many consider the last original number John Lennon recorded to be “I Don’t Wanna Face It” — originally recorded on September 2, 1980, and released on the Milk and Honey CD — but Lennon never finished it fully himself. Others regard his performance on Yoko Ono’s “Walking On Thin Ice,” which appears on her album Season Of Glass, to be his last recording as he was working on it at the time of his death.
However, the last recordings he ever made at home were four new songs recorded as demos at his Dakota residence on November 14, 1980. Two, “Pop Is The Name Of The Game” and “You Saved My Soul,” have never been officially released. The other two, “Dear John” and “Serve Yourself,” were released on 1998’s “Lennon Anthology.”
While still working on a litany of projects, John Lennon was killed by a crazed fan, Mark David Chapman, while trying to enter his Manhattan apartment on December 8, 1980. Lennon had just returned to his abode at the Dakota from the Record Plant Studio with wife Ono when the gunman released four bullets into the Beatles’ star.
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