John Lennon was born in Liverpool on October 9, 1940. He spent much of his 40 years asking the world to imagine something better. Today would have been his 86th birthday. It is also the 51st birthday of his son Sean, who was born on the very day his father turned 35.
The date will be marked the way it has been for years. According to Imagine Peace, the website of his widow Yoko Ono, the Imagine Peace Tower on Viðey Island in Reykjavík, Iceland, will be lit today. The column of light will keep shining through December 8, the anniversary of his death in 1980. Ono, who is 93, created the tower in his memory. Sean has taken on the work of looking after his father’s music. Last year, for the 85th birthday, he produced a box set called ‘Power to the People,’ and American Songwriter reported that fans around the world tuned in for a listening party.
What John Lennon Still Means To Those Who Knew Him
Sean’s arrival in 1975 changed everything for Lennon. He stepped away from the music business for five years to stay home and raise his boy, and he returned in November 1980 with ‘Double Fantasy.’ He was killed outside his New York home just weeks later. The love has not faded among the people who shared a stage with him. Late last month Paul McCartney told a Los Angeles audience, “I loved John and love him to this day and always will,” according to Variety. Ringo Starr said recently that the Beatles would have reunited if John and George Harrison had lived. Fans have long gathered on this day at Strawberry Fields, his memorial in Central Park. Somebody always starts ‘Imagine,’ and everybody knows the words.
