I know I'll often stop and think about them

When I was a sophomore in high school, my friend Amy and I were huge Doors fans. Our friends Kirby and Terri were huge Beatles fans. One year we got this idea to honor Jim Morrison and John Lennon, who both died far too young. Jim Morrison was born on December 8th, 1943 and John Lennon died on December 8th, 1980. We made a bunch of signs with pictures of the two musicians on them. They read, "Hello Jim, Goodbye John." and we put them on our lockers. The following year, I saw a few other lockers belonging to underclassmen that had similar signs, and I felt like my friends and I had started something. While, Jim Morrison died at the age of 27, and John Lennon died at the age of 40, John's death definitely impacted people's lives a lot more. Not only because he was a Beatle, but because he was a good person, a great father and husband, and if not for his killer, would most likely still be alive today.

Today is the 25th Anniversary of John Lennon's death. A few weeks ago, Dateline NBC aired a special about Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon. It was about two hours long, and even Michael Grace watched it and wrote about it here. There were so many things that disturbed me, but a few stood out in particular. The first being that the day before Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon, he met John's son, Sean, outside as Sean was going back into the Dakota with his Nanny. Chapman stuck out his hand to shake Sean's, and Sean shook it. Sean was incredibly polite and was used to his father's fans coming up to him. How could Chapman shake that little boys hand knowing that he was there to kill his father?

The other thing that really bothered me was a picture of John signing a copy of the record Double Fantasy for Chapman. Another person waiting to meet John had taken the picture, and while part of Chapman's face isn't shown, you can see John's, and he has a smile from ear to ear. He truly was happy to sign autographs and take pictures with people. And he loved New York so much and felt so free and safe and alive there. He even asked Chapman if there was anything else that he wanted after he had signed the album for him.

I've had so many friends over the years that have introduced and reintroduced me to The Beatles. Each one had a favorite Beatles era, a favorite Beatles record, and usually a favorite Beatle. While George was a favorite for a few of my friends, most of them adored John.

John was killed about 11 months before I was even born, and most of my other Beatles loving friends were also born after 1980. But they grew to love the Beatles through their parents, and aunts and older siblings. They listened to them on oldies radio, or gawked over pictures of them arriving in America for the first time in their history books. I remember my friend Karen wanting to play me all of her favorite Beatles songs, and being so anxious for me to hear them all, that she'd go to the next track before the previous one had even finished.

The great thing about music is that it will always be here. If you put something down on record, you can trust that people a hundred years from now will be able to hear it and enjoy it. I think John would be pleased to know that the world has not forgotten about him or the Beatles and still continue to listen to him 25 years after his death.

Below I've got three versions of a great Beatles songs, In My Life. One is the original version from the 1965 Beatles album, Rubber Soul, and the other two are covers by Ben Lee and Johnny Cash. I know you guys are definitely going to listen to Johnny Cash's version, 'cause it's Johnny Cash and all, BUT don't miss out on Ben Lee's awesome interpretation too.

The Beatles- In My Life (from Rubber Soul)
Johnny Cash- In My Life (from American IV: The Man Comes Around)
Ben Lee- In My Life (from This Bird Has Flown)