by James R Coffey

Created on: December 08, 2010

The greatest blow I’ve ever experienced to my sense of right and wrong occurred on this day, thirty years ago. Until then, it had been beyond my life experience and comprehension that a musician, an artist, could be seen as such a threat to society that someone could justify taking his life. And, perhaps more frightening, that such a thing could happen from within the very society that had for so long boasted of its lofty and civilized superiority. Yet, there it was. It had happened.

Yes, I was fully aware that throughout history there were always those who deemed certain world leaders and holy men dangerous to the status quo (I’d even had a personal connection to President Kennedy, and so had experienced the impact of such a loss). But a musician? An artist? And not just any artist but one of the most gifted, admired, and respected artists of the 20th century. Why him? Why this voice of peace and love and world harmony?

And then it hit me. Was that the rub? Was it his call for world peace that made him the ultimate and inherent threat? Hell-there it was in black and white in three-inch letters on the front page of every newspaper in the world-the physical proof. And that’s when the dream ended. I awoke and realized that I live in a world where the idea of peace, love, and understanding is not the common goal. And nothing has ever rattled my soul so deeply.

While I could write volumes on this man’s life: his childhood, days in art college, early years with Paul McCartney, ten years as a Beatle, his art and poetry, and his life with Yoko Ono-I choose today to reflect on his music. Because in the end it was through his music that most us came to know him. His songs of peace and love and revolution; his emanations of pain and joy, angst and confusion, disillusionment and discovery. That was the connective fiber that made us of a common cloth.

Apart from being one of the greatest poets and lyricists of the 20th century, John’s musical innovations were phenomenal. From his use of feedback on “I Feel Fine” to key modulation on “I’ll be Back” to the single chord mantra of “Tomorrow Never Knows,” his contribution to Beatles albums set a framework and aura of expression that continues to reverberate throughout his solo work even today. But by and large, John took his fundamental love of rock & roll and love ballads and finessed them to fit his primal and often times harsh and unapologetic worldview

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