John Lennon was shot dead outside the Dakota in New York on 8 December 1980. Forty-five years on, the stunned reaction to his killing and the scale of his impact remain strong across generations of listeners and musicians alike.
Grief spread fast in the days after the shooting. Bruce Springsteen, playing in Philadelphia the night after the killing, began "Twist and Shout". He prefaced the song by telling the crowd, "If it wasn't for John Lennon, a lot of us would be someplace much different tonight… It's a hard world that asks you to live with a lot of things that are unlivable."
WYEP reporter Eric Leaf Davin captured raw reactions on the streets of Oakland. One man recalled hearing the news during Monday Night Football: “At first, I was really upset. And then I guess I got mad because I couldn’t believe somebody could be that sick… I couldn’t sleep.” A woman called the murder “a disgrace to our society.” Another young man said he “just sat down and didn’t move for a while,” stunned into silence.
Lennon's influence reflected in music: From novelty songs to heartfelt tributes
Lennon's mark was left on popular culture, as well as the work of other artists, from novelty singles to deeply personal tributes.
Even at the height of Beatlemania, Lennon sporadically cropped up as the subject of topical songs, although Ringo Starr was far more frequently cited. Following the 1968 release of Lennon and Yoko Ono's experimental album Two Virgins with its nude cover photo, producer Shelby Singleton quickly issued a novelty single called “John, You Went Too Far This Time,” sung by a pre-actress Sissy Spacek.
In 1970, as Lennon became more vocal about politics and peace, folk singer Tom Paxton issued “Crazy John,” a song in praise of Lennon’s activism and presciently predicting the backlash it would bring. Blossom Dearie recorded another, “Hey John,” that year as part of an album full of musical tributes.
The murder of Lennon in 1980 sparked a wave of tributes across genres. George Harrison released "All Those Years Ago" with contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 1981. McCartney followed with the intimate "Here Today" in 1982. That same year, Elton John (one of Lennon's closest friends) recorded "Empty Garden (Hey, Hey Johnny)," and Queen released "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)" on Hot Space.
Songwriters in the folk world responded as well. Christine Lavin’s “The Dakota” (1984) remains one of the most evocative meditations on the site of Lennon’s death. Loudon Wainwright III issued “Not John” in the same year, while Irish singer Christy Moore urged listeners in “The Least We Can Do” (1984) to carry forward Lennon’s ideals of peace.
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Even years afterwards, the emotional impact remained. In 1996, Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles released “Weak With Love,” written from the perspective of her 21-year-old self on the night she learned Lennon had been killed.
Lennon's life, work, and sudden death continue to spark new reflections and new songs. As the tributes show, his legacy is not limited to the era of The Beatles; it lives on in the voices of artists who still look to him for inspiration, decades after the night that changed music history.
