How Rock Legends Reacted Upon Hearing About John Lennon’s Death

The year was 1980, the Beatles, although non-existent from that point, had the members gone to live their full lives as solo artists. But on the 8th of December, something happened that changed the lives of all the people living in that decade. It was shocking news of John Lennon murdered.

It was difficult to catch fresh news and gossip in the ‘80s, for the reason that the internet and social media were not yet developed. The information on the matter cannot be accessed that quickly. So you could imagine the look on everyone’s faces when artists who knew John could no longer see him alive anymore.

The first person who brought light to the tragedy was Stevie Wonder. Wonder, who was performing onstage at the Oakland Coliseum hours after the death of his beloved friend, made a choice to reveal the news. It was a brave move, and Wonder knew that the people should know what happened because he knew that Lennon would want the whole world to know about his passing.

Other artists like Bruce Springsteen, members of the Rush band, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, Sting, and many more shared Wonder’s sentiments as the news that broke was something that would bear a person to be in denial. The confusion was people’s reaction, as they could not fathom the idea of Lennon being murdered by a fan through the use of a gun.

It was hard for a lot of people who saw and took Lennon as an inspiration to everyone, most especially for the people who knew him in person.

The Beatles’ remaining members took the frenzy the most since they were bombarded by the media with questions regarding the death of their former bandmate. George Harrison issued a statement hours upon learning the news. He stated that he was “shocked and stunned” by what had transpired and continued to say that the ultimate robbery in life is to rob a life. He also wrote that he still has “love and respect for him.”

Ringo Starr was in the Bahamas at the time of Lennon’s murder. He immediately asked for a plane back to New York to see what he could do for the mourning family. Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon, told him to “Keep Sean [Lennon] busy,” he admitted while at the interview with Dave Grohl for the Rolling Stone magazine in 2019.

The person who was criticized the most was none other than Paul McCartney, who was ambuscaded by the media for his reaction just hours after the devastating news. McCartney, who was extremely uncomfortable at that moment, told them that it was a “drag.” The people went nuts and blamed him for a bad reaction coming from the death of his former closest friend. He soon delivered an official statement, and discuss that it was too much of a shock to him, to begin with telling the people who are listening about his own thoughts.

But among all these people mourning, Sean Lennon, then five, had the most heartbreaking reaction. “Now daddy is part of God.” And right now, as we move along our life without this legend, he will always be a part of something big. Something about his death impacted the whole world, the way how he did it while he was still in the Beatles.