Everything about this just makes me feel icky.

But you gotta love the part where she says, “I think about giving it to my kids, saying, ‘Guys…imagine…imagine there’s no heaven!’”

Good lord lady…you’re one mean bitch!

Watch all the way to the end for another juicy nugget.

YouTube – JOHN LENNON JEWELRY.

Lennon and Chapman

Twenty-nine years ago today outside a brownstone on the west side of Central Park, a man named Mark David Chapman raised a Charter Arms .38 revolver and fired five hollow point bullets at the back of John Lennon. Four of the bullets hit Lennon’s back and shoulder; one of them piered his aorta, killing the 40-year-old artist almost instantly.

After the shooting, Chapman remained at the scene, taking out his copy of The Catcher in the Rye, which he read until police arrived. In his statement to police three hours later, Chapman stated, “I’m sure the large part of me is Holden Caulfield, who is the main person in the book. The small part of me must be the Devil.”

I was nine years old when it happened…I barely knew who John Lennon was. It wasn’t until many years later that the weight of what happened really sunk in, when I visited Strawberry Fields for the first time and I wept like a baby.

As a musician, it’s just impossible for me to comprehend or express the influence John Lennon has had on me personally.  I often try to imagine what the world would be like if Chapman hadn’t ripped John from us…if he continued to write songs to this day.

What would he write about?  Would the Beatles have ever gotten back together?  And aside from his music, his campaign against war and for peace…could one man have altered the course of history?  Would the tragedies of 9-11 happened in a world where John Lennon lived?

Of course, we’ll never know.   We live in a world where John Lennon is dead and Mark David Chapman is alive.   But every year on December 8th, I try to take a moment to remember John’s contributions to the world and listen to a few of his songs, and if I’m lucky I get to share a few with an audience.

Today’s performance will be in my living room…anyone that wants to come listen or play along please join in.  Or if you’re not in the neighborhood, enjoy one of John’s gifts online… (embedding is disabled, but please enjoy on Youtube)

I’d THOUGHT I’d pretty much heard everything John Lennon had recorded, music or otherwise. But in 1969, a 14 year old Toronto student interviewed John Lennon (I assume at one of his bed-in press conferences for peace). I recently came across this interview, which has been enhanced by some fantastic animation. His message from almost 30 years ago still rings true today.