CLEVELAND–Fans brave the cold weather to pay their respects to Beatles legend John Lennon, who died 30 years ago today.Music lovers gathered at Strawberry Fields and the Dakota Building in New York City, where Lennon lived and was killed. He was 40 years old.
His killer, Mark David Chapman, is serving a 20-year-to-life sentence in prison.
Here in Cleveland, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame highlights the work of The Beatles icon.
“That someone would kill him is impossible to comprehend. It was a real tragic loss,” said Jim Henke, chief curators at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. “John Lennon as part of The Beatles and as a solo artist was one of the major figures of rock and roll history.”
From Lennon’s passport to report cards and magazines, Lennon and The Beatles are among one of the most celebrated features of the museum.
“He was always, sort of, on the cutting edge of what was going on in music and in society,” Henke said. “And he really made an attempt to talk about the problems in that existed in society and to address them. He was a real advocate for peace. It wasn’t about making fun rock and roll records. He made songs with meaning behind them.”
Henke, also author of “Lennon Legend,” hopes the collection keeps Lennon’s legacy alive.
“It’s not just a loss to the music world, but society in general,” Henke said. “We’ve been fortunate to have a good relationship with Yoko. Happy that we’ve always been able to represent him at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hopefully, when people come here, it will bring them back to him.”
Henke said Lennon and The Beatles continue to have a strong presence in the music world today.
Late last month, The Beatles songs were released on iTunes. The band sold 2 million individiual songs and more than 450,000 albums worldwide in the first week of release. Abbey Road was the bestselling Beatles album in the United States iTunes store, ending at number six for the week. That week, The Beatles generated $8 million in sales.