John Lennon’s death 35 years ago also sparked a gun control debate

The 40-year-old was shot several times as he entered the Dakota, his luxury apartment building on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, opposite Central Park, at 2300 local time. Thirty-five years ago on December 8, Mark David Chapman shot and killed Lennon with a gun he purchased legally in Hawaii, a former Beatles member. His killer, John Mark Chapman, received 20 years to life in prison.

“I am sorry for causing that type of pain”, Chapman told the parole board then.

Lennon and the Stax legend, who had met the former Beatles star years before, traded a few memorable stories, and at least one long-saved guitar lick – though Cropper had no idea he was playing with John Lennon for the last time. “I am sorry for being such an idiot and choosing the wrong way for glory”, Chapman told the parole according to a report by NBC News.

Despite being rushed to the nearby Roosevelt Hospital, the singer and peace campaigner was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.

Teachers at Lennon’s old school, Quarry Bank in Allerton, announced the tragic news to stunned pupils at their morning assemblies. It’s a murder that still resonates in Lennon’s adopted city and around the world.

Back in October, Lennon would have celebrated his 75th birthday.

“And so, dear friends”, John sings to us in his epic ballad, “God”, “you’ll just have to carry on”. In addition, Ono continues to spread the message of peace and love that Lennon championed in songs like “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by supporting a variety of philanthropic campaigns and charities. He later said he killed the musician in order to become famous, but also had previously alleged other motivations, including anger over a quote attributed to Lennon in the ’60s, which some have interpreted as disparaging to Christianity.

FILE – In this December 14, 1980, file photo, a helicopter flies over Central Park in NY where an estimated crowd of between 50,000 to 100,000 people gathered to pay tribute to the late John Lennon.

Lennon was gunned down outside of his New York City apartment building.