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The year 1980 saw the demise of a legendary musician who has been a household name since the ’60s: John Lennon.
Rising to fame along with Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, Lennon was a guitarist for The Beatles, arguably the most iconic band in the history of rock music. Though the band’s early days included other musicians, these are the four who eventually claimed stardom. As rhythm guitarist, he also served as one of the lead vocalists and songwriters for the Beatles alongside Paul McCartney. The pair is statistically the most successful songwriting partnership in history.
Lennon eventually left the Beatles to pursue a solo career, which was also very successful. With numerous awards and recognitions for both the Beatles and solo work (and some with his wife, Yoko Ono), Lennon was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice—in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and in 1994 as a solo artist. Rolling Stone even ranked him as the fifth greatest singer of all time.
Lennon was what some would call a “hippie,” known for advocating peace and anti-war efforts, and even embracing the “skiffle” craze as a teenager. His songs became anthems for the anti-war movement in the 1960s, the most notable being “All You Need is Love.”
On December 8, 1980, Lennon was shot and killed at his home in New York City. He was 40 years old. Though young for being world-renowned, Lennon’s musical and philosophical influence reached across the world—it’s no surprise that this news weighed heavily on the Omaha community, a city in which music was and is still so important. The popular radio station 92.3 FM (Z-92), known for playing rock music, immediately organized a memorial service for the legendary musician.
This service, held on December 14, 1980, was hosted by Rosenblatt Stadium, a bygone baseball field that was once a sports hub in Nebraska. The Rosenblatt itself is a source of nostalgia for many Nebraskans, being the former site of the College World Series, one of the events for which Omaha is known. The stadium was built in 1947 as the Omaha Municipal Stadium and hosted the Omaha Cardinals for the 1949 baseball season. It was renamed in 1964 for Omaha mayor Johnny Rosenblatt, who helped bring the College World Series to Omaha. It was the largest minor league baseball stadium in the United States until its closing in 2010, when it was replaced by TD Ameritrade Park (now Charles Schwab Field).
Held on a Sunday, the doors to the stadium opened at 11:30 a.m. Bob Linden, the then-program director at Z-92, gave a short tribute, then the musical program began, showcasing “just some of the music that has touched us all and will be an inspiration for generations to come.” The service then transitioned into a vigil, described as “Ten minutes of silent introspection and reflection devoted to the memory of the beloved John Lennon.” The program concluded with Lennon’s iconic songs “Imagine” and “The End,” very fitting for a memorial service.
Lennon’s ideals were clearly reflected by the people of Omaha on this day, including the organizers of the event, who described it as a “time of sharing and caring.”
“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” —John Lennon, Paul McCartney
This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
